By Muhamad Najieb Ahmad Fuad
PORT DICKSON (Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia) Nov 16 (NNN-Bernama) — The current COVID-19 pandemic situation is a blessing in disguise for marine aquarium fish breeders, like at the Pusat Ikan Hiasan (PIH) or Ornamental Fish Centre here.
Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19 on March 18, followed by the Conditional MCO and then the Recovery MCO, the centre has been quiet as it has not been getting many visitors.
Nevertheless, the quiet environment proves to be good for the fish to breed.
PIH head Doreen Wee Siew Leen said ornamental saltwater fish normally reproduce in the sea, but thhe silence and quietness at the centre since enforcement of the MCO had enabled two saltwater species to reproduce in their aquariums at the centre.
The two species, she said, are the Zebra Moray sea eel, or scientifically known as Gymnomuraena Zebra, which is widely found in areas including the Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef, and the red and black Anemonefish (amphiprion melanopus).
“Never before have these two types of fish produced eggs in an aquarium. Possibly, the noise from visitors made it impossible for them to reproduce.
“However, since the drop in the number of visitors, the two fish species reproduced without having to be taken to a separate aquarium for breeding purpose, as being done before, she told Bernama here, recently.
PIH is an aquarium and marine conservation facility run by the Malaysian Fisheries Department, well as as a research centre for the breeding and handling of marine ornamental fish, seahorses and corals.
It also has about 30 other species of marine ornamental fish including sharks and two species of turtles, namely the Green turtle and the Hawksbill turtle.
Wee said the pair of Zebra Moray was bought five years and kept together in an aquarium, but they had not reproduced until last May when they laid eggs and produced a pair of larvals (baby eel), but one died.
As for the Red and Black Anemonefish, which are placed in a two-foot aquarium at the centre, Wee said the fish produced 250 eggs on Nov 7, but not all the larvae survived because the parent often ate the eggs or the young ones.
“The fish species is often found in the western Pacific of the Barrier Reef to the north of the Marshall Islands and Guam, New Guinea from Vanuatu and New Caledonia to East Indonesia,” she said.
PIH recorded 140,063 visitors last year compared to only 26,022 from January to October this year.
— NNN-BERNAMA