Aquila

Some are better then others I think. I've never actually seen any of the adults eat the fry so I am unsure. The first batch I got only had 6 fry. But the next ones started having more like 20 and 30. I got one of those floating fry chambers at first because I didn't have a separate tank. I would siphon up or use a small net to catch all the babies I could see and place them in the chamber. You have to have a good eye to get them all! Even when I thought I did, I would find some more behind the java moss at the back of the tank after a week! So I am not sure whether those were ones that were born late or ones I missed...or if there would be even more had the adults not gotten to any. But they seemed to do a good job staying out of sight. I also tried moving the female into the chamber to give birth (as there is a section that you can put in to separate mama from fry but she stopped with labour and so I had to but her back into the main tank after a couple days. I have noticed that the fry do a lot better and grow faster when you separate them out so that you can make sure they get enough food. They don't really seem to like the ground up fish food so I have to start their first couple weeks on brine shrimp. This way none of the fry die on me. I now too have upgraded and have a separate bare-bottom 40ltr tank just for the fry. There is a slot down the middle which I can slid a divider in. On one side I float the little chamber holding the tiny fry, and as soon as I can sex them I put the females on the same side with the chamber, and the males on the other side. As they grow, males (and maybe females) I like go back into the community tank with the adults and I sell/give away the rest.

Personally I do not like to follow the 2-3 females per male rule because you'll be getting more fry then you can deal with! My 2 females are living quite happily with 5 males and the do not get overly harassed. Occasionally a couple of my males will have a go at trying to court them but they will give up after a while and allow my females to explore, forage, relax the rest of the time. I have enough room to easily turn over the fry from 2-3 females while I would be completely over run by the fry from 10-15, and my entire system would fall apart! Generally what I do is move my female out during/right after she has given birth and place her with the male that I would like her to mate with for the next 1-1.5 weeks. Once I'm convinced she is impregnated I move both parents back to the community tank and wait until she gives birth again. When I'm lazy I just leave the female in the community tank and just let her get pregnant by whatever male. Since I only keep the nicest looking males (all of which I would be happy to become her mate), its always exciting to see what new looks of guppies I'll end up with! Since females can store sperm anyways, I am never sure what I'll get! Currently I am using one female always with the same male because I think their fry will be very interesting looking, and the other female is my wild card Although this is not a perfect system if I was very serious about breeding strains professionally, it doesn't allow me to enjoy it as a hobby with minimum setup and meticulousness.

Yeah, I have googled it, but there weren't too many credible accounts out there. Just a lot of people arguing back and for that they read this or that, or they have guppies that looked like females but then turned out to be males...fairly unconvincing stuff. That is very interesting. I did come across that with people in Japan breeding these xx males or even super males (YY) in order to manipulate the sex ratio or sterility. But in the normal population this 'strain' doesn't necessary happen very often right? I mean, only rarely will a female turn into a male in people's personal aquariums. It is my understanding is that the chromosomes controlling sex are usually a different size in most animals, but in some including guppies they are similar in size and therefore prone to mix up and cause phenotypic sex versus genetic sex to be different. For the most part I think that many people get confused by the fact that they buy several females one of which was already loaded or had stored sperm and then assume that the females must have mated together. Anyways, thanks for your replies. I wanted to clear it up for myself once and for all and I was tired of reading all the lame responses on 'yahoo answers' by people that didn't know what they were talking about! Probably didn't even realize that humans can have XXY or YY as well nor how hormones actually work to bring on secondary sexual characteristics and kept arguing that it was not possible at all because fish cannot change their reproductive organs. Ugh.

I've just found this statement...but I can't find the article through the uni library (they are probably not subscribed to the journal anyways): WINGE (1923, 1927) has shown in the West Indian guppy, Lebistes, that the X and Y occasionally cross over. In 1930 he stated that the genotypic chromosomal constitution of XX for femaleness in this fish may be overruled by other sex-determining factors so that the XX complex may occasionally produce a male. These XX males when mated to normal XX females produce, as might be expected, IOO percent daughters.

I've read both YES and NO all over the internet while trying to look for a credible answer. Alas...I am still not sure whether they do. It was my impression that this was a myth due to the females being able to hold sperm for so long thus confusing pet owners into thinking she must have been impregnated by another female tank mate. However, the closest credible reference was this: http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/pub/IMPF ... 6.php?0506 ...which says that they can! I still don't believe it... Anyone got proof? hehe I've even tried to search peer reviewed journals but nada!

Would it be the water quality overnight though? That is so weird. I would think that since she healed up so nicely when protected in the basket (in the old tank), it must be something in the tank...

Hiya Dave. This seems like fairly normal behaviour as long as he's not being overly super aggressive. My male guppies usually alternate between a little bit of anal fin nipping, displaying, and chasing. But they never appear to be deliberately trying to hurt the females. The best ratio to have with guppies is about 2-3 females per one male. This allows the females to take turns have a break from all the attention. You can get away with less females, but it really depends on the males and your tank setup. If the males are more laid back (like your other 2 seem to be) then the female(s) will be just fine...especially if there are plants and objects to break the line of sight in the tank and give the females some time to explore and do their thing

I have seen several tanks on YouTube that seem really successful with discus and angels. I think the secret is to have a big tank, and to have discus in a really big group and only a few angels (which should be bought smaller then the discus). This way the angels are slightly intimidated to attach the discus because they are outsized and outnumbered. Don't know if they will become super brave when they get bigger but I guess you could always give them away if they do.

