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A Centre for Studying and Protecting Marine Species
By increasing our understanding of species and studying their distinctive habits, reproduction methods and habitats, we can protect them better.
This is why La Rochelle Aquarium has been researching how to reproduce a wide array of species since the 1980s, which avoids having to capture them in the wild.
By drawing on their experiences and know-how and through patient observation, biologists have made significant breakthroughs thanks to improvements and adjustments of water quality, lighting and feed.
This is why La Rochelle Aquarium has been researching how to reproduce a wide array of species since the 1980s, which avoids having to capture them in the wild.
By drawing on their experiences and know-how and through patient observation, biologists have made significant breakthroughs thanks to improvements and adjustments of water quality, lighting and feed.
La Rochelle Aquarium now reproduces some twenty marine species and is successfully developing the reproduction of various types of coral. (Aquarium = garden of the sea).
Amphiprions (clownfish), Anisotrémus (porkfish), Sea horses (Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus ramulosus, endangered and protected species), cuttlefish and jellyfish (e.g. Cassiopea, Aurelia aurita and Phyllorhiza punctata), are regularly being born in our quarantines.
For fish larvae to be born and grow prosperously, living prey must also be reared (rotifers and artemia). These are enriched to endow them with the appropriate nutritional qualities for the larvae.
For fish larvae to be born and grow prosperously, living prey must also be reared (rotifers and artemia). These are enriched to endow them with the appropriate nutritional qualities for the larvae.
Reproduction and rearing
Find out more:
Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris, Amphiprion clarckii, Amphiprion akallopisos)
These species are unique in that they live in couples: scientists have managed to isolate individual fish to make reproduction and egg recovery easier.
The female deposits her eggs on a flat surface that the male then fertilises. The eggs need to be in the dark to hatch and the larvae stay out of the light for the first few days of life. In this way, one litter can produce several hundred clownfish.
These species are unique in that they live in couples: scientists have managed to isolate individual fish to make reproduction and egg recovery easier.
The female deposits her eggs on a flat surface that the male then fertilises. The eggs need to be in the dark to hatch and the larvae stay out of the light for the first few days of life. In this way, one litter can produce several hundred clownfish.
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Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kaudermiThis is one of the simplest fishes to breed because of its large eggs. After fertilisation, the male broods the eggs in his mouth until they hatch, only releasing the larvae once they are ready to feed themselves.
Rearing porkfish, Anisotremus virginicusParents need to be isolated in a tank. Their pelagic eggs are collected and transferred to a breeding tank using a sieve. Each couple lays thousands of eggs. La Rochelle Aquarium is one of the only ones to successfully breed this species.
CoralsCorals are currently reproduced by cuttings. This involves growing a new colony from a mother colony. Just like fish, corals need excellent environmental conditions to be able to reproduce, such as clean water, enough light and appropriate current.
Building on its research thus far, in September 2009 La Rochelle Aquarium undertook a mission to collect coral larvae by diving in the waters off Guadeloupe (in partnership with Océanopolis in Brest and the Aquarium in Guadeloupe). The aim was to draw up a coral farming protocol from larvae collected from the natural environment.
This advanced research may one day help to set out a plan for replanting a coral reef in the wild.
This advanced research may one day help to set out a plan for replanting a coral reef in the wild.