Renown fish breeder Karen Brittain, who made waves last year revealing a slew of captive bred Genicanthus personatus at MACNA 2014, recently had a larval run with Apolemichthys arcuatus, the Bandit angelfish. Considering A. arcuatus is my favorite fish, I was watching the fruits of her labor anxiously waiting for them to settle. While there were a couple hiccups as with any larval run, four perfect little babies went through metamorphosis and have been moved to their grow out tank. Another fantastic achievement for Karen!

Anyone who’s reared marine fishes can attest that it’s an incredibly daunting task. Suffice to say that when Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is over, you’re off to feed your microscopic babies to keep them thriving. Fishes don’t care for holidays or vacations. Clownfishes, Bangaii Cardinals and the like might as well be cichlids of the marine world. Pomacanthidae is a whole ‘nother realm of difficulty and has been Karen’s main focus.

Here’s a sequence of their growth, along with some amazing video footage. You can keep up to date with Karen’s breeding projects on her blog. Once again congratulations Karen, keep up the great work!

Day 13

Day 33

Day 40