Category Archives: Guest Post

More about egg-laying fish

By Rita:

In an earlier post I briefly described the most common egg-laying style of fish in a fish tank aquarium, egg scattering, and provided some insight as to why these eggs often did not reach adulthood.  In this post I will discuss some of the other egg laying strategies. Each group is presented in order of parental attentiveness to the offspring.

The egg scatterers have no parental interest in the eggs or the fry.  They are also likely to eat their own eggs after the spawn.

The egg hangers on the other hand are not as apt to eat their own eggs.   The spawning fish lay and fertilize each egg then hang them by a fine, sticky thread from plants usually near the top of the aquarium.  Beyond that there is no parental care.   This group of fish includes Lyretail, Panchax, Lampeye, and Rivulus plus others.  Most of this group is not common to the average tropical fish aquaria.  One of the reasons is they are among the more expensive fish. The expense is due to the fact that it takes more time and space for breeding. The female will lay up to 200 eggs over a 20-day period.  The young will then hatch in a staggered period according to the day laid.  This can result in a hodgepodge of growing fry.  The younger fry is in danger of being eaten by the earlier hatched larger fry.

Nest builders are the another group and they take a slightly more active parental role. The nest is first prepared either by sticking bubbles together or gluing aquarium debris into a nest.  The eggs will be deposited into the nest.  The nest is then protected until the eggs hatch.  Once the fry hatch they are on their own. The fish that comprise this group are the Sticklebacks, Siamese Fighting-Fish and Gourami.

The most protective of their eggs and off spring is the egg hiders and the egg anchorers.  This group consists mostly of Cichlids and Dwarf Cichlids.  It also includes Angelfish, Jack Dempsey and a few others.  As the group name implies the eggs are attached to a surface either secluded (the egg hiders) or in the open.  Both partners concern themselves with preparation of the spawning bed, the care and protection of the eggs, and the care of the fry for a period of time after hatching.

To leave a pair of spawning fish in a community tank is always a risk. A properly prepared breeding tank would greatly increase the chances of having viable young.

Why gluten-free means opportunity

Guest Post:

If you have been diagnosed with some form of gluten sensitivity, you will have to adapt to a gluten free diet. Some people, when faced with this change, become upset and even incredulous. How can you possibly replace a key ingredient in so many standard foods, from birthday cakes, biscuits and muffins to spaghetti and ravioli?

It might elicit some cognitive dissonance to see it this way, but adapting to a gluten-free diet will be bring greater joy and energy to your life in two distinct ways: greater creativity and variety. I appreciate why many people may be skeptical about such a claim, but stick with me here. This isn’t your usual rationalization for enduring gluten allergy symptoms and adapting to a gluten-free diet.

Humans thrive on creativity and variety. So many people don’t realize this anymore because they get stuck in some kind of comfortable daily rut. But just go draw a random picture or write something silly and creative (even if you feel you can’t write). Even people who don’t consider themselves creative will find some subtle, quiet joy at the very act of creation.

Furthermore, variety is the spice of life, right? What this means is that variety keeps the exuberance of living fresh and vital. When you experience the same thing over and over, time runs together. Hours turn into days and days turn into years and soon enough you’re wondering where it all went. With variety, we experience a renewed perspective and interest in our daily lives.

How does this apply to adapting to a gluten-free diet? As you refine your palette and dietary habits to adapt to your gluten intolerance, you will find yourself exploring more creative and diverse culinary avenues than you have in years.

And what you will discover is that eventually you will not miss foods containing gluten. Instead, you will relish the greater diversity of foods you’re enjoying and savor the increased creativity of putting together your meals.

Marcum fish finders

When it comes to ice fishing gear it seems that the world has gone completely crazy over electronics. This isn’t for no reason, mind you.  The electronics world has taken ice fishing to the next level.  Gone are the days of sitting on a bucket staring at a hole hoping that a fish may actually be down there to bite your offering.  No, today we take our fancy electronics and make sure that the fish is down there.  In addition, we could even use an ice fishing camera to see the fish and what species they are.  Heck, we could even see them bite the hook if we wanted to.

And this is where marcum fish finders come into play.  If you are using an ice fishing flasher you have a much better chance of catching fish that a counter part without any electronics to aid him.  It is the run and gun style of the modern ice angler.  If you put your flasher down a hole and don’t see any fish, it is time to move.  Keep moving constantly until you locate fish on your flasher and then try to catch them.  Much like you wouldn’t sit in a boat on open water in one place for a couple of hours catching nothing, you should not do that on the ice either.  if you aren’t seeing fish, move to another hole.

