Busy Scalyheads

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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YellowEye
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Busy Scalyheads

Post by YellowEye »

Howdy. I went and visited the male scalyhead sculpin we've been watching on eggs at Keystone the other day. When I got there, there was a strange frothy glob in front of the den and some activity inside. There were two fish in there, one biting the other! And then I saw babies coming out of then den! They were super tiny, you can see one circled next to an adult in the lower left frame. Upon review of the photos I noticed that both adult fish in the den were males. Jan K had noticed several gravid females outside that den earlier in the day, so presumably that was milt inside and around the den. These babies were super small, and lighting the inside of the den was a challenge especially with the milt but I thought I'd share this interesting observation.
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Jan K
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Re: Busy Scalyheads

Post by Jan K »

Great capture YE! I can't even dream about seeing babies that small !
Yesterday I visited that barnacle condo and found this male guarding a cluster of greenish eggs. I just could not get a picture of them, he was shielding them, moving around, my autofocus failed to get sharp picture, but they are there, believe me :)
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YellowEye
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Re: Busy Scalyheads

Post by YellowEye »

Thanks for the update. I guess one got chased out!
I wonder if both were able to fertilize.
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