AQUARIUM FISH CULTURE
Aquasearch has a Queensland Department of Primary Industries Aquaculture License. The organisms which are approved for aquaculture on the License include:
Marine species:
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2 gastropod mollusc species
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7 bivalve mollusc species
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1 cnidarian species
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4 fish species
Freshwater species:
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21 fish species
Although we are not a large facility, we hold broodstock for many of these species, so that when offspring are produced we have small batches which may then be sold to aquarium shop outlets. Note that we are not currenltly breeding and larval reaering of any of these species.
'Goldfish broodstock recently spawned on 21 August 2021, hatched on 25 August 2021, and photographs are shown of the ffry at 8 days old. 'The photomicrographs show dotted pattern over the body and a stomach full of orange coloured brine shrimp. The bottom photomicrograph is of the live fry at 23 dahs old and looking much like llittle goldfish.
CULTURE OF THE TRUE CLOWN ANEMONEFISH
Aquasearch has had som active breeding pairs and have produced the eggs of the True Clown Anemonefish, Amphiprion percula since 2003. Popularised by the Disney movie Finding Nemo, the Amphiprion percula are available for sale if we have conducted a spawning. Currently in 2020 the larval culture of these fish has been suspended but may start again in future.
We have had a small production of cultured juveniles since 2003.. There may also be active breeding pairs of Amphiprion melanopus, and Premnas biaculeatus. This production is very reduced as of 2020.
Contact us to see if we have clown anemonefish for sale, and we can discuss cost and shipment.,, We currently are not culturing any of these species and only keeping fish forthe marine display for visitors.
ABOVE: Egg nest of Amphiprion percula in a terra cotta pot with Heliofungia sp. tentacles in foreground.
ABOVE: Juvenile clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula) 27 days after hatching; schooling around an anemone coral, Heliofungia sp.
ABOVE: Aggregation behaviour of juvenile clown anemonefish seen in a 1-tonne culture tank
THE ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE OF CULTURED CLOWN ANEMONEFISH
It is interesting when one looks at the word NEMO, popularised in the Disney Movie Finding Nemo. If you spell the word backwards, it is OMEN.
The omen is that if we over-exploit wild stocks of marine aquarium fish (such as the clown anemonefish), without simultaneously promoting the aquaculture of these species, it means we risk the collapse of aquarium fish stocks and a general degradation of the marine environment.
This has already happened in many southeast Asian countries. In Australia, fish collectors are government-regulated but also self-regulating, and this provides a safeguard against over-exploitation.
We believe a combination of aquaculture and regulated collecting provides the best strategy for the long-term health of aquarium fish stocks. Image: Wikipedia.
