Mysterious breeding habits of aquarium fish vex experts

Breeding breakthrough: An aquarium fish vendor waiting for customers at his stall at a market in West Java, Indonesia, which is home to many of the saltwater aquarium fish found all over the world. — AP

IT took a broken air conditioner for Tom Bowling to figure out – after nearly eight months of failure – how to breed the coveted pink-yellow tropical fish known as blotched anthias.

Bowling, an ornamental fish breeder based in Palau, had kept the fish in cool water, trying to replicate the temperatures the deep-water creatures are usually found in. But when the air-conditioner broke, the water temperature rose by a few degrees overnight – with surprising results.