interspecies sexual confusion in captive populations of fish.
Well, to introduce myself, I am Kidt, a 24 yo 4th year bio student in Ga.
my current mixed population tanks are a 35, a 55 and a 10 gal gambusia
colony tank.
I recently moved and the 2 larger tanks were reset with new substrate on
mamorial day '00
the 35 is mostly populated with fish i
got for free at a moving sale.
the people weren't having a yard sale when i pulled ino the yard, they were
just moving, and when i inquired on a hunch if they had any aqurium stuff
they didn't want to move, i ended up leavign wih thier fish, who had been
slated for the toilet.
i still have most of them.
2 black skirts
1 red eye tetra
1 albino cory
and a 6 in pleco ( in the 55)
also in the 35 are 1 wild caught flag fish (Alanta area aquarium Asso. fall
acution '00)
3 khulie loached (also AAAA)
1 female german ram (on clearance for 1$ in macon ga)
there may be 1 fantail darter hiding in there somewhere.
I was attempting to maintain a pair, but tank tamp seems to have been too
high.
When i moved back in with my parents (job, school loan, and totaled car in
the some month, guy's got to eat) the only place i could put my tanks was in
an attic area. the temp in the tanks spike at 85 F. I have screen tops and
keep a fan on them.
there were also a population of false neon terta (green neons) and cherry
barbs, but the f neons didn't like my new water and the cherrys where whiped
out by my ich infection, along with most of my rams and my serpea tetra.
This outbreak now seems under control, but it or the temp or the salt I used
to treat it or some combination there of, did in the darters.
the substrate is mostly walmart special kitty cat litter (natural clay, red
bag) with a little play sand and vermicualite mixed in, seeded with osmocote
and top dressed with not enough pea gravel (needed the rest for the 55).
the tank is planted with hornwort, anacharis, a melon sword, and mics.
others. i will be adding some bacopa and penny wort as soon as my hood is
built next week. i currently have one 22 inch grow stick over the melon
sword.
filtratration is by a marineland pinguin biowheel 330.
there is a peice of drift wood in the tank.
in the 55 are 5 "god only knows what species" of "lrg austailian
rainbowfish" (99 cents)
and 2 male red shiners. these fish were purchaced at petsmart on memorial
day. the shiners were labled as "rainbow dace danios" and the sales girl
got somewhat offended wih me when i answered her inquire as to why i was
laughing so hard. she though i was accusing her of saleing bait fish when i
explained what the "danios" in the fancy goldfish tank were. (3.99$)
i usually avoid petsmart, but this one was new and seemed clean, and i ned
replacements for the bosemanis who died under my landlords care while I was
moving.
i needed the fish mass to justify keeping both tanks to my parents.
and at the time i needed both tanks as the 4 inch angelfish would have eaten
the fales neons. tha angel was another rescue of sorts. someown was
getting out of the hobby ans i wanted her serpea, and ended up with both.
the angel, despite my best attemps to kill it, looks perfect, so i keep it,
and have re designated it as a "potentially hostile plant" and other wise
ignore its persence in my "rainbow fish" tank.
also in the 55 are a trio of southern red bellied dace, a unsexed trio of
fat head minnows (well how much for just one? you just want one? yes. bait
store guy bags 3 and hands them to me, no charge-3 mo quarintien) 5 oto
cats, the
before mintioned pleco, and 2 male garnardi killifish that i some how ended
up with.
the tank is set up the same way as the 35, with the same filter, except that
i layered the sand over the kitty litter instead of mixing it and i didn't
use any vermicualite.
there is drift wood in the tank, and many plastic and real plants.
i have had no problems with this tank, and the fish seem to love life.
the gambusia tank is the typical overplanted, overstocked, overlit, swamp of
a colony tank. Ph 5 cat litter, pea gravel and a 75 wt grow stick.
the fish seem to love it. there is a profusion of snails, both ramshorn and
pond, and i recently discovered a small leech. I assume the leeth to be
vegaterian, as it is too large to be feeding on gambusia.
the well water i have now is ver hard, and has a natural ph of 8.2.
of course i like pretty little tetra, and not tan cichlids. figures dosn't
it? I will be trying artifical methods to lower the ph in the 35, bot i am
leaving the 55 and the 10 alone.
well anyway, the male redshiners, keep trying to mate with the male
rainbowfish (t posistion, getting above them and trying to force them down
into the plants). So i was wonderimg if anyone could spare a female or two?
the male killies are trying the same thing! but i am not looking for
female killies.
I was laid off june 1st and am now drawing unemployment while I tank summer
classes at the local college. So i cannot afford to compensate for potage at
the time. anyone want to help a kid out?
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