FINAL REPORT - CULTL'ItE OF M/dtINE AQUARIUM FISHES Objective 5: Regulatoryconstraints were investigatedby personalcommutucations with Gerry Davis, FisheriesSupervisor at the Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources DAWR!, Guam Departmentof Agriculture. Robert Meyer formerly with the DAWR!, and RichardPyle Bishop Museum.Hono1ulu. HI!, Objective 6: Methods of mariculture certification were investigatedby personal communicationswith GerryDavis of the DAWRand by reviewof the literatureand other maricultureoperations. Objective7: Cashflow projections were made for a smallclownBsh hatchery and grow- out facility, RESULTS: Objectivel. A few hatcheriesare known to be currentlyproducing marine aquarium fish commercially.The largesthatchery is C-Quest,Inc. in PeurtoRico. Anotheris Reef Propagations,a smallbasetjneat hatchery in Chicago.A third companyis DesertFisheries in Utah. A fourthhatchery believed to be the Tropica1Marine Centre Ltd.! is 1ocatedin England.'Hzee other hatcheries are presently operating at a researchand development or pilot stageand are supplymg small numl:mrs of tank-raised6sh to the marmeaquarium market.These include a hatcheryowned by RedSea Fish pHarm, Ltd. in Israel andtwo closedsystem hatcheries in the UmtedStates owned by SeaPhiz.Four commercial hatcheriesformerly produced maim' aquatiiim 5sh, but are no longerin operation.These includeAqualife Research Corporation in theBahamas, D!esty MarmeAssociates in the FloridaKeys, Aquaculture Development Ar'S in Denmark,and Instant Ocean Hatchery in central Florida, C-Quest.Inc. completed construction of a 15,000ft marine6sh hatchery in 1991.The hatcherycontams twelve hundred 40 gallonaquariums used for broodstock.larval rearing, andresearch. The f'acilitieshave since been exgeaded to includefour hundred300 gallon outdoorlarval rearing and grow-outtanks, nearly doubling the sizeof the original hatchery.In addition,there are four 25.000gallon concrete ponds used for large-scale cultureof microalgaeand grow-out of brineshrimp. Filtration includes biofilters. sand filters.cartridge tihers, diatomaceous earth Glters, and UV sterilizer>. CommeriMproduction efforts initially focused on clovm6sh,but have since included two speciesof gobyand three species of dottyback.Several other species have also been culturedat the C-Questhatchery. The list of speciescultured by C-Questincludes the following: Species Common Name Amblvgobius rainfordi ' Rainford'sgoby A mphipnon akallopisis Skunk clownfish A mphipnon akindynos Barrier Reef clov~ PREPARED BY GADTC HNAL REPORT - CULTURE OF MARINE AQUARIUM FISHES Amphiprion bicincrus Two-banded clownfish Amphiprion clarlai Clark's clovndish Amphiprion ephippium Red saddleback clownfish Amphipnonfrenarus Tomato clowafish Amphiprion melanopus Cinnamon clownish Amphiprion ocellan's Common clovIm6sh Amphiprion percula Percula clownfish Amphiprion perideraion Pink skunk clovnfish Amphiprion sandaracinos Orangeskunk clownfish Calloplesiopsaltivelis ~~ Comet Chrysipreracyanea '~ Orange-tailDamsel Gobiodon cirn'nus Citron goby Gobiodon oki~e ~ Okinawa goby Gobiosorna evelvnae Sharknosedgoby Gobiosomagenie Genie'scleanmg goby Gobiosoma macrodon Tiger goby Gobiosomaoceanops Neon goby Gramma lorero ' Royal gramma Gramma melacara ~ Black cap basslet Ophisrognarhusaurifons ~ Yellowheadedjawfish Premnas biaculearus Maroon clownish Pseudochromis duroiri Neon dottyback Pseudochromis flavivertes Sunrise dottyback Pseudochromisfiidrnani Orchid dottyback Pseudochrornispaccagnellae ' Royaldottyback or Bicolor dottyback Pseudochromisporphyreus ~ Magentadottyback Pseudochromisspringeri ~ Sprmger'sdottyback Prerosvnchiropussplendidus ~~ ' Occasionally available. " Not likely to be conunerciallyavailable in the near future. In additionto the specieshsted above. C-Quest has produced one hybrid variety of clownfishthat hasresulted Som &re accidentalpairings of Amphiprionocellaris and A. percula.The hybrids were reared without problems and are called "Percullaris" clownfish. C4Iuesthas also developed or culturedseveral color varieties or strainsof someof the clownfishspecies. A brightorange-red A.percula and a fastdeveloping dark stram called Earlyblack A. perculahave been developed. A strain o fA. clariii calledWhite-backed A. clarkii containsa iocabzei albino areawhich resemblesa white saddleon the fish'sback. Another strain called Heart-sleevedtomato clownish is an A. frenatus with a white dot at thebase of oneor bothpectoral 6ns. C-Quest also produces both white-stripe5 normal coloration!and blue-stripedCinnamon clos+fis A. melanopus!,and white-striped normalcoloration! and yellow-striped Maroon clownfish Premnas biaculearus!. 