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Re: Long fiber sphagnum moss for spawning northos (sic)



Leo Arieux wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone;

Hi back, Leo! ;-)

> 
> I just picked up some long fiber sphagnum moss ( packaged in Wisconsin )
> to spawn a trio of newly acquired Northos. <<-- Nothos, please.>>

Long fiber sphagnum moss is *not* peat, and could cause some problems if it
decomposes in the tank. Sphagnum peat started as sphagnum moss, hundreds or
thousands of years ago, but it has been greatly altered chemically.

The fibrous peat, widely used in Europe, is great stuff for plant spawners,
but not worth much with "soil" spawners like nothos, IMO.

> 
> Now my question : I soaked the sphagnum for about 1/2 hour after picking
> any and all foreign matter out. then I boiled ...

snip...

> Have I taken sufficient
> precautions
> to prevent a problem with my Northos ?     [No "r" in Nothos. Sorry, should have said that above.]

No, because you have dried moss, and possibly not peat at all.

Jiffy pellets are quite free of mess, and take 1/10th the trouble you are
going through.

Remove the plastic mesh from one or two pellets. Place in 2C of hot water,
and microwave to the boiling point.

Dump into a regular fishnet, and rinse vigorously under the cold faucet,
until the fines and stained water are mostly gone.

Cut a round 2"-3" hole in the lid of a shallow margarine cup. Add a few
marbles or pebbles to give it a certain sinking weight and to give the fish
some structure to rub against when spawning.

Squeeze the lump of wet peat to expell any remaining air bubbles and drop it
into the margarine cup. Fill the cup nearly full with treated water and let
it settle for a few minutes.

By covering the hole with a saucer or other lid, you can gently lower it
into their tank without the usual "peat volcano." Let it settle, again, and
slowly slide the saucer off.

There is no mess, and a substrate much closer to the mud they would usually
spawn in. The lip on the lid tends to keep the peat in the cup, so you can
just lift it all out to check and store the eggs once a week or so.

Good luck with them, as they are beautiful fish.

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679  huntleyone at home dot com

          If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- and, especially,
            don't let politicians fix it. ... Thomas Sowell

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