We don’t know whether it’s down to the effects of lockdown but our Clownfish pair at Blue Reef Hastings have seemingly laid some eggs! Clownfish have a number of fascinating methods when it comes to rearing their young and the Aquarist team are keeping a very excited eye on things to see how they progress.
The larger female Clowfish has laid her eggs down one side of a flat rock inside the tank. Unlike the eggs you see in ‘Finding Nemo’ where the eggs appear round and orange in colour, Clownfish eggs are in fact longer in shape and completely purple.
The smaller male Clownfish does the majority of the work caring for the eggs. We’ve observed him swimming around the eggs wafting the water over the eggs with his fins. This is a way of keeping the eggs oxygenated. He’ll also occasionally pop the eggs into his mouth to suck off any algae or detritus on the eggs.
Clownfish live in groups and have are very hierarchical. As the two soon-to-be parents care for their eggs, a smaller lone male can be seen in the tank. However, he is not allowed to breed while the two larger Clownfish are caring for their eggs.
We’re hoping to see some tiny baby Clownfish very soon so stay tuned for updates on our expecting couple!
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