This is not the first time I've noticed this --- over the years I've seen
this numerous times in my hoard of aquariums. But this time it has
happened I actually have others I can inquire of to see if they've had
a similar experience.
Have you ever had that one tank that for some reason it seemed that
anything you put it in would grow at a phenomenal pace? I've had
others tanks in the past that I noticed this 'effect' in but the latest
example is a Marineland Eclipse 12 gallon system tank I have set up
at the foot of my bed. There's nothing out of the ordinary about the
tank..... basic power filtration, pH of 6.8-7.0, temp range of 76-78F.
The tank initially housed a trio of 2" bluegill sunfish for about two
months until I released them. The tank then sat empty of fish for six
weeks or so.
The first new inhabitants in the tank were some Heterandria formosa. They
were all very small when I first put them in (yeah, I know, define "very"
when talking about H. formosa ) with the 14 females being all of maybe
3/5" in size and the half dozen males looking like nothing more than
guppy fry. Seemingly overnight all the females were little 1-1/4" rotund
baby machines and the males all had attained their adult size. This
took all of around two and a half weeks to happen. However, because
of their tiny size and my unfamiliarity with this species, I wasn't sure if
this was abnormal or not (though I suspected any growth rate that swift
was a bit out of the ordinary).
Next I caught three tiny gobies while exploring a particularly foul smelling
and stagnant creek. I almost threw them back at first along with all the
young gambusia in the dip net until I spied the lightly marbled color pattern
on one of them. These three gobies were 1/2" total size. I placed them in
this tank ten days ago. As I sit here typing this I am watching them as
they swim about the front of the tank --- they are now rapidly pushing 1-3/4"
in length and have an overall body size comparable to a large adult female
guppy (girth wise -- they're also large enough to readily identify now as
Dormitator maculatus sleeper gobies).
The latest addition to this tank was the tiniest chain pickerel I had ever
seen
in my life. When I first saw it in the net it resembled a dragonfly larvae
(it was
like two eyes on a thread) and was 1" in length. Just to test my suspicion
about this tank I brought it home and added him to the tank nine days ago. He
is now 3" long and is about to be evicted from this residence as he is eyeing
the male Heterandias with evil intent.
Feeding in this tank consists of pretty standard fare..... TetraRuby flake
food
and frozen brine shrimp. Every other day or so perhaps some live mosquito
larvae if I can find some. Nothing special.
So, has anyone else had any similar experiences?
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