[vimeo width=”600″ height=”400″]http://vimeo.com/24687192[/vimeo]
Upon returning from an expedition to the Philippines, the team at the California Academy of Sciences has been continuing to wow the aquarium world with new discoveries and achievements. Last week, a video of the exotic Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, was released, showing the adults, as well as babies that were hatched in captivity from the gravid pair. This time however, it’s gone one step further — professional aquarist Richard Ross managed to capture the actual birthing process on video as it happened.
[vimeo width=”600″ height=”400″]http://vimeo.com/25039819[/vimeo]
Here’s the fundamentally important fact — this second time around, these are babies that had to have come from a captive mating. So while last week, the Steinhart staff was already giddy to be working on what they believe could be the world’s first captive-reared Ornate Ghost Pipefish, now we’re talking about truly captive-bred Ornate Ghost Pipefish. The fact that this second hatch must have stemmed from a captive spawning means this is no fluke — the husbandry and care being provided to these wild fish seems to be working. The fish were comfortable enough to continue reproducing in captivity without any delay (amazing considering these fish were captured and shipped only three weeks ago). The Steinhart Aquarium may soon write a new chapter on this drool-worthy species’ captive care.
