Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations HSB spawning

HSB Spawning
:)I forgot to say that this is from Steve:
"Guys,
I videoed a little better HSB spawning activity. I do have several generations of viable progeny from previous spawning activity. This year the spawning was intense for 7-10 days (still on going as of yesterday). I can't explain it, I guess I'm lucky.

Omaha asked us to post the conditions of my pond when I posted the photo of one the HSB offspring from last year's spawn: My elevation is 3,000 feet. The pond is 1 acre with pond liner in about 1/3 due to caves. I have fresh water running in most of the time. I drain my pond down as much as I dare in later winter, and mechanically clean out debris. Most of my trout live most years. So, I'm assuming my water temperature stays well below 80 degrees most of the time. I run two aerators starting about now through fall. I feed Aquamax 600 by hand every day they will eat.'

I feel so dirty after watching the video!

Wow!! That was very cool!! Thanks for sharing. I can't believe that! I thought they were not able to spawn? You must have perfect conditions for them!!

RC

Guys HSB reproduction is well covered and explained here.

HSB reproduction in ponds


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=23258&Number=292348#Post292348 HSB spawning text and vid from Stacy last year


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=272163&page=1 another report


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post84636 another one


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=177718&page=1 and here

Willis " ...I've always believed that HSB simply have a functional sterility (eggs are too heavy to act like striped bass egss, and too light and not sufficiently sticky to act like white bass eggs). However, they can backcross with the parent species. Again, I wonder if we know if that is true for both "directions" of crosses."

HSB are not sterile but reproduction is highly unlikely in ponds. Dave Willis explained this on a thread :

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...=true#Post15285


Dave Willis
Lunker


Registered: September 09, 2002
Posts: 1494
Loc: South Dakota State University
(12.218.163.246) Actually masterbasser, it's even worse than the state biologist told you. Hybrid striped bass are "functionally" sterile. The 1:200,000 probably applies to hybrids spawning with hybrids. However, the males of both species commonly run with either striped bass or white bass, and they certainly can produce a back-crossed generation with either. For example, hybrid males running with striped bass females will produce offspring that are 3/4 striper and 1/4 white bass genes.

The "functional" sterility comes from the difference in egg types for the two parentals. Striped bass have eggs that are nearly neutral buoyancy, and along the east coast they spawn in rivers that carry the eggs while they develop and hatch. If the eggs settle to the bottom, they typically smother and die in the organic/silt layer on the river bottom. Eggs need some oxygen, which crosses the membrane. White bass have heavy, sticky eggs. In rivers, they spawn on gravel riffles. The sticky, heavy eggs attach to the bottom and the current keeps them clean and oxygenated. Hybrid striped bass eggs are halfway in-between. They are too heavy to float with the striped bass eggs, settle to the bottom, and generally die. They are too light and not sticky enough to stay on the gravel if spawned in a riffle. They wash off, into a pool below, settle on the organic mud that usually has low or no dissolved oxygen, and die.

That's incredible. Thanks for sharing this Stacy.