Or it could also be 'cite'...hehehe. 'Sight' kinda doesn't make sense...shouldn't it be 'see'? 'Site' works if the person makes sure the can be found at the residence! The English language is nutty!

I think in the case of swallowing certain cyanobacteria, an immune resistance wouldn't really help They produce a potent neurotoxins and hepatotoxins!

Only three 3 species are responsible for toxic blooms: Microcystis aeruginosa, Anabaena flos-aquae and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (from 3 Genera). Even the blooms caused by these 3 species are not always toxic. All the other blooming and non-blooming cyanobacteria species are harmless. The species in your tank doesn't bloom but forms mats so I'm pretty sure you are on the safe side.

I'd also be interested to know how you can become a registered breeder...

I've been told be Cesarz that the TradeMe user 'dorl' (based in the hutt) is also on this forum under the name 'caserole'. He sells several lovely strains from what i can see on trademe but I haven't seen any blue variety. I recently purchased an orange male (plus female) from 'firefish' who was changing her tank setup. They have since had at least 2 lots of fry, which are growing out as we speak. I can see that many of them are already turning orange so I can sell you some if u'd like to try that colour out. They will either be a bright solid orange (not just the tail, but the whole body), or a bright orange with a white belly (my male has a white belly which looks pretty cool).

Well done! I like the setup

Happy to see he's feeling a bit better now... Maybe the med combo did him more harm then good. B/c he turned for the worse after you added the Furan didn't he? I would also guess its from an abrasion rather then bacteria.

I think they were Ambulia. 'Foxglove' was nice enough to provide me with most of the plants in the tank, so she will know for sure. It's a shame but they died on me...all the other plants are thriving, but the 'Ambulia' withered away

Woohoo Discus-mama to the rescue!

If you can just let the water sit over night to be on the safe side then it would be best. That way all the chlorine has a chance to evaporate.

Mantis shrimp are capable of breaking aquarium glass...so be aware of that if you get your hands on one.

Sometimes commercials want to be informative about a product...and sometimes they want to create a buzz that will travel by word of mouth and want people to associate themselves with the image they are creating. People enjoying eating a chocolate bar is boring. Otherwise, the good old IPOD commercials would have just listed their specs (which would be boring) as opposed to have some fools dancing against a colourful background to 'hip' music. See if you buy their product, you can be cool like those people. And if you drink bear, hot chicks will surround you! *rolls eyes* hehe I use to think the amount of yeast infection/thrush commercials that were on tv was completely unnecessary. I mean u'd think women were facing some kind of epidemic! Come on its thrush, not a headache! I don't need to hear about it 3 times a day :-?

Check out these awesome morphs...

Well that is good to hear that Animates doesn't do that. I think its mostly clothing stores that mark up but I know I have seen electronic stores do it in preperation for x-mas and it was consistant across all the stores. Mind you this was in Canada... Woot! Clearance items are the best! As are refurbished... Is that tank still for sale? I will definitely drop by the store this weekend. I am curious to see what's on even though I don't have the money to by a tank at the mo

I'm pretty sure lots of stores do it all the time. Mark up before a sale... Prices usually tend to go up around Christmas too, before the boxing day sale. I've never heard of it being illegal.

This page was sent around through uni and it is actually really helpful at differentiating between your symptoms to decide if u have Swine flu or regular cold/flu (especially the 2 charts): http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/me ... #guideline This part was sent to us in a word document which I have cut and pasted directly: 1. What to do if you have the swine flu If you have the flu, it is important to: • stay home and let a relative or friend know if you are at home alone • rest in a separate room that has good ventilation and is away from other members of the household • don’t share anything that may spread flu • drink small amounts of fluids often and keep your mouth clean and moist by cleaning teeth regularly • take drugs that relieve pain and fever, eg, paracetamol or ibuprofen. (Aspirin-type medications should not be used for children and young people.) • gargle with a glass of warm water and/or suck on sugarless hard sweets or lozenges for sore throats • use saline drops or nasal spray or decongestants for soothing and clearing the nose • keep bedding and nightwear clean and dry if you are in bed • shower or bath regularly, or use a cloth to wash with warm water and soap and make sure you wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds, drying them well afterwards or use antiseptic rubs • apply skin balm or moisturiser to prevent your lips, nose and surrounding skin from drying out and cracking. If you don’t feel like eating or drinking: • try light fluid-type nutritional snacks such as chicken soup or perhaps yoghurt • don’t worry if you can’t handle food, but keep taking fluids, try an ice block or jelly. If you aren’t drinking enough, you may be dehydrated. You may: • have no urine or very little, which will be a dark yellow colour • feel confused or drowsy • have dull eyes • have dry skin that will have lost its elasticity (it won’t spring back when you pinch it lightly) If you find it hard to breathe: • sit upright • contact your doctor immediately. If your condition worsens, seek medical advice by PHONING Healthline 0800 611 116 or your healthcare provider. When to seek medical advice Seek medical advice from Healthline 0800 611 116 or your healthcare provider BY PHONE if you, or the person you are caring for, has: • been unwell for three or four days and are not getting any better or are feeling worse • a high temperature that is not responding to attempts to reduce it • difficulty breathing or shortness of breath • pain or pressure in the chest or stomach • been coughing up bloody or green phlegm • blue skin around the lips and/or blue skin on finger tips • severe pain in the ear(s) • severe vomiting • difficulty waking up or feel disoriented or confused • been experiencing fits or uncontrollable shaking • started to feel better but then get a high fever and start to feel unwell again.

"Kills 99.99% of germs!"....yeah except that the 0.01% left is now a 'SUPER BUG' which will rapidly multiply and attack! hehe