Pegasus

These guys were 11" the last I heard

Step aside JAWS... Ha Ha.... Anyone got a REALLLYY big tank they want to sell..? Prob might be that the site does not allow direct linking Wasp..

No disrespect Alan... but breeding fish in captivity is FAR different from them breeding in a natural environment that they originated from, and even THEN.. defects occur in the wild. Breeders of fish worldwide have allowed defects to creep into strains.. often by trying to produce a "better" strain of fish, but invariably produce something with an "unseen" defect that often shows up after several broods. Killies are no different, and they too can carry defective genes that will produce poor quality fish and result in anything from poor colour, to body defects as above. Often these "would be" breeders allow the defects to be released into the mainstream hobby, with disasterous results, and I would have thought that holding the position you do, you would have given a better answer than this... Perhaps "your" explanation of why the fish have bent spines may be more enlightening to BG than the other explanations were. Regards, Bill.

Hi BG, Bent spines in some fish are generally caused by too much interbreeding, which is the repeated breeding of fish from the same families over a period of time without the introduction of a new bloodline,... or through hereditary genetic disorders in the gene pool that the parents hold... and so pass onto the offspring. Other causes could be very poor water conditions, which have not allowed the fish to develop correctly. Other possible causes.. Tuberculosis,... ? Vitamin Deficiency This can also cause abnormalities similar to TB and Genetic defects. Lack of Calcium and Vitamin C are the two main culprits, resulting in bent spine and abnormally small fish. There is no way that I know to fix a fish that has this complaint, and they are best destroyed to avoid further breeding and adding more defective fish into the hobby. If the problem is not apparently visible in the parents, then try breeding each adult with a different partner and observe the results. This will tell you if one or the other adult is the problem. HTH

Lost my connection, so hence double post.

Dan asked: Pics are OK Dan as part of a post. Only reason for removing your first image was because of the size, and having to scroll across to see it, and it wasn't needed once you posted the second image. The above size is OK. If you have lots of pics to show, then the link to them is ideal.. (as you have in your signature) Many are on dial up or slow connections, so waiting for pics to appear in posts can be frustrating if they are too large. Regards, Bill.

There's heaps of pics already posted here Chris under the FNZAS Clubs Forums. Bill.

You can also thoroughly soak a hessian sack and lay it on the lawn. There will be heaps of worms congregate under it. Bill.

Great stuff Sehorsemad.. Congrats. Love to read some details of your setup and such Bill.

Hi Luke, Daphnia are often red under good conditions, and a lot depends on what they are feeding on, as their bodies are almost transparent. Good find BTW... Keep it a secret If you intend to keep some, then make sure they have heaps of air (if kept in a tank) as they consume lots and will die if overcrowded. Green water (as mentioned elsewhere) is the ideal food for them. They remind me of Darleks (sp) off the old Dr Who series he he.

Quite true LB, but I can't see anywhere where anyone above said it was, but only said it was interesting reading. Sorry LB.. but how can you be almost 100% sure. Again sorry, but how can you hear people on the net without reading..? Obviously more years than the rest of the people who know this is a fact. It also happens among Cichlids... but hey... let's not get into that hey :) Bill.

Not sure where to put this, but I recieved this in my mail today and wondered if the amphibian guys can help. Bill.

Read LB... http://www.usenet.com/newsgroups/rec.aq ... 00783.html Further reading shows that there are several cases of this happening, and admittedly many of these so called changes were fish that were just late developers. One poster (on another site) gave some good info on what this is called... Hermaphrodite--An organism that possesses both male and female genitalia within the same body Sexual Dimorphism--Consistent differences between the male and female genders of the same species beyond just basic anatomical genital differences Protogyny--An organism that starts out female and turns into a male Protandry--Other way around True or fact... some of the reading is very interesting if you do a search. Apparently there are also several Marine Fish that this occurs in. Bill.

I was.. and are quite happy to maintain it, but opinions at the time resulted in no further entries, except those specifically asked by members to be put there. Bill.

You seem to be blowing a few bubbles there .. LB.(all wind... no actual experience on this matter) As stated.. Any breeder that has done selective breeding, line breeding, and the like will verify this, so when you reach this stage, then you can make some factual comment on the subject. Bill.

If you want to know (round about) when your livebearers will drop next, then keep an eye on the gravid spot, (the dark spot near the vent) as this is a good indication of when they will drop... IE:... the darker it gets, the closer she is to dropping. The prolific little Guppy... It's known by several different names around the world, and one of these is the "Millions Fish".. which is pretty much right. Some number cruncher.. many years ago... worked out that if a breeding pair were to produce a brood, and none were lost or eaten, and "they" went on to breed.. again, with no losses... and this continued for a year... with each additional brood breeding plus the rest.... with no losses... then the result would be over 3,000,000 offspring.... Pretty astounding for a little fish. It is also known for these fish to change sex if there isn't a mate of the oposite sex available. Regards, Bill.

Hi Ballistic, The "Useful Links" at the head of the Technical Section has been un-maintained for quite some time now. I used to add all the new links of interest daily, but there were questions raised as to its usefulness, and other questions about why it wasn't in alphabetical order for easy reference, which would have been hard to maintain, as new links were added just about every day by myself. Many of the links will now be inactive... due to age, but my feelings are that a reference of this sort is certainly needed on a site such as this, as so many great links are posted, but then soon disappear down the lists and are lost in the system. PS: Link Added Regards, Bill.

Your link doesn't seem to be working anymore Caryl.

Hope you have lots of spare fingers Kyle he he. 90,001...90,002...90,003... errrr...

Great stuff AC. Exciting times watching the parents with their young, and the Cichlids are one of the few species that give us this pleasure, and no matter how many times you see it, it's just as much a thrill as the first time. Hope you can post some pics Regards, Bill.

Cees said: Yep... Come on LB, you have us drooling at the gills here. We need pics, plus details of what you did... Originals... Offspring... Crosses... Etc.

Hi Jonty, Welcome to the NZ Fishroom forums. There's heaps of info here on this subject, and this article might help... http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewto ... light=fish Or this will tell you exactly what you asked... http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpy ... tions.html As above... Big rule in starting out.. "Take it slowly.."

Great work Caryl, Much appreciated Yours as well Kim... great pics.

Hi AC, welcome to the NZ Fishroom. Sounds like your a busy person Jump in and get your feet wet. Bill.

Hi Tim, great to see you here. Lots to read.. or you are just in time to join the chat room and join the gang