Which brings up a good point.  In order to enable moving constantly we need to have a lot of holes at our disposal.  Make sure that you punch a significant amount of holes before starting to fish.  15-50 is a good number to think about.  The more you have the more agile you can be and the more fish you will likely catch.  Granted once you find that honey hole you likely won’t leave it, but until you do the numerous holes around you afford a lot of room to roam.

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Breeding fish in a home aquarium

The usual fish tank aquarium is set up for the enjoyment of the observer.  An aquarist will often buy a pair of fish, a male and a female. As with other creatures when a male and a female get together the natural impulse is to breed.  A natural question might be, ”Why doesn’t the aquarium soon over flow with fish?”  One of the answers to such a question is related to the breeding needs of tropical fish.

In some cases, fishes in captivity do not acclimate to aquarium conditions.  Even though they may be kept alive and in good health there is “something” missing.  The missing element could be one thing or a combination of things.  It might be that the water pressure is not right for that breed of fish to spawn.  For some fish there is a need for a lot of surface water and even a large fish tank cannot provide enough surface water. Some fish are rendered sterile under normal shipping conditions. Not all the reasons are known and most are speculation.

For the fish that do breed in a fish tank aquarium, the usual community tank does not give enough protection for many of the fry to survive.  This is especially true for the egg scatterers.

Egg scatterers comprise a large portion of the commonly used tropical fish population.  Included in this group are the Tetras, Pencilfish, most of the Barbs, some of the Minnows, Hatchet, and Catfish as well as many others.  The process is just as the name implies.  The female swims and scatters her eggs; the male follows behind her and fertilizes them. An observer sees this behavior as a chase.  Other fish in the tank see this as a feeding.  Even the parent fish will enjoy the roe once the spawning is completed.

A few of the fertilized eggs may make it to the bottom of the tank and find shelter in the aquarium gravel.  The eggs differ in degrees of stickiness to none at all.  The sticky eggs may adhere to an aquarium ornament or plant; some of the eggs may float.  All of the eggs in this group are abandoned by the parent fish making them susceptible to scavengers.  Even the eggs that make it to the safety of aquarium sand or gravel have only a slight chance of maturing into fry. Bottom feeders and scavenger fish will eat most of them.  If an egg should be able to hatch their chances of survival are next to nothing.  The fry are non-swimmers until the yolk sac is absorbed and a lack of an appropriate food source will also inhibit the small fish’s chances of survival.

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Live-bearing fish
Aquarium gravel and water
Aquarium stands, options and considerations

Gamboa

Guest Post:

If you ever travel to Panama you want to be sure to visit Gamboa.  Gamboa is right in the middle of the rain forest. I know that may sound like a strange idea – going to the tropics and deliberately going into the rain forest but here’s what’s cool and different about this Panamanian  Rain Forest – It’s only 17 miles from Panama City and the Pacific Ocean. So, if you are staying at one of the Panama Hotels in the city you can drive in and out of this rain forest in less than an hour.

The Gamboa Rain Forest Resort

Now what’s really special about Gamboa is the Gamboa Rain Forest Resort. This Panamanian Resort is located smack dab inside the Soberania National Park where it sits on the banks of the Chagres River. The Chagres is part of the Panama Canal so just one of the bonuses of visiting here is seeing the huge ships, including some beautiful cruise ships, pass right by the front door. Although you can stay at Gamboa for the day and take in it’s long list of eco-tours and activities I recommend staying over at the resort at least a few nights. The Gamboa Resort is one of the most stunningly beautiful luxury hotels and resorts in Panama. Many visitors comment that it’s just like staying at a luxury beach resort only in the jungle rather than on a beach.

Gamboa Eco-Tours

The Gamboa resort does have a huge, beautiful pool but it’s really not the kind of place where you want to lie around. Gamboa is all about adventure, eco-adventure. There are over a dozen different eco-tours you can participate at Gamboa Rain Forest Resort. One of the most popular is a boat trip to Monkey Island. I don’t need to tell you what that is all about and why kids love it so much! For the sportsman there is some of the best fresh water fishing around right on Lake Gatun. You can either rent a boat or take one of the Sport Fishing Tours where you are sure to learn about all of the ‘hot spots’.  Gamboa is also known for it’s Aerial Tram which takes you up into the rain forest canopy to discover numerous birds and wildlife you won’t see on the ground.

More than just the Panama Canal

So, if you thought Panama was just a small country with a big shipping canal think again! Panama has it all from beautiful beaches to historic sites to modern cities to the wonders of the Gamboa Rain Forest. The next time you’re planning a trip may I suggest you try something new, visit Panama!