These particular few weeks have played host to a flurry of aquaculture stories, from Bali Aquarich’shybridPomacanthusand brand newA. trimaculatus, to Biota Marine’scaptive bred Clown Triggerfish. Palau based Tom Bowling and Till Deuss from Biota Marine are back again with more news on cultured fish, but this time with a stark contrast in terms of species when compared to their previous acclaims. Tom and company adds four species ofEviotato their growing list of cultured species, which includes amongst others, their iconic thread-fin snappers, bumphead parrotfish and clown triggers.
Eviota,就像Trimma, are small colourful fish that are popular and evergreen with nano enthusiasts. Available in literally an endless stream of design permutations, these little fishes are some of the most diverse, with a large majority of new scientific contributions being attributed to these two genera alone. With their playful and demure nature, it’s little wonder why these nano gobies make popular aquarium pets. Biota Marine has successfully cultured four species in the genusEviota, and they areE. bifasciata,E. nigriventris,E. atriventrisandE. punctulata; all of which are firsts for their species.
Eviota bifasciata
In this beautiful species, the body is deep russet transversed by a pale bone coloured horizontal belt. An additional stripe in a slightly paler shade runs parallel along the dorsum, and the belly is pale. The face is only sporadically decorated with cyan spotting, making this fish a very attractive species when kept in a group.E. bifasciatais a schooling species, and is often found in large groups hovering over tablingAcroporain shallow water. Males are particularly impressive during courtship display, and impress females by changing coloration as well as spreading their fins, as seen in the headlining photo above.
E. bifasciataspawns in nests where several females may be courted by the same male. In the aquarium, this species can be kept successfully in a group, preferably with tabling SPS and other suitable coral heads where they can display their natural behavior.
Eviota nigriventris
Eviota nigriventris同样的一般prece色系ding species, but lacks the horizontal middle stripe. Instead, the stripe runs along the dorsum and occupies a significantly large portion of the body area, sometimes encroaching to the lateral line. The specific epithetnigriventrismeans “black-belly”, but the species more often than not adopts a clear coloured belly instead.E. nigriventrisis closely associated with live corals as well, especiallyAcroporaandSeriatopora.
Till Deuss reports of a captive pair living for more than four years, which is a remarkably long time frame for anEviotaand other similarly sized dwarf gobies.
Eviota atriventris
Eviota atriventrisis curious in sharing the same etymology as the previous species, with the epithetatriventrisbeing a synonym for “black-belly”. In this species, the black belly is more prominent and is a standout feature which often leads to confusion withEviota pellucida, another common and superficially similar species. This beautiful fish is tangerine over much of its body, with various degrees of translucency especially along its dorsum and posterior half. The head is adorned with a series of electric yellow stripes which passes through the eye and stops mid length, where it encircles the top portion of its namesake black belly. A single blue stripe shot in silver runs horizontally across the belly.
This goby is found in a slightly different habitat, preferring to live solitarily or in small groups between coral heads, often in shaded areas. Unlike the previous two species, it prefers perching on substrate rather than actively hovering, although it does do so from time to time. This is perhaps one of the more popularEviotaavailable to the market.
Eviota punctulata
The last of the four captive raisedEviotaisE. punctulata. This curious little species is not as colourful as the preceding three, and has an overall different form and colouration.E. punctulata绿色是一系列桃花心木斑点和斑点，它们以横向线的大致水平方式运行。脸部装饰有相同颜色的一系列斑点，腹部区域用一系列垂直条纹标记。该物种比其他物种要多得多，而不是沿基材而不是徘徊。
E. punctulatais found singly amongst dead coral and rubble in the reef, where its cryptic coloration helps it to blend with its surroundings more effectively.
Biota reports that all four species share roughly the same early developmental requirements. The larvae ofE. bifasciata,E. nigriventris,E. atriventrisandE. punctulataare roughly 2mm post hatching, and are fed SS rotifers and calanoid copepods (Parvocalanus crassirostris) up till the eighteenth day, where they are weaned ontoArtemianauplii. The larval duration of all four species clocked in at about a month, withE. nigriventrissettling the earliest at twenty three days, followed byE. punctulataat twenty six, and the other two species a few days later.
Once settled, the juvenile fish and adults are then fed small pellets. Biota Marine is happy to offer these captive bredEviotato the market where they are currently ready and available to be shipped out. A big thanks to Tom Bowling and Till Deuss for the photos and information, and a huge congratulations for pushing the envelope on the aquaculture front. Who would have guessed that 2015 would be the year of captive raised fish. It’s almost mid April, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.
