Live Foods

Update on Scuds (Shrimp, not Missiles!)

Photo by Matt Hill of EcoAnalysts, Inc., our go-to expert on invertebrate identification, of one of our male scuds. One of the livefoods for fish we raise in our hatchery is scuds, also known as Gammarus. We recently sort of got our scuds identified. See this blog for details: Update on Gammarus ... Read More

Litter Worm Update

Litter Worm Update Photo: A group of litter worms (Bimastos heimburgeri) in one of our compost piles. I previously blogged about finally finding a lab to identify our scuds, litter worms, and vat worms. For information about the scud identification and some background see these ... Read More

A Possible Female Guppy/Molly Hybrid

Photo: A possible Poecilia reticulata (guppy) x Poecilia mexicana, Campeche (molly) hybrid in front of a grid to show size. We found the fish in the above photograph January 15th of this year. Before I describe the fish and argue why I think it might be a hybrid, let me give you some ... Read More

Raising Mosquito Larvae for Fish Food

Photo: A mosquito larvae culture system to raise live foods for fish. I originally wrote this as an article in our monthly Newsletter (now dormant, but likely to be revived). I’ve made some edits, but it’s largely the same information. Also, it’s a timely blog since mosquito season will be ... Read More

Update on Fingernail Clams, Sphaerium corneum

Photo: Closeup of three Fingernail Clams, Sphaerium corneum, on a finger. Okay, I thought I could get away with a short blog (see my previous blog: http://goliadfarms.com/fingernail-clams-sphaerium-corneum/), but right off the bat its shortness and lack of natural history led to a question from ... Read More

Tubifex Worms

Photo: A ball of Tubifex worms. Years ago in some of our vats I found clumps of Tubifex worms. I have no idea what species, but they thrive in the muck on the bottom of the vats, but only in vats where the fish don’t poke around in the muck. They do well with mollies and rainbowfishes. I was ... Read More

Poecilia mexicana, Campeche

We recently processed our Poecilia mexicana, Campeche. We got this wild molly species in June 2009 from Dr. Ptacek of Clemson University. The "Campeche" notation indicates that Dr. Ptacek collected the fish in Campeche, Mexico. It has proven to be one of our most popular short finned mollies. The ... Read More