This blog results from an email I got from a hobbyist, Christy. She wrote: “Hello, I'm a small hobbyist and I was wondering if you would share your breeding setups for platies and mollies. It sounds like you get a good number of fish from your tanks with the schedule and setup. Best of ... Read More
livebearers
Poeciliopsis gracilis, the Porthole Livebearer
The photo is of a pair of Poeciliopsis gracilis, the porthole livebearer, male right and female left. We acquired our starting breeders of this species from Rusty Wessel in 2008. Rusty collected the fish from Rio Copan in Honduras. I recently wrote a column about them for Tropical Fish Hobbyist. ... Read More
Ameca splendens
This is one of the 40+ Goodeids, a family of livebearers hailing from Mexico’s central plateau. This fish is possibly extinct in the wild, although I’ve heard recent reports a wild population has been found. We’ve had A. splendens for probably a decade. For some reason our database doesn’t have ... Read More
Texas Garter Snake
The Texas Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis annectens) is one of the three snakes that have established breeding populations in our greenhouses. All three species (the other two are water snakes) share a common characteristic: they are livebearers. Since there is no sand or soil in our greenhouses ... Read More
Red Cherry Shrimp, Neocaridina denticulata senensis
This pretty little shrimp makes a great nano-tank or plant tank specimen. They are not shy and their bright coloration makes them stand out. While they are considered algae eaters, I’ve found they don’t. They sit on the algae and eat bits of food adhering to the plant, but they do not eat ... Read More
Preparing for three days of talks
There are times I should do only what has to be done. But, things happen… This time I had three speaking engagements in Vermont and Montréal, Canada in just three days in May. The day before leaving I spent most of the day before getting ready for the trip. Susie had booked us on an early morning ... Read More