The Lightning Project

The ongoing saga of the PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish breeding project.

Browsing Posts in Lightning Maroon Updates

I promised something new, so it seems now is a good time to say that once again, the rubbing, cleaning, and courting continue.  However, we still have no eggs.  Despite the ongoing waiting period, it doesn’t prevent aquarists like John Coppolino, and Marc Levenson, both in Duluth to speak at our local club, from being […]

Yeah, NOTHING going on.  No cleaning, no nada.  Just fish in a tank.  Almost depressing.  But still alive, and plenty of years to go.

This is the story of leaving home only to have the entire trip be a subconsciously gut wrenching experience. last week on the Tuesday before MACNA, Tony Vargas swung into town and stopped by with Boomer. Among other things, he sat glued to the Lightning Maroon’s tank for almost an hour, snapping dozens or hundreds […]

We’re seeing ongoing progress in the Lightning Maroon pairing.  More digging, more general surface cleaning, but no eggs yet.  Rod Buehler of Rod’s Food sent along an extra-special care package from Mama Percula to Mrs. Lightning this weekend…some of her secret recipe new “Breeder’s Blend”, aka. “No Candelight Needed”.  Some is getting tested out here, […]

We are 110% on the right track. I know I alluded to the nest cleaning behavior here and other places, but today I caught it on camera. The Lightning Maroon was getting into it too, but the male PNG White Stripe Maroon Clown was doing the bulk of the substrate clearing. Of course, we know […]

Just like it sounds, nothing but picture upon picture after picture of the Lightning Maroon and its new mate, the proven male PNG White Stripe Maroon Clownfish (also a SEASMART-caught Maroon fish Fisherman’s Island).  The pair is definitely becoming more bonded with each day.  Given that the Gold Stripe Maroon pair (where the Lightning’s mate […]

I took some time on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011, and Thursday (the 28th) to shoot these two videos that better show the behavior of this pair during daylight hours.  The first, from the 27th, was towards late evening when I find these fish rather retiring and shy – I had to use Nutramar Ova to […]

That’s right.  Officially put all those impatient and uninformed critics out of business.  It was fun pointing out how you were wrong – a great distraction while I patiently, and methodically, worked to do this RIGHT, which is very different from simply doing it “FAST”. Of course, it did take a leap of faith.  Here’s […]

So 24 hours later, not a new scratch on the smaller PNG Male, and the larger PNG female White Stripe Maroon has been tolerating her new mate. They both share the Red Bubble Tip Anemone that is in the tank (Entacmaea quadicolor). Big step forward indeed. The biggest change I noticed when observing them this […]

Today I released the “male” PNG Maroon into the Lightning Maroon’s tank once more. For most of the afternoon, NOTHING happened, because the Lightning Maroon spent the evening hiding it it’s cave, and the PNG Maroon mostly wallowed in the ORA Red Goniopora at the far opposite end of the tank. However, in the middle […]