Aquariums Just Figured Out How to Raise More Than 20 Marine Fish Species And That’s Great News for the Wild
Did you know some baby marine fish hatch so tiny that finding food small enough for them to eat is one of the hardest parts of keeping them alive?
Now, aquariums across the United States are getting really good at it.
A nationwide collaboration between researchers and public aquariums has developed new techniques for breeding and raising more than 20 marine fish species in human care, including species that have historically been incredibly difficult to raise from eggs.
And there’s a bigger reason for doing it than simply producing adorable baby fish.
Raising Fish From Scratch Is Harder Than It Sounds
Marine fish don’t exactly make parenting easy.
Many species hatch from eggs no bigger than a pinhead. The larvae that emerge can be so tiny and underdeveloped that even finding something small enough for their first meal becomes a challenge.
Researchers have been developing specialized systems to solve that problem, including inexpensive, customizable tanks called Modular Larval Rearing Systems.
The goal is to learn exactly what each species needs to successfully grow from a microscopic larva into a healthy adult.
Among the species being studied are neon gobies, Atlantic lookdowns and golden sweepers.
Aquariums Are Working Together
This isn’t happening in one laboratory.
Researchers from UMass Boston, Roger Williams University and the New England Aquarium are working alongside major institutions including the National Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, Aquarium of the Pacific and North Carolina Aquariums.
Instead of every aquarium trying to solve the same problems alone, teams are sharing what works.
They’re even publishing open-source breeding guides so other aquariums can replicate their successes.
That’s a pretty big deal.
Why It Matters for Wild Fish
Public aquariums sometimes responsibly source fish from wild populations. Learning how to successfully breed more species in human care gives them another option.
The more species aquariums can sustainably raise themselves, the less they may need to rely on wild collection.
It also creates something incredibly valuable: knowledge.
Figuring out how a species reproduces, develops and survives its earliest days can help researchers better understand the same animals in the wild.
The Bigger Picture
Aquariums are usually where most of us go to see marine life.
But behind the exhibits, they’re increasingly becoming places where scientists figure out how to raise, study and protect it too.
Twenty-plus species might sound like a small number compared with everything living in the ocean.
But every successful hatch starts the same way.
One impossibly tiny fish.
One team figuring out what it needs.
And one less mystery about how life in the ocean actually works.
Sources: aqua.org, National AquariumÂ
