Hello, this is Emma. I'm posting this to record that early yesterday morning, baby pipefish finally hatched from the belly of dad blue stripe pipefish. It's been almost two weeks since I noticed the pregnancy. According to records, the babies hatch between 14 to 17 days after the female lays eggs in the male's belly. So, on the 12th day, I isolated the dad pipefish, and the babies successfully hatched.
I managed to take quite detailed pictures of the babies. I will keep posting updates.
All the photos below are of the babies on their first day after hatching.
Ah, when they feel threatened, they freeze and stop moving. I mistakenly removed one baby pipefish, thinking it didn't survive, but that was a mistake.
Dad pipefish, looking exhausted, is yawning.
Now that the dad pipefish's duty is over, he has been returned to the tank. He is currently reunited with his mate, and they are hunting together again.
I managed to take quite detailed pictures of the babies. I will keep posting updates.
All the photos below are of the babies on their first day after hatching.
Ah, when they feel threatened, they freeze and stop moving. I mistakenly removed one baby pipefish, thinking it didn't survive, but that was a mistake.
Dad pipefish, looking exhausted, is yawning.
Now that the dad pipefish's duty is over, he has been returned to the tank. He is currently reunited with his mate, and they are hunting together again.