Red Firefish reproduction

[Chaloupa]

I have a pair of firefish..the female is egg-laden from the looks of it...does anyone have any good links to firefish reproduction? I have googled it, been to RC and more...maybe someone else has some good info or links. thanks so much! Sarah

[Kabong]

I could be wrong,
But it's been my understanding they will not succefully breed in aquarium's.
I believe the fry are just to small to survive.

[justinl]

If you try it I would suggest setting up a kreisel tank or two (in case one crashes, you still got another half of the larvae).

[Chaloupa]

I guess more of what I am looking for is how they reproduce...at this time I have no intention (and no time ) to consider raising fry....thank you for the replies so far and keep 'em coming!

[Beverly]

I'm not sure what you're asking, Sarah. I would think they'd have some sort of mating ritual, the female would lay her eggs and the male would fertilize them much the same way, say, ocellaris clowns would. Is that what you're looking for?

[justinl]

assuming all lions like the red firefish reproduce the same way...

http://www.houstonzoo.org/Animal/vie...&animal_ID=101

"Reproduction:A dominant male lionfish mates with a "harem" or group of females. After courting, the female releases a gelatinous ball that contains thousands of eggs. The male then fertilizes the eggs. The gelatinous ball dissolves within 24 hrs., releasing the individual fertilized eggs. Neither the male nor the female guards the eggs. Once hatched, the newborn fry start to feed on plankton.

GESTATION
Gestation Period:36Hrs
"

[justinl]

oh found another...
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/mari...e.php#Lionfish

"Lionfish:

The Shortfin Lionfish is the most often reported as having bred in captivity.
They are haremic, which means one male will spawn with a group of females. After courting for an entire day, the fish will spawn around midnight. They will rise to the top of the water column during and release gelatinous balls of eggs, each ball containing about 2000 eggs.
The egg balls will dissolve after about 24 hours releasing the individual eggs. The eggs themselves will hatch after about 36 hours. The fry will immediately feed on the available plankton. As with most fish it is difficult to keep enough plankton in the water to keep the fry alive.

The above information was obtained from Seascope, Volume 15, Summer 1998, in an article by Matthew L. Wittenrich entitled Lionfish: An Overview"

[Chaloupa]

Hey Beverly-basically yes, looking for what they do...ie scatter in tank, bury, release in water column and feed my corals, length of time she carries eggs as she looks dreadful! and that sort of stuff...just very general. I like to know how it happens but have no intention of helping it succeed! I know, strange questions if I don't intend on trying to raise them..just curious!

[justinl]

hehehe well in that case maybe it would be best to remove the egg masses when you see them. remember that these larvae number in the thousands. They and the crap that the mother extrudes will cloud your tank and cause water quality problems when they die and decay. You may want to prepare yourself to remove the majority of them and leave only a few as a coral meal. And also have a fine mesh net to remove what you can if they do hatch before you get the eggs out.

[Beverly]

It's great to ask questions How else would we know what's going on in our worlds? If you find out the answer to your question, please let us know. I'm curious, too