Biodiversity 2mn

Births, breeding and transfers: discover the ‘new arrivals’ at Nausicaá

From egg collection to transfer to the tanks, breeding and rearing at Nausicaá.

In spring, the keen eyes of Nausicaá’s carers become even sharper at spotting the increasing number of breeding events taking place in the exhibits. 

In cold-water and temperate-water tanks, the eggs of the rock gunnel (Pholis gunnelus) – a fish with an elongated body resembling that of an eel – which were scattered across the bottom of a tank were collected to be hatched at the aquarium’s breeding facility. A cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) laying eggs was also captured on camera by a keeper. In addition, baby seahorses have been born in the breeding programme and will grow up in the tanks in the Breeding Section. 

The prospects for rearing young animals therefore look particularly promising, with the aim of seeing them at shows in a few months’ time!

Damselfish and cardinalfish

As for the tropical fish, the keepers have also observed breeding behaviour, particularly among the green damselfish (Chromis viridis) on the lagoon’s reef flat. 

Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni), on the other hand, breed regularly throughout the year. A remarkable fact is that the eggs are incubated in the male’s mouth, where they hatch. Once released, the juveniles find refuge amongst the spines of sea urchins. A few individuals can already be seen in the central aquarium of the Action Corail exhibition area.

A juvenile Banggai cardinalfish

In the lagoon channel, a group of Redbelly yellowtail fusiliers (Caesio cuning) has just joined the Orbiculate Batfish (Platax orbicularis) and Black tip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). Born and reared in the centre’s breeding facilities, these fish illustrate the development of the Breeding programme, which aims to encourage the in-house reproduction of certain species. After several months of growth in the aquarium breeding facility, they have reached the required size to join the ‘big pond’ themselves. 

Other species that were bred and raised at Nausicaa have already been moved to the display tanks: Atlantic horse mackerels (Trachurus trachurus) and palometa (Trachinotus goodei), accompanied by golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus), are now swimming in the large tank, whilst Sea Goldie (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) have added a splash of colour to the lagoon.

The work of the Breeding Department team is becoming more intensive and diverse, with an increasing focus on breeding species within the centre, thereby reducing the need to collect animals from the wild.

The teams’ expertise, combined with the daily collection of eggs from the tanks, will ensure the breeding and rearing of numerous individuals in the future, who will go on to populate Nausicaá’s exhibits.