- THE AMAZING HAWAIIAN MICRO-LOBSTERS!™
- CARRIE'S PAGE 4!
Opae-ula has been available in Hawaii for several years and many hobbyists have been growing them for longer than us. We're sharing what we know with everyone and learning from the old-timers.
|
|
|
 |
August 23, 2004: Just wanted to let you know that a mama in the same tank that the two babies are in has about 6 eggs under her! She came out and was eating for about 10 min and then disappeared. We tried REALLY hard to photograph it but had no luck. In the photos though, you can see a darker area where the eggs are.... Carrie~ |
 |
August 26, 2004: You can see her eggs a little better in these two... Carrie~ |
Monday, September 13, 2004: The eggs have hatched! I see around five of them, all slowly bobbing up and down like you described. I dont have my camera with me today, shoot, Ill try and capture it on camera tomorrow... Carrie~
NOTE: It is estimated that the opae-ula brood period is 38 days. Assuming hatching on September 12, eggs were formed on about August 4, 2004 and Carrie first spotted the berried female on August 23, 2004 and halfway through the brood period, the eggs have become brown. At the beginning, they are a lighter orange-red and they steadily darken.
In nature, and in some tanks, berried females are never seen as they stay securely in the habitat. In this situation, the larvae also tends to stay hidden in the habitat and they evolve into the post-larval stage and into the juvenile stage before they are first spotted. In Fuku-Bonsai tanks, this is the more typical larvae development pattern. Carrie reported this type of behavior in her "Part III Report." So Carrie is the first to report two types of larvae development. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER REPORTS!