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In the wild...yes. They are known as "annual" fish. Every year, there is a dry season. That is why their reproductive cycle is the way that it is. The streams and ponds that they live in dry out. The killies lay their eggs in the substrate. Eggs go through a so-called drying out period (they...

Make sure to keep your tank covered, Gill. They are notorious jumpers, esp. the topswimmers like what you are describing.

I think that although some species may be "tougher" than others, just about any of your more common killies are going to do OK in hard water. "Keeping" them isn't difficult. The problem arises when they are spawning, most species the eggs will only hatch out in softer, more acidic water.

Hello BigC! Been a long time since I have been here, and when I return, what do I find but a 6 month old thread that you have started on killies still at the top of the heap! Good job, man! :good: In response to your original question, as you know I do keep a few killies. I am very fortunate...

That's awesome, Dwarfs!! Congrats on the fry! :good: Whatcha feeding them? My guess would be that with the plant growth that I see in that tank, there is gonna be plenty of infusoria for them, but they will soon be needing something else!

:lol: :lol: :lol: This thread was started 2 years ago.....Sept. 2004!!! :nod: Just wondering.....is this the record for a (non-game) thread? :rolleyes:

As everyone else is stating, bristles make great scavengers, small ones are for the most part harmless. Do take care, however, if you are ever re-stacking or otherwise handling your live rock. If you should accidentally touch one of these "critters", the little bristles tend to break off and...

:no: Not really a good idea unless dream's tank is big enough to support a fish that can get to be 18"+ and generates massive amounts of poo-strings. And if the mag-floats won't take care of this algae, it's doubtful that a plec would be interested either. I love plecs, but they really aren't...

Razor blade scrapers do a good job, just be careful not to scratch glass. Also remember that for a lot of fish, algae is a good thing. Contrary to what we humans want to see in our tanks, to a fish's eye a little algae looks really nice.

:) There is a "pinned" topic at the top of the Oddball's Institute called Mop-Spawning 101, has lots of info about breeding killies, check it out!

Jimbooo...I've actually got more tanks than that, they get set up and taken down as I need them, I've also got various storage boxes, containers, etc sitting around that I keep fish in. Don't need no sympathy, I'm doing exactly what I've always dreamed of doing, I'm a happy man. Been keeping...

:) I wish my wife....or anybody in my family....were even the least bit interested in my fish! They "tolerate" my obsession, though, and I have my fishroom (presently 40+ tanks running) and lots of online friends I have met through various forums that I can share my stories with. Guess ya...

A cover on the tank also helps to "contain" the noise. If it sounds like a cauldron bubbling, it could be that you are using an air pump that is way more powerful than what you actually need. If you plan on getting another tank or two in the future (it happens :S ), you might want to keep this...

I have three kids, a 21 year old who is in technical school with the Air Force, an 18 year old who isn't sure which way he wants to go yet (normal :) ), and a 13 year old 7th grader. I also take care of 40 fish tanks, some frogs, and a gecko.

A lot of my smaller breeding tanks are bare bottomed, the fish don't seem to mind one way or the other. When I first tried this concept, the glare off the bottom did seem to affect them, I got around this by painting the bottom of the tanks (outside underneath part of course). Might want to...

Ahhh, thumbsplitters! Definitely not for everybody, but very interesting if kept in their own tank, and you respect what they are capable of doing. My LFS had one in-stock for a couple weeks, a special order for some folks over at Purdue University, also saw a beauty at the Shedd Aquarium in...

Do you keep saltwater tanks, Torrean? Because the theory that you are working off of is very closely related to the practice of using "live rock" for filtering a tank. The porous rock has so much surface area for bacteria (and many many other organisms) to grow on...strong currents by means of...

Female livebearers tend to get "harassed" frequently by the males, sometimes they just need a little peace & quiet. Making sure that your tank has plenty of hiding places for her to escape to where she will be out of sight of the male will make her feel better. Usually if there is no cover...

