Re: Round Robin egg swap

["Bob Meyer" <bmeyer at parkland_cc.il.us>]

Pterolebias zonatus .  We worked with this fish for six generations, then started to get low fertilility and spinal defects.  Some secrets we found.  Zonatus eggs need to be incubated at 80 F for 5 months and 3 weeks.  Very few hatch out at less than 4 months or more than 7 months.  This is very different than most peat spawners which just sit happily in a diapause until ready to hatch.
There are several different strains of zonatus around.  I think they may even be a couple of different species.  They did not interbreed well.
You get mainly males if you incubate the eggs below 80 F.  Equal percentages between 80 and 90.  More females at above 90.  This was never proven conclusively, but I stand by it.  I incubated my eggs at 90.
Male zonatus are the size of guppies when born.  Females are ½ to 2/3 this size.  You can sex this fish out at birth!!.  If you don't feed this fish very well, the males will canibablize the females in the first few days..  I think this is the primary reason for hatches that result in all males.  We did not work with any other Pterolebias.

Occidentalis.  There are several strains of this fish.  I believe that if you cross these strains that you result in infertility problems in the later generations.  You can cross two fish and sell 100s of offspring and all are sterile mules.  The most success was found by people who continually bred fish from one location only.
The best way I found to breed this fish I found in an old article (1970s.).  I want to say it was Ray Huckstadt or something to that effect.  Iron River Michigan seems to ring a bell.  He took a gallon milk jug and put 1 inch of white silica sand in the bottom.  He then cut holes in the side of the jug.  The male would station himself above the sand.  The female would enter when she was ready.  After a week he would take out the milk jug and pour the sand into a container .  Using a swirling technique he would stir the eggs and collect them.  They were then either peat incubated by laying on top of peat or by water incubating (not as successful, but faster).  Fish spawned over peat seemed to have a lot of eggs disintegrate or disappear.  Apparently they are susceptible to waste products in the peat. 
Charles Harrison of St Louis had this fish for many generations until they succombed to a Camallanus parasite.  My fish also got this parasite and I lost mine.  The fish is still in the hobby.  Some are listed in the BNL F&E this week.  
We did not work with Toddi.  I am thinking that Arch worked with this fish a lot in the 70s and may have more insight.

Both the zonatus and the occidentalis are beautiful fish.  I no longer have either, but wish I did...bob

>>> RuevenM at aol_com 09/14/00 02:05PM >>>
Hi Bob,

         I am a long time AKA member (1969-1978 and 1994-now) and I am very 
interested in the Pterolebias (Gnatolebias -- UGH!!!) zonatus and Golden 
Pheasant maintainence groups you did years ago. Could you please share your 
experiences with me and/or the list. How did you solve the problem of raising 
zonatus, especially over several generations? Was hoignei involved too? Was 
C. toddi included in the pheasant program? Can't wait to hear all the 
details. Sounds great.

My best,
Robert Ellermann
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