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[Killietalk] Re: Locating eggs in peat?
"Kenneth Combs" <KCombs at mergerx_net> wrote:
OK, I'm sure this horse has been beat a few times, but can someone
gimme a quick repost on how to find eggs in peat (yes I went through the
archives and found & attempted the "light trick"). Anyway I keep reading
references to "checking the eggs", but for the life of me, I can't see
how this is done (otr I just suck at it :-(
It is very much a learned process, Ken, and takes considerable patience
until your eye/brain have been conditioned to spot them. Practice by
placing an egg picked from a mop into some peat and then try to find it.
Increase the amount of peat to make it harder. [At one time, I could
reliably find a single egg in an entire pellet worth in 10 minutes or
less with about 90% probability. That is, I found it 9 out of 10 tries.]
At my age, I really need a jeweler's loupe o/e to find smaller eggs or
those that stick to or are dyed by the peat. IDK what "light trick" you
are citing, but I still try to use a white, shallow bowl and a strong
(100W) halogen reading lamp straight across the bowl from me. The bottom
of the bowl acts as a light table, when you use tweezers o/e to drag a
little peat at a time across the bright white surface. The spherical
amber of an egg usually shows up much better that way than when viewed
against a peat background. The point source also makes any eye glint
easier to see, I think. [Fluorescents or even regular incandescents
really stink, by comparison.]
2 examples: I've been removing peat from a tank of Simpsonicthys
constanciae every couple weeks or so. Judging from the peat flying in
the dish, I'm sure somethings going on in there...yet I can see a single
egg if I sift through it....
Yeah, I have some Cynop. melanotaenia eggs in peat that I just got from
a fellow hobbyist. They are either dark stained or so covered with peat
that I cannot find an egg in there. Very frustrating, as I used to be
very very good at it. I want to see how well formed the eyes are, but am
almost giving up and may have to dunk them to see.
2nd; a couple weeks back I netted a bunch of SJO eggs from sand.., issue
being these stuck together into a few larger "jellied masses"...I
recently checked the peat, yet I see nothing..could these "jellied
masses" have simply became a "fungused mass" instead?...1/2 of me just
is thinking to dump the peat at the correct time and see what happens...
Anyone with a "quick & dirty" on a few good techniques? (BTW, are all
eggs created equal?)
No, they are not all the same. Many Fp. eggs are big and do not have
hairs that cling to peat. They are easy. Some SA Annuals have eggs
really good at hiding. It varies all over the place, in my experience.
Also, the amount of boiling and rinsing the peat received can have a
huge affect on how badly it stains the eggs dark.
Oh, while I'm on the subject..anyone use "breather bags" for egg
storage? and is there any advantage to having some gas
exchange?..currently I'm using those "heavy duty" freezer bags with the
zipper thingy (to cut down on drying...good?..bad?
Breather bags are only effective, according to the manufacturer, when
filled completely with water. Gasses are blocked when they are submerged
or wet on the outside, as I found out the hard way when I killed some
lovely wild chicklets. I suspect transfer may be limited the other way,
too, when both sides of the plastic are in air, though double bagging is
said to work OK.
Eggs require oxygen to develop and they need to get rid of ammonia. If I
keep eggs in a taped Petri dish, or a heavier bag, I have to open it
every few days or the eggs will suffocate. For that reason, I never use
freezer bags. They are designed to block oxygen transfer (aka freezer burn).
Many get away with using thinner zipper bags, like sandwich bags, but I
have found the closure is just unreliable enough that a bag or two
always ends up too dried out and all the eggs are dead. I like to use
fish bags (0.0015" thick), folding the end over several times and Scotch
taping it closed. Folks have found that they pass enough oxygen/ammonia
for fish to have lived for over 30 days when forgotten in one, so the
oxygen transfer seems to be no problem with them. OTOH, no water vapor
seems to get through, so the peat stays at the same dampness for months.
Oxygen and ammonia transfer are quite adequate through ordinary fish
bags that are a lot cheaper than breather bags and they work for sure
without any water.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net
760 872-3995
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