[Killietalk] mop colors

[Sue Katz <dskatz at earthlink_net>]

Hi everyone
I agree that finding eggs in light colored mops (I have never tried white, but I do use other light colored mops) might be hard by just looking - although you can find some by feel.  I simply hold the mops up to the light and the eggs show up very easily.  Do not forget to look closely at the knot area, since that is where many eggs are hidden.

It is a mistake to assume that the same color of mop, whether it is green, black, yellow or pink, will work for all fish - even assuming that all fish of the same species will lay in the same color of mop.  I find that there is very definite color preference for some fish, while not for others.   There are some other issues - such as tank location, lighting, even the amount of noise in your house, as well as the amount of algae in the tank and even the temperature which will affect egg laying drastically, so that you find no eggs in your mops.

Basically:  if you are not getting egg production, it might be a variety of factors - not the mops - that you should address.  Even the right mop in otherwise wrong conditions will not give you eggs; the wrong mop in good conditions will give you some eggs.  I pulled a few eggs from tirbakii over the summer and fall.  It wasn't until they got cold in the winter that they started giving me fertile eggs.  Same for the halleri.  Now the scriptaphys are getting a little reluctant to lay eggs in the colder water - no changes in mop or other conditions, only in the room conditions and light.

Sue
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