10 PREPARED BY GADTC FINAL REPORT - CULTURE OF Iver/~ AQU/dtHM FISHES tt C-Questis now the largestcommercial hatchery for marineaquarium fish in the worM. Thecompany is ableto sellev~~g it produces,and is in theprocess of developingan arrangementto marketits fish througha largecham of pet storesin Californiacalled Pets Mart M. Moe.per. comm., 1996!. Pets Mart plans to marketonly tank-raised specimens of marineorgani!tms, instead of wild-caughtanimals. C-Quest has about 50 wholesale customersand sells about 10,000 fish per meath. Dottybacks Pseudochromissp.! accountfor onlyabout 150 fish per month. although the company has been getting $15 to $20per fish W. Addison,per. comm., 1996!. However, wild-caught dottybacks have startedbecoming more available as new Red Sea collecting stations have recently opened, andthe price of thesewild-caught dottybacks ismuch lower than the tank-raised fish. As a result,C-Quest is beginningto havesome dif5adty in maintainingits price for the dottybacks.The exception is Pseudochromisdutoiti, which has not been collected in large numbersRom the wiM at this time W, Addison,per. comm.,1996!. The ownerof C- Quest,Bill Addision.is planningto goto SouthAtrica in thenear future to investigatethe possibilityof a joint venturewith an investorthere who claimsto havesuccessfully culturedClown triggerfish. Emperor angelfish. Moorish idols, and Powder blue tangs. ReefPropagations. founded by Joe Lichtenbert in April 1990,is a small00 squarefoot! buementoperation located in theChicago, IL area.The company began producing their first salablefish in October1990, and by the endof 1995had soldabout 50,000 fish for morethan $150,000.About one third of thesefish were purchasedRom C-Quest and resoldby ReefPropagations J. Lichtenbert,per. comm., 1996!. Sales per week averaged 70 fishfor the first two yearsand rose steadily to over250 per week Bof In Prep.!. Productionhas recently dechned due to technicalproblems. Total cashoutlay at the beginnmgof 1995 was about $53,000 of whichabout $10,000 was allocated for research anddevelopment Boff, In Prep.!.'Hm operationnow hasa positiveoperating revenue andis operatedby 1.5people with a 45hour work week. A companyin Utahcalled DMS Fisheriesis using marme geothermal water to raise severalspecies of marineaquarium fish. The company was started in early1994 and is commerciallyproducmg several species of clownfish,including AInphiprion frenatus. A. melanopus,A. ocellaris, and A. penta. DesertFisheries has also successfully reared smallquantities of thedottybacks Pseuabchmmis flaviv~cr andP. Iridntani.At the researchstage, the company isspeamng the goby Alnblygobius phalaena. although larval rearingattempts have not been success' at thistime. Other species that are targeted for researchare the Coinet and someangeifish species. Informationobtained irom an advertisementin an aquariummagazine indicated that a tropicalmaitine fish hatchery in London,probably Tropical Marine Centre Ltd.. has bred thefollowing, species in commercialquantities usmg the artificial sea salt Tropic Marin: Amblygobiusphalaena, AInphiprion allardi, A. clarjai.A, frenatus,A. melanopus,A, oceliaris.A. percula.Gobiodon olanmvae, Gobiosoma evelvnae. G. oceanops,G, puncticuiatus,Hippocampus comes, H. fuscus. H, hystrix.and Lvsmara debelius Fire Shrimp!. PREPARED BY GADTC FINAL REPORT - CULTURE OF MAMNE AQUARIUM FISHES ~ I Red SeaFish pHarm Ltd. is a manufacturerof arti5cial seasalt Coral Reef SeaSalt! and other aquarIIumproducts in Israel 'I%is company began an intensive Researchaad Developmetttprogram to develop new methods far artificial propagation of marine ornamental ashes in 1994, aad has successfully cultured the following species: Amphiprion bicinctus. A. clarkii. A. frenarks. A. ocellaris. Chrysipt'era paraserna. Ophistognathusaurifons, Calloplesiopsaltivelis, Psecdochrnmisfridmani, P. jlaviverzex, aad Pterosvnchiropussplendidks Broas, 1995!. Red Sea Fish pHarm was the first companyto breedtwo speciesof 6sh ie., Pseudochmmisfridmani aadP. flaviverrex! that are indigenousonly to the Red Sea. The aqmiriumsaad larval taaks at the experimentalhatchery are arnmged in a closedsystem equipped with biologicalSters aad proteinslmmer3. Although the facility is locatednear the Red Sea,artificial seawateris used in the culture systems,The hatcheryhas separatefacihties for the culture of microalgaeand zooplankton.The main goal of the researchprogram is to developthe knowledgeaad expertise to establisha comnierciaihatchery producing a widevariety of coral reef fishes. However, the companyis also usmg this researchproject to promote their arti6cial sea salt. Red SeaFish pHarm is presentlylooking at the economicpotential of a commercialhatchery facility M. Moe, per. comm., 1996!. The companybeheves that all the speciesthey have raised have commercialpotentiaL except for Chrysiptera parusemaand Pterosynchiropussplendidus. The