This short video of spawning cave basslets, Liopropoma mowbrayi, may not rouse the excitement of that many reefers but it bears witness to the use of red LEDs for night time viewing. Black Rock Reef filmed the anticlimactic release of eggs and sperm by his pair of cave basslets at night, with his eyes and the camera faintly able to perceive the brief spawning assent of these under rated Caribbean reef fish.

Although the cryptic cave basslets are shy and reclusive (hence the name ‘cave basslet’), they apparently seem unphased by the red light used to view them, unless of course their short spawning ascent would have been higher off the reef without it. BlacRockReef’s other videos seem to indicate he is preparing for the holding of pelagic reef fish eggs and larvae and perhaps he’ll be the one to finally rear Liopropoma species through to final metamorphosis.