[Killietalk] Why not mud? was Re:Re-use of peat

[Kenneth Combs <ken_combs at sbcglobal.net>]

I got no clue what the assorted annual/semi-annual killie habitats are actually like...
but I can imagine what the substrate of some temporary "vernal pool" in a semi dry forerested area would look like.
same goes for some ditch in the pampas or puddles on the savanna...

I'm thinking that true aquatic weeds might be absent, but bulb type plants & reeds might be the dominate live plants...
Soil wise, I couldn't imagine a pourus sandy or rocky type of dirt...clay-ish perhaps?   ...
...point being: does this even matter to the incubation of fish eggs? I'm thinking it probably does...

anyway, I'm thinking the bottoms of temporay bodies of water would be silty affairs with a mix of twigs, leaves and decaying reed blades...
and the actual "mix" of flotsam-jetsam  withing the 1st few inches will vary amongst the assorted habitats...
...add in the enviormental factors like how fast the substrate dries, water retention, temp, seasonal percipatation and air/soil ratio and you get a clue of why fish do what they do...

I realize a lot of work went into studying the cause/effects of diapause (O2 levels, H2O, et), but figuring out how to incubate eggs "might" be a lil simpler than that...

If you actually watch & compare how determined the various species are in locating a spwaning site, then watch how much work the put in to deposit the eggs at various depths, you get a reasonable idea of how/what and where to incubate the eggs....

ya'll don't like lenghty disertations, but to compare a deltaensis with a SJO: place a small bowl of sand in 20L (like I did before I learned)....the delteansis with "usually" bother to drive the female towards it (even if he bowl is only 6" in dia), the male SJO; well if it's more than 6" away, he's going to spawn on the tank bottom..note these fish both have similar 6-8 week incubation....
Now here's the "leap"...just from that, I almost intuitivley guessed the deltaensis eggs might be from a more "annual" habitat (or evap resistant substrate), and the eggs would adapt more easily to a more abbrasive/finer sand/silt/soil deal, whereas the SJO eggs might prefer a more looser "organic" bottom...(probably why OTOP works better for SJO than deltaensis)

....and the same goes for comparing "diving" annuals from the S.american pampas vs. the "shallow spawing" notho's of the African savahnna (even if the incubation times are similar)....basically the way a fish lays it's eggs might have something to do with subrate type in combo with meterological criteria...

So with regard to peat, I'm no longer sold that "one size" fits all....





----- Original Message ----
From: Lee Harper <lharper392000 at yahoo_com>
To: killifish discussion list <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:58:13 PM
Subject: Re: [Killietalk] Re-use of peat


I have no problem with dumping peat and eggs together
in water to hatch. That is what I do with annuals that
have been in peat for 3-9 months. The fry swim out of
the peat which settles to the bottom. You can remove
the peat or you can remove the fry or you can leave
them together. As long as the water is changed
regularly to prevent pollution it does not matter.

Lee Harper
Media PA



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