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Nice little set up. Have the females ever berried in that tank?

They berry every other month

I have searched this site to see if anyone has been successful in keeping the babies alive, and no one to date has. Possibly a bigger tank such as a fifty five gallon with plenty of hiding places would help the babies hide and not get eaten. What are your thoughts?

Rex113 wrote:I have searched this site to see if anyone has been successful in keeping the babies alive, and no one to date has. Possibly a bigger tank such as a fifty five gallon with plenty of hiding places would help the babies hide and not get eaten. What are your thoughts?

Also search under “Alpha”. There are discussions on the topic. It is not also they get eaten but the salinity of the water and what they eat. : )

I’m aware of the salinity, temperature and food sources that have been discussed. After watching the eating habits of the alphas over the past month I thought that they are possibly eating some or all of the babies.

Rex113 wrote:I’m aware of the salinity, temperature and food sources that have been discussed. After watching the eating habits of the alphas over the past month I thought that they are possibly eating some or all of the babies.

They need to be separated and they do get eaten. Good luck! What food source you have in mind?

The food source would obviously need to be tiny,I was thinking about trying phytoplankton or green water as some refer to it. I know many people say the babies somehow find their way back into the ocean.But the more I think about it,I find it hard to believe those tiny babies can deal with the turbulence of ocean water and find food at the same time.

Rex113 wrote: ↑05 May 2019 16:07 The food source would obviously need to be tiny,I was thinking about trying phytoplankton or green water as some refer to it. I know many people say the babies somehow find their way back into the ocean.But the more I think about it,I find it hard to believe those tiny babies can deal with the turbulence of ocean water and find food at the same time.

I too think it's unlikely. But it's also hard to imagine that they catch plankton with that spear?! Seems way to tiny... ?
I once figured they could prey on other larvae like Opae Ula?

Rex113 wrote:The food source would obviously need to be tiny,I was thinking about trying phytoplankton or green water as some refer to it. I know many people say the babies somehow find their way back into the ocean.But the more I think about it,I find it hard to believe those tiny babies can deal with the turbulence of ocean water and find food at the same time.

I had the same thought after visiting the pools. My comment below. i know some do because the ML are found in other islands/places with the same DNA so they had to travel there somehow. I think most stay nearby the lava tubes near the ocean and in areas that can be huge. Could be wrong.

viewtopic.php?p=7120#p7120

Algae In Space wrote:

Rex113 wrote: ↑05 May 2019 16:07 The food source would obviously need to be tiny,I was thinking about trying phytoplankton or green water as some refer to it. I know many people say the babies somehow find their way back into the ocean.But the more I think about it,I find it hard to believe those tiny babies can deal with the turbulence of ocean water and find food at the same time.

I too think it's unlikely. But it's also hard to imagine that they catch plankton with that spear?! Seems way to tiny... ?
I once figured they could prey on other larvae like Opae Ula?

Ha, almost posted at the same time. After they molt the spear appears (dont’t know when) maybe a month? I assume isn’t it bigger (maybe a little bit bigger) than a Opae ula larva so spearing something the same size ?
So something smaller is best guess? Also the spear goes away after future molts because we know the juvenile/adult dont have this spear.

Rex, you have a 50 gallon tank?