Re: [Killietalk] Aphanius mento

["George & Melanie Caruso" <caraway1 at centurytel_net>]

I had the best success with the Aphanius Mento when I put them in my outside 
pond (55 Gal.) and left them all summer. Then netted out many fry in the 
fall to take inside. Unfortunately I do not the the Mento anymore.
George
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Allan Semeit" <azkillie at cox_net>
To: "AKA KillieTalk" <KillieTalk at aka_org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 12:29 AM
Subject: [Killietalk] Aphanius mento


> For several years I kept Aphanius mento and was able to distribute them
> widely.  These are a fairly aggressive species and require a lot of space
> and cover for the females and non-dominant male(s).  I was successful by
> removing the eggs from the mops and incubating and rearing the fry
> separately.
>
> A few years ago, something ran through my Aphanius mento tank and wiped 
> them
> out.  Last year, when visiting one of our "occasional" Arizona members, I
> discovered that she was maintaining my old strain - in a 10-gallon tank
> (that was planted) with the fry growing up in the tank.  I was surprised,
> but accepted her offer of some fry.
>
> The fry matured into several males and females and were placed in a
> 20-gallon Long with a Hydro sponge filter and a Penn Plax Cascade 300
> Internal Filter, lots of mops and some live plants (water sprite, later
> hornwort).  I continued my former practice of harvesting eggs - until I
> noticed fry growing up in the adult tank.  Surprisingly to me, the 
> dominant
> male ignored the fry even when they swam quite close to him.  Not so
> surprising, the fry in the tank grew faster than their peers in separate
> show boxes.
>
> Thinking back, I don't remember ever seeing fry in tanks with mops only.
> I'm guessing that the "fry friendly" plants help the fry grow large enough
> and quickly enough to avoid becoming adult food.  My 20 Long has turned 
> out
> to be too small for more than one male so it looks like I'll need to 
> remove
> the fry before they mature.  But, as you might guess, I'm breeding 
> Aphanius
> mento differently now.
>
> What sort of experiences have you had with Aphanius mento?  How much
> territory do you need for more than one male?  Does overpopulating reduce
> aggression?
>
> As a final note, do not judge all Aphanius species based upon Aphanius
> mento's behavior.  Other Aphanius species that I have kept (i.e. - 
> Aphanius
> sirhani and baeticus) can be far less aggressive toward one another.
>
> Allan from Arizona
>
>
>
>
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>
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