 |
On December 9, 2003, I was visited by architect David Chung
of Honolulu. Much has happened since then and we've both learned a
lot! David is clearly one of the outstanding members of the
Micro-Lobster Team.
He's also a wood-turner and has made some beautiful turned wood bases for
opae-ula cylinders! He's been the most successful of all of our
associates! Mahalo for sharing!
~~~David W. Fukumoto (Fuku-Bonsai)
_________________________________________________________ |
|
-
EMAIL: MARCH 2, 2005: My
second batch of larvae, hatched 11/29/04, was re-introduced to the
original tank on 1/20/05, about six weeks after isolation. The
juveniles are doing well, growing and feeding on the surface.
-
On 2/15/05, I observed another berried female, and expect to be
viewinglarvae in another couple of weeks. This female is LOADED!
Will let you know how it turns out. David
K.Y. Chung
|
|
|
-
EMAIL: MARCH 7, 2005:
On Friday when I left work, there were still two eggs left on the
female. This morning, after two additional days, I transferred the
larvae to a separate jar for viewing and isolation. I counted
twenty three (23) larvae. All seem to be doing well. I must have
missed the female for about two weeks, because it was only two weeks
after I first saw the berried female that I saw larvae floating
around.
-
I was surprised when I first saw the larvae this time, but the
combination of the algae on the side of the tank (just cleaned today)
and the lack of attention other than feeding on a regular basis, is
probably the cause for my not seeing the female earlier. In my
previous desk location, the tank was sitting in a place more in my
line of sight and nearly eye level. The new location is about
two feet higher and about in the 2 o'clock position relative to my
computer monitor. David
K.Y. Chung
|
 |
-
EMAIL: MARCH 9, 2005: I
was not able to take a photo of the berried female, but I had a
feeling that the result would be a lot of babies. I transferred
the larvae to a small glass jelly jar. I took a couple of shots
just this morning and will send it from my home computer this evening.
The shot when viewed in the LCD panel of the camera looks OK, but hard
to tell how the photo will look in larger format. David K.Y.
Chung
-
______________________________________________
-
NOTE: I counted 24 larvae which is a new record! These are about
4-5 days old and all are bobbing in a tail up - head down position
that are characteristic of the first zoea larvae stage. David
included a bacteria inoculated rock in his observation
"nursery." (March 9, 2005 photo)
|
|
|
-
March 18, 2005 ( first sighting plus 15 days):
One or two larvae are starting to swim horizontally. There are
periods when there is a lot of pop-corning around in the jar, and I
wonder if it is related to freeing up the swimmerets. After they
are able to swim horizontally, you see more of the larvae resting on
the bottom. Will try to take another photo early next week.
David K.Y. Chung
-
_____________________________________________
-
March 22, 2005 photo (about 15-16 days old) Note that one or
two are still in the head-down position while others are swimming
horizontally and entering the "post-larvae" stage.
|
|
|
|
In the past two years, we've greatly increased the amount of knowledge about
opae-ula and David Chung's disciplined observations and photos played a major
role! During this period, there was strong enthusiasm amongst the
members of the Fuku-Bonsai Micro-Lobster Team that included customers and
business associates who each had one or more Fuku-Bonsai Micro-Lobster
units. Together we've made major breakthroughs and I thank all who sent
reports even if they did not find its way on to the website.
Bits and pieces steadily trickled in and while most reinforced what had been
concluded earlier, every so often, a variation hinted at a new direction and
these were passed on to the researchers for exploration or explanation.
The primary researcher is Thomas Iwai Jr. of Anuenue Fisheries Research Center
in Honolulu. His formal report is now in draft form and we look forward
to the formal issue.
We face two major subject challenges: Captive breeding and creation of
mass culture facilties and opae-ula in educational institutions. We have
begun both and will focus on greater reporting of this area in the future.
Educators interested in participating are encouraged to contact
me! ~~~David W. Fukumoto
***
Return to David Chung's First Page