Congratulations on the keyholes spawning! As far as the nitrates go, they will just continue to accumulate and rise unless there is something in the tank that can "uptake" them, i.e. plants. As "most" cichlids will uproot any plants you put in with them, you might want to consider some type of...

Awwesome fish there, Dwarfs!!! Good luck with the spawning, sometimes it takes a few tries before they get it right. Just don't get discouraged! And those tanks... :sly: ...water spots on the glass is a sure sign that there is maintenance occuring on that tank! You're doing a great job!

A lot of people don't realize, when they buy a pleco, just exactly what it is that they are buying. You know that you have an algae problem in your tank, so you go to the LFS to get something that will eat the stuff for you, and 90% of the time, a pleco is recommended. Plecos do a great job of...

:look: Yes maam....... :D

:lol: :lol: That's what I meant to say! :S 'cause we are ...two wild and crazy guys!!!!! :-

Usually the outflow of a power filter is a wonderful place for algae to grow. Constant water flow and good lighting up near the surface are ideal (and the algae can actually be a beneficial part of the filtration process, too). Chances are that your pleco wasn't trying to escape, he just wanted...

:hyper: Congratulations BlueIce! I'm not surprised though....in addition to your talent with the camera, you've got some gorgeous fish as subjects. And....look at what you have done with those tanks for background scenery! I'm sure your fish feel very much "at home" in the worlds you have...

Holy moly! Breeding your mogurndas! You have got me SO jealous! I have only seen them in my area one time, I bought all that my LFS got in (3 fish), unfortunately they weren't in good shape and didn't make it a week, nothing I could do to save them. :/ Be sure to put me on your list if you are...

My first experience with bris was in a community tank with 2 adult angels, a male betta, a small school of tetras (too long ago to remember what kind exactly), a small school of cory cats, and the single brichardi. Never had a bit of problem, this was a very peaceful tank for many years. A year...

Season's Greetings

:wub: Congratulations to you and your family, Silver. A very handsome little man!

Thank you, steelhealr. I had heard long ago that cold was the least painful way to put a fish down (long before I ever heard of clove oil), and many times have put an old friend out of his misery in the freezer....good to know that there is an even better way. This is never something you "want"...

At one time I had some absolutely gorgeous sailfin mollies that I was keeping in brackish water and they were breeding like crazy! Some of the best looking and most prolific mollies I had ever kept, and I really do believe it was due to the brackish water. As an experiment, since I had read that...

What is "tat"? (And if anybody says "a term of endearment for a puddy".... :P )

The one about angels was good, too.

Is it truly driftwood? Sounds more like it's just a piece of regular wood trying to decompose underwater. Do you have any plecs in the tank, and if so, do they pay much attention to the wood?

Mollies are brackish water fish....they really do need some salt in their water. Too many shops tell you that they are born in fresh water, so they will be fine in fresh water, but in my experiences, something like what you have just described is what always happened to my mollies before I...

Had a common plec that I kept for at least 10 years, don't know how old he was when I got him. Paradise fish are great. Convict cichlids are darn near immortal. Got some albino aeneus cats that are at least three years old. Percula clowns (currently had for 4 years), blue damsels (currently 3...

Sounds kinda "hokey" to me. I guess maybe if the fish were living in a pond that dried up, and that pond was immediately next to another pond that wasn't drying up (?), then maybe the fish "could" flip itself into the full pond, but I doubt that it's having a swordtail makes any difference in...

Very interesting, Tokis. I, too, have been frustrated by the survival rate of some of the fancy guppies. One thing I have found is that they seem to do better in smaller tanks. I have bred fancy guppies, on and off, for many years, but have never had the opportunity to really "get into it" to...

Humid air is more conducive to heat, dry air to coolness. That is why you most often see humidifiers for sale in the colder months, and dehumidifiers in the warmer ones.

You know, there are really very few places that I "want" to go to...definitely don't wanna go to work ;) , don't really want to go shopping, etc.....but a few years back when I was working part time in a saltwater fish shop, one of the owners had just put up a poster advertising that year's...