Marine aquarium fish aquaculture at the New England aquarium

Marine aquarium fish aquaculture is a growing area of research due to negative connotations which are associated with collecting specimens off of natural reef systems in the oceans. Scientists throughout the world have been working for years to develop ways to raise marine aquarium fish from egg to adult in captivity. Many species have been successfully cultured and have even replaced wild-caught specimens in the aquarium trade. This project focused on starting a larval rearing system in the Tropical Gallery at the New England Aquarium and on developing the basis for the elaboration of a standard operating protocol (SOP) to use as a guide for raising marine fish eggs and larvae which may be collected out of the systems. Our attempts at rearing specimens collected from the Pacific Reef Community tank were unsuccessful but we were able to determine some of the problems which may have led to their demise. In the end, a SOP, with both proven protocols and recommended protocols, was created which can be used to assist aquarists throughout the aquarium and provide access to some basic information required to raise marine fish species, including broodstock care, egg collection and examination, early developmental stages of fish, developmental biology, reproduction, larval rearing, and live feeds