Re: [Killietalk] Color preferences

["Koran, David HQ02" <David_Koran at hq02.usace.army.mil>]

Subject: [Killietalk] scintillating  mop colors

The cold front following the recent heat wave triggered lots of activity in
the greenhouse where I have my pupfish and Aphanius set up.  Almost every
tank has 3 mops in it, all of different colors.  There are a few general
preferences with respect to genus, more specific in a species.  However, I
found it interesting when looking for eggs in the mops of Cyp. beltrani
finding about 50 eggs in the light green (Limelight color) mop, only one in
the dark green (Dark Sage)(they missed?) and none in the blue green mop.

In general preference is not as absolute but you will find maybe 2/3rds of
the eggs for many species in the same color mop day after day.  When I set up
2 or more tanks with the same species and same assortment of mops it is
almost consistent from tank to tank.  This spring I made an additional 100+
mops so can have at lest 3 mops per tank and I am starting to think that lack
of production in the past was a result of having the wrong color mop in the
tank.  I have a massive growth of hair algae in a 100 gallon stock tank and
the Limelight Caron yarn looks an awful lot this.  The hair algae works great
in more permanent, natural pupfish setups and in general you see this
preference for most pupfish.  While I suspect other relationships, color
preferences seem to follow the phylogenic tree that Eichelle developed
recently.  Pups with a more recent marine divergence strongly prefer the
light green versus larger land locked species have less preference or even
tend to a darker green (isolation, sheet algae food source??).

Dave K

Lonny wrote---

Since Erny brought it up.... We have used the soft and fluffy yarn that was
brought up in a previous thread. We used the sage green color. We also use
the regular yarn from red heart in the hunter green color. We find that the
fish we are using both types of mops with prefer the regular yarn to the
soft and fluffy yarn. Some fish we have bottom mops of both types in with
them and they seem to prefer the hunter green regular yarn. One fish in
particular Aphyo sp. bitteri have never laid an egg in the soft and fluffy
yarn. I believe they prefer the regular yarn over the soft and fluffy yarn.
Not sure if color has anything to do with this or not. And if fish are color
blind, then why do cichlids respond to flashy colors of amorous mates. If
you have ever seen the color fluctuations of any Pelivcachromis during
courtship and breeding you would never believe that fish are color blind.

Lonny


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Erny" <emay1 at wi_rr.com>
To: "killifish discussion list" <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 1:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Killietalk] Don't feed the trolls, please


> Irrespective of your discovery Watson, his points are valid!
> Lately it has not been advisable to state anything but dogma
> on KT because censorship and banishment are consequences.
> Hence the possibility of trolling, though I doubt that your sleuthing
> is of Sherlock Holmes quality; Watson,  maybe. Now on to something
> scintillating in the fish realm; what color mop do color blind fish
prefer?

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