332 replies to this topic

[Chasmodes]

Thank you Todd!

[Chasmodes]

This is another male blenny that guards an empty oyster shell in the front left side of my tank.  Up until this video was shot two days ago, he had not yet spawned with the female, to my knowledge.  I went to feed my fish on that day, and the female shot out of the same oyster shell with him still inside.  I didn't capture it on video, but they must have just finished laying and fertilizing eggs.  I managed to grab my camera and capture him tending his eggs for the first time.  Once again, I just missed filming a blenny spawning event.

 

Since this blenny's shell is so close to the front of the tank, I was able to see a lot more.  The blenny that I previously took a video of guarding eggs is about 8" to the right of this guy.  The female blenny, meanwhile, looked really fat last night, so maybe I'll luck out and catch them in the act again soon.

 

[Chasmodes]

Last night, I ventured downstairs to feed my fish, and lo and behold, one of the oyster shells seen in previous videos that had a male striped blenny guarding eggs had company.  A female poked her head out of the shell, the ducked back inside.  At that point, I set my camera up on my tripod and began to film the event, despite my front glass having some algal growth on it, making the video a little blurry.  I apologize for that, but I didn't want to scare her out of the shell, so I felt it best to capture the moment and clean it later.  The angle that I had to use may also contribute to the blurriness, but that was the best way to see what was going on inside the shell.  Anyway, hope you enjoy this video of a pair of spawning striped blennies!

 

[Chasmodes]

As I reflect on that event, I think that my video is the first time that anyone has captured this species spawning on video, at least to my knowledge, and at least on YouTube. I've searched high and low for videos on striped blennies, and there aren't many of them, and none showing spawning activity of any kind. I'm kind of excited about it. 

 

My next goal is to catch the male successfully herding the female into the shell and begin the spawn. I've captured the herding activity, albeit unsuccessful, and I've captured the spawn successfully, but I want the entire event on film. I'm sure that I'll witness it, but having my camera ready is the key. I try and bring it with me each time I visit and watch my fish.

 

I'm sure that most people don't really care about this stuff (much like non-game fish in general), or how significant it is, and that's OK, because these fish, and many other temperate species aren't on many people's radar with regard to fish keeping. I feel obligated now to bring this and other wonderful temperate species into the public eye. If I can get a few other people excited about these fish (not just NANFA members), then awareness about them will increase for the sake of the species and oyster reefs in general. Why the need to do that? People who harvest oysters, even those involved in oyster conservation, just let bycatch species, like the species in my tank, fall out of the oyster baskets on dry land and just let them die, with little attempt to save them. I guess this is because they aren't "endangered" or "protected". Maybe if these people come across my videos, they'll see how cool these creatures are and give them the respect that they deserve. To all of those that follow my threads and videos, thank you for watching and participating. 

[Chasmodes]

Here's another video, just cruising the tank, checking up on the fish...

[Chasmodes]

I've posted a bunch of videos of late, and realized that I don't have that many recent pictures.  

 

A lot has changed in the last 6 months.  The fish are all full size adults now, and all three species are breeding.  They have their favorite shells that they hang out in, and don't stray far from them, especially the male blennies.  When these fish are guarding eggs, most of the time, only their heads peek out of their oyster shells.  They venture out and check out their perimeter of about a radius of 4", now and then, and further only at feeding time.  They will eat, then bolt back to their shell.  The female blenny is the lone exception, as she roams the tank and breeds with all of the males.  

 

Much of the tank range of these fish are determined by these established territories, and these territories seem to be based on a pecking order, with the blennies claiming the best spots and defending them rigorously, especially against each other.  However, since they don't stray far from their shell, confrontations are few.  

 

The three species, for the most part, tolerate each other except when a fish moves too close to their favorite shell, and is chased off.  The pecking order appears to be that the blennies are the most dominant, but pretty equal against each other, followed by the skilletfish but not far behind.  Male skilletfish tend to defend their shells rigorously as well.  The gobies are probably the least aggressive, but very brave, as they will put up a good defensive front against the other species and try to chase them away.  They tend to back down and flee if challenged in return, though.  

 

The females of each species are the most mobile and hold more vague territories, not necessarily restricted to a single shell.  Here are some recent pics:

 

Female striped blenny (Chasmodes bosquianus)

 

Male striped blenny:

 

Male striped blenny, guarding eggs:

 

Skilletfish (Gobiesox strumosus):

 

Female naked goby (Gobiosoma bosc), the males look the same but are a bit larger:

[LepomisAuritus]

Really cool stuff, especially hearing about how each species has its own ecological niche. I wonder how gobies, blennies, and skilletfish would interact in the wild? Do you notice any slight difference in preferred habitat (shallower or deeper oyster reefs, or different salinity) when collecting or are all three basically completely sympatric?

[Chasmodes]

Really cool stuff, especially hearing about how each species has its own ecological niche. I wonder how gobies, blennies, and skilletfish would interact in the wild? Do you notice any slight difference in preferred habitat (shallower or deeper oyster reefs, or different salinity) when collecting or are all three basically completely sympatric?

 

Thank you.  We collect all three species at the same locations.  We find about the same densities, or more, of all three species as there is in my tank.  We scoop up empty shells usually dumped from watermen or amateurs shucking oysters, and they usually dump them in a small area at our collecting sites.  Some of the oysters are too small for them to keep, so they eventually become large enough to harvest, but, people don't seem to harvest them there.  Most of the reefs in the Chesapeake are in deeper water, about 4 to 12' deep or so.  Our collecting spots are usually 4' or less deep.  But, based on our sampling, there are far more gobies at each site, followed by skilletfish, and the blennies are somewhat less common.  We've scooped up three male blennies in a single scoop before, suggesting that their nesting sites are close together.  Others that I know that collect, study and observe Chasmodes blennies notice the same thing.

