More pics & vids of my breeding gbg's...

[c est ma]

Well, I got what I consider to be some fairly good or at least interesting pics & vids of my green-banded goby pair this week, so I thought I'd go ahead and post them...

 

A while back I started a thread when my gbg's astounded me with a spawn of babies ( http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102634 ). Since then they have produced one spawn a week, for 6 spawnings so far. This week, as I watched for the expected spawn, I did not see one; but instead I caught my pair in full courtship behavior and was able to get some photos. I certainly expect another larval emergence next week!

 

Here are 3 40-second videos of the male doing his best to lure the female to his nesting site. As you can see, it's a frustrating process! (I'm afraid Google expands the image to a rather blurry size...I suggest you not maximize your window! The vids look much better on my own, tinier vid-player screen...)

 

Green-banded goby courtship, I

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8473755795350122849

 

Green-banded goby courtship, II

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5667011548603359455

 

Green-banded goby courtship, III

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-120094814692820809

 

And in the following vid there are a few glimpses of the male flitting around in the general area of his nesting site, which I'm pretty sure is under the algae-and-Xenia-covered rock to the right. (Meanwhile, the female is still playing hard to get.)

 

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-855587891887684082

 

I'll put some stills in another post or two...

 

--Diane

[c est ma]

Here are some stills...

 

The female this night was about as gravid as I've ever seen her. The darkish, gravid mass extended in front of her pectoral fins so that it almost looked as if the egg mass extended into her mouth! I couldn't get a pic that really showed this well...in the following close-up, the yellowish area toward the bottom of her "throat," just in front of the pectoral fins, is actually part of the egg mass--if you look hard you can almost see individual orbs...

 

 

Another shot, showing bulges both in front of and behind her pecs:

 

 

Female on the front glass--see egg mass (dark area) extending on both sides of her ventral "suction cup." (Male to right.)

 

 

Male in full display next to her:

 

 

And side by side:

 

 

--Diane

[c est ma]

And yet more pics! (Sorry..I can't stop myself! )

 

Here are some more shots of the very gravid female:

 

 

 

(With her reflection in the side glass:)

 

 

And here she is 3 hours later with a much svelter outline!

 

 

 

(HI!

 

 

So, between the last two sets of pics, there was obviously a successful mating. Since then the female has been out and about--usually begging for food--while the male has been scarcely glimpsed, busy as he is guarding the eggs...

 

UPDATE: Matt on Reef Central has successfully raised his gbg spawn to settling and is now offering them for sale, esp. to those in the Chicago area. I hope he doesn't mind my mentioning that here! See his thread at:

 

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...055#post8756055

 

--Diane

[clifford513]

Great work Diane. Tank looks nice too! I am so tempted to try this

[michelle02]

fantastic pics!

[c est ma]

Thanks, both!

 

These guys are so fascinating and nano-suited. I often think that if I had a standard sized SW tank, it would be full of much bigger fish and I'd never have had the opportunity to appreciate these little guys and their breeding behavior...

[rics4me]

Wow! Excellent photos and text. Posts like yours make me want to keep expanding my tank collection so I can emulate what you have done. I thank you but my wallet doesn't.

[scarf_ace1981]

wow. i'm amazed @ the pics and the vids. awesome

[clifford513]

I wish I had enough room for an ocean in my living room