A sight to make all the fish breeder’s efforts worthwhile: juvenile
A. flavissimus with a length of just over an inch ( 3 cm), swimming
around happily. in a few weeks time they will be large and
robust enough to be moved to a reef aquarium.
1993). Despite this early success it is still regarded as
a great achievement to repeat the process. Because the
two closely-related species of the genus Assessor are attractive, reef-safe, and command premium prices, it is
hardly surprising that they arouse the interest of many
hobby breeders. So why have they not previously been
bred and reared under aquarium conditions? Or to put it
another way, why did I manage it as a novice? My space
is extremely limited; I don’t have my own breeding room,
no tiers of tanks, just individual separate aquaria. What
I did can be repeated by any aquarist, even a student in
a residence hall.
i. k RAUSE
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if many people
interested in breeding A. flavissimus are frustrated that
their “mouthbrooders” never brood—because they have
never seen the male with eggs in his mouth. They simply
become victims of the mouthbrooder myth
and the legend of the fortnightly breeding
rhythm. Incorrect information like this is
just as obstructive as misleading reports in
other areas of the marine aquarium hobby.
Because in recent years increased value
has been placed on maintenance in pairs in
the marine aquarium hobby, there is now the
possibility of inducing more fish to spawn
than was previously considered feasible. And
I am convinced that attempts to breed ma-
rine fishes are fundamentally worthwhile.
RefeRences
Mai, W. 2009. Ein Zuchtversuch mit dem Gelben Mirakelbarsch
(Assessor flavissimus). Der Meerwasseraquarianer 3: 38–41.
Randall, J. E., Allen, G. R., & R. C. Steene. 1990. Fishes of the Great
Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
Wittenrich, M. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Breeder’s Guide to
Marine Aquarium Fishes. Microcosm/ TFH, Neptune, NJ.
