dwarfgourami
Fish Connoisseur
They are just so unbelievably cute! 
Not quite sure how many I have (main tank and now c. 50% planted), but two young guppies have emerged, one female, the other possibly male, probably 1- 11/2 mth old. Also at least three 6-week-old platy fry surviving and four or five (possibly more) c. 1-week-old platies. The smallest ones were born while we were on holiday, so have looked after themselves from the start.
The two female platys and 1 female guppy in same tank seem to have given up trying to eat them- or these are just the ones that are too smart to be caught?
So, life on every level, all sizes, something going on all the time- how can I stop looking? (I'll never get any work done at this rate).
The plants are also going wild, and I'm afraid there is a certain amount of mulm on the gravel, as I couldn't get the suction going on the gravel pump for fear of injuring the fry- so ended up doing water change with a jug. (will try again tomorrow)
All in all, it's getting to look less like a fish tank and more like one of those Amazon scenes you see on television (where they all have to have lots of drinks in the bar to console themselves for the lack of visibility). Could do with a bit of a tidy-up, but having seen the fry shelter among the roots of some accidentally-shifted plants, I'm not sure they want it too tidy just at the moment.
Can't get over how perfectly formed the young guppies are. They are already showing colour, black and yellow tails, like their mother. Have already caught the suspected male flairing at his mother- but surely he can't get up to any mischief before he's actually developed a gonopodium? Don't want to send him into the male tank too soon as the male platy in residence is a known bully.
The young platys are developing more slowly but eating heartily and already competing with the grown-ups for flakes. The tinies do look just like pink grains of rice with eyes , but are already quite confident in the way they move. The markings are showing already: about half are going to be wagtails like Mummy, with a black smudge on their upper lip, and the other half Mickey Mouses like Daddy. Most look pink like Daddy so far, but one is orange like Mum.
Sorry to be boring everyone-I just had to share.
Not quite sure how many I have (main tank and now c. 50% planted), but two young guppies have emerged, one female, the other possibly male, probably 1- 11/2 mth old. Also at least three 6-week-old platy fry surviving and four or five (possibly more) c. 1-week-old platies. The smallest ones were born while we were on holiday, so have looked after themselves from the start. The two female platys and 1 female guppy in same tank seem to have given up trying to eat them- or these are just the ones that are too smart to be caught?
So, life on every level, all sizes, something going on all the time- how can I stop looking? (I'll never get any work done at this rate).
The plants are also going wild, and I'm afraid there is a certain amount of mulm on the gravel, as I couldn't get the suction going on the gravel pump for fear of injuring the fry- so ended up doing water change with a jug. (will try again tomorrow)
All in all, it's getting to look less like a fish tank and more like one of those Amazon scenes you see on television (where they all have to have lots of drinks in the bar to console themselves for the lack of visibility). Could do with a bit of a tidy-up, but having seen the fry shelter among the roots of some accidentally-shifted plants, I'm not sure they want it too tidy just at the moment.
Can't get over how perfectly formed the young guppies are. They are already showing colour, black and yellow tails, like their mother. Have already caught the suspected male flairing at his mother- but surely he can't get up to any mischief before he's actually developed a gonopodium? Don't want to send him into the male tank too soon as the male platy in residence is a known bully.
The young platys are developing more slowly but eating heartily and already competing with the grown-ups for flakes. The tinies do look just like pink grains of rice with eyes
, but are already quite confident in the way they move. The markings are showing already: about half are going to be wagtails like Mummy, with a black smudge on their upper lip, and the other half Mickey Mouses like Daddy. Most look pink like Daddy so far, but one is orange like Mum. Sorry to be boring everyone-I just had to share.
