http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php/index.php/index.html/_/marine-fish/ Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:18:13 +0000 43200 Marine fish http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php/index.php/index.html/_/marine-fish/new-photo-of-the-first-mauritius-flasher-wrasse-r36

On May 2, Advanced Aquarist reported about the first ever Mauritius Flasher Wrasse to land in the United States. This recent photo shows the maleParacheilinus piscilineatus with much stronger coloration after recovering from the long trek from the Indian Ocean to the United States. The wrasse is now adjusting to life in Jim's huge reef aquarium in Nebraska (alongside Cirrhilabrus earlei wrasses).

Jim Gryczanowski is a kindred spirit of mine: an avid wrasse fan. It was therefore no surprise to learn Jim was the lucky aquarist who acquired the first ever Mauritius Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus piscilineatus) to land in the United States. Here is an updated photo of his wrasse, taken by none other than Sanjay Joshi.



]]> Tue, 17 May 2011 15:46:33 +0000 42a0e188f5033bc65bf8d78622277c4e http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php/index.php/index.html/_/marine-fish/h-angustus-x-h-erectus-hybrid-seahorse-fry-r34
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Normal H. erectus newborn

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Below articles from Reef tools...
I'm very happy to report that over the last three days, my Hippocampus erectus seahorse named Kohala has given birth to about 26 healthy fry! His mate and the mother of his babies is a Hippocampus angustus named Marmalade. I acquired Marmalade about a year ago as a wild-caught seahorse from West Australia. She was accompanied by five other Aussie wild caught seahorses, as it was my plan to introduce two Aussie species into the captive-bred seahorse market in the U.S. Unfortunately, the divers caught same-sex pairs of three different species. Marmalade is now the only survivor of the Aussies I had imported. She is a jewel of a seahorse, beautiful, friendly, and healthy. I decided to pair her with Kohala, a stunning yellow male H. erectus that I raised from birth.

As far as I know, this is the first time these two species have been hybridized. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was even possible, since they are so different. H. erectus is from North America, H. angustus is from the complete opposite side of the world in West Australia. The two species are separated by millions of years of evolution. This is why seahorse taxonomy is so messy. Seahorses laugh in the face of taxonomists, lumpers and splitters alike!

I know hybridization can be a hot-button topic. In general, I don't agree with creating hybrids. Take hybrid cichlids for example. Two different species with different inherent behaviors and traits crossed together can make some very confused and often deformed hybrids. Releasing invasive hybrids into the wild can wreak havoc on local ecology. Things seem to be a little different in the marine breeding hobby, though. People who own hybrid marine species may be slightly less likely to dump them into their local waterways when they grow too large for their tanks. I don't look forward to marine fish hybridization becoming as commonplace as it is in the freshwater hobby, but I've seen some really cool hybrid clownfish like Sanjay's Black Photon Clownfish.]]> Tue, 17 May 2011 15:37:34 +0000 02522a2b2726fb0a03bb19f2d8d9524d