RE: [Killietalk] RE: Nothos and bottom mops

["Brian R. Watters" <bwatters at sasktel_net>]

Scott Olson wrote:

>
> So I wouldn't have to mess with boiling the stinky peat, then
> worrying about whether it contains undesirable elements.
>

Most of us do boil the peat but you don't really have to. Let it soak until
it sinks and then just use it. What "undesirable elements" are you referring
to ? The soaking should take care of anything like that anyway.

>
> Why would you have to transfer the eggs?  Couldn't they be
> incubated in the
> mop?  It seems like the mop could be easily dried to the
> appropriate level
> and dropped in a sealable bag, just like the peat.  I guess if the eggs
> don't stick to the mop, that could present a problem.
>

I have not tried it but I don't think you could maintain a proper moisture
level with an artificial mop in a plastic bag. Plastic bags "breathe" more
than most people realize and I predict that the mop would dry out pretty
quickly. You would have to keep checking it every couple of weeks or so and
add moisture when necessary.

>
> How do I "coach" them to utilize the cup with peat?
>

Almost all Nothos will be in that cup of peat almost before you can turn
your back on the tank. There are one or two Nothos that I personally have
found difficult to spawn using the "container in the tank" method. N. sp.
Mansa and N. willerti would, for me anyway, always be reluctant to enter the
hole in the lid of the spawning container and I would either have to leave
the container open or cover the base of the tank with peat.

>
> Does coir work as well as peat?
>

We have had this discussion on the list before, at great length, so you may
want to search the archives for detail. Personally, I don't think it works
as well as ordinary garden grade peat. It has some advantages in that it is
heavier so doesn't "fly" out of the spawning containers to the same extent
as peat. However, I find it too coarse and granular and does not
"encapsulate" the eggs in the same way that finer peat moss will. In my
experience, many Nothos don't like it because it is hard and granular and
lacks the softness that is typical of the muds in natural habitats. I do use
it but I mix it in as one part to two or three with normal peat.

Scott Davis wrote:

>
> Would Notho eggs have filaments enough to stick to a mop in the manner of
> Aphyosemion?
>

Notho eggs do have hook-like filaments covering the chorion but I don't
think these are sufficient to cause them to "adhere" substantially to the
mop.

 >
> If the Notho eggs don't "grab hold" of the mops, you could do the
> lazy man's
> egg pick by gently moving the mop to a wide mouth pickle gallon jar and
> shaking it.
>

I think you would lose a lot just by pulling the mop out of the tank, and if
there were still fish in there they would gobble them up quite quickly.

I realize that suggestions like this represent interesting possibilities
but, personally, I don't have the time (nor to be frank, the interest) in
experimenting with a method that is even further removed from natural
conditions than those old established methods - that do work so well.
____________________________________________
Brian R. Watters
University of Regina
Regina, Sask. S4S 0A2, Canada
Ph: (306) 584-9161 (home); (306) 585-4663 (work)
Fax: (306) 585-5433
E-mail: bwatters at sasktel_net



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