[Chasmodes]

Here's an interesting video I shot the other day.  I went to feed my invert 20g high tank, and noticed this freaky worm swimming fast around my tank.  At first, I thought it might e a new species, but after doing some research on the net, it's probably one of the clamworms sporting a swimming reproductive phase.  I read that they're mouthparts are useless at this stage, as is their digestive tract, and that they'll die after they've spawned.  I think that is the case.  If someone knows more, please post about it.  

 

[littlen]

Good luck trying to sleep tonight, everyone who watched that.

[Chasmodes]

You crack me up Nick!

 

Look what I found in my tank last night!  I spend time each day watching this tank, and let me tell you that I thought that I knew what was going on at every inch of visible space in the tank.  But, last night, right in front, I found  a new plant sprouting up, and I think it is widgeon grass.  For those that have followed my thread, you may remember that I've introduced this grass in my tank many times, and each time it has died off.  The key to getting it to grow is to make sure it roots, and although, I tried to do that, it never worked.  Well, now this sprout appears on it's own, and I couldn't be happier.  It may be too early to ID it, because it could be another form of algae, but it sure looks like widgeon grass to me.  So, I guess this makes my tank a sea grass tank now!!!  If this stuff tanks off, maybe it can out-compete the other less desirable forms of algae and slime.  Anyway, here's a pic of it, followed by a video of it and a general pan of the fish to show you how their doing.

 

Here's the vid:

[Chasmodes]

Obviously, it doesn't take much to get me excited, LOL.

[Doug_Dame]

Obviously, it doesn't take much to get me excited, LOL.

 

We're okay with that. 

[Chasmodes]

Here's a vid from last week, not the best quality, but all of the critters poked their heads out to say hi:

[Chasmodes]

I lost one of the male naked gobies 5 days ago, found it dead in the front of the tank. There were no disease symptoms, nor have there been any noticed in recent past. I ran water tests and everything looked good, zero ammonia and nitrite, for example.

 

I'm confused because the previous day, the fish was eating out of my hand, and was very active. I have lots of dinoflagellates in the tank. Could that have been a problem if he'd eaten any of them?

 

This goby is a full adult, and we collected him as a 1" juvenile about a year and a half ago. Could it be just old age?  I found one source on the net that stated that their lifespan is four years.  Does anyone know for sure, or how long kept in captivity?  Thanks.

 

All of the other fish and inverts are doing great. 

 

My fished posed again for me, so time to share some pics again.

 

Male Striped Blenny (Chasmodes bosquianus):

 

A pair of male striped blennies challenging each other's territory:

 

A skilletfish (Gobisox strumosus), blending in:

 

Side view of a skilletfish:

 

Another angle of a skilletfish, and a female naked goby (Gobiosoma bosc) inside an oyster shell:

 

Another male striped blenny peeking out from a crevice:

 

The queen of the tank, a female striped blenny:

 

A handsome male naked goby.

 

 

[Chasmodes]

I don't have any pics or vids this time, but the tank is doing well. My basement doesn't have heat, and we're having a cold winter, so my water temperature has been just below 60F degrees for a while now. It was 58 yesterday. I think someone needs to shoot Punxatawny Phil and hire Punxatawny Bob to predict winters from now on. I haven't seen fish fry in a few weeks. My guess is that the 60 degree mark is about as low as any of these species will go to lay eggs. The male blennies are loosely guarding their shells, and some have changed their favorite shell. The gobies hang out in any shell that the other fish don't chase them out of, and are not defending any of the shells except against each other. The large male skilletfish still hangs out in his shell, defending it all the time, but is not guarding eggs now, and probably hasn't been guarding them for a while now. I have not seen any eggs laid in several weeks now. It could also be that the fry won't hatch below 60 degrees, so why would these fish waste all that energy? Instead, they're all getting nice and fat. We've seen such nature in other fish species, females fat with eggs in late winter and spawn when the temperature is right. This is especially true with walleye, musky, bass, and yellow perch this time of year. 

 

Anyway, I'm guessing the spawning routines will once again go full swing when my basement temps heat up in spring, just like in the wild. After all, when planning this tank, I was hoping this type of cycle would happen. Now, it's a bit disappointing to not see fry swimming around...kinda selfish of me, right? But, it's more like nature, I think. 

[Chasmodes]

There isn't much different going on in the tank than my last update, but, even when I don't have time to watch it, I wind up watching for an hour or more.  So, this is part of my hour watching last night, right before feeding time.  I snuck in before they could see me and beg at the glass for food, almost.  One skilletfish was waiting for me before I got there.  I feed them at about the same time every night.  I wonder if they also have "internal clocks" like we do.  Hope you all like the video:

 

[gerald]

They know the sound and vibration of your footsteps.  You can't sneak up on feed-trained fish in a tank.

[Chasmodes]

They know the sound and vibration of your footsteps.  You can't sneak up on feed-trained fish in a tank.

 

I always wondered that.  Back when my 20g high was full of fish, I had to build a blind and it still took them about 15 minutes before they'd forget that I was there.  I may have to do the same thing with this tank.

[Chasmodes]

Not a good report today...I lost one of my skilletfish. I can't find any visual cause of death. The fish was eating well, good weight, seemed healthy just the night before, with no signs of parasitism, and I found it dead, belly up on the bottom last night. I checked ammonia and nitrite and they were zero, so not sure what happened. All of my fish seem healthy, no scratching. The only thing that I could think of is that it could have been an internal parasite, but I'd expect it to look sickly. Weird.

 

Well, these fish are two years old now, so maybe that is their life span? I need to research this.