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Thread: A Most Amazing Thing!!!

  1. #1
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    A Most Amazing Thing!!!

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    Hi, everyone,

    I had a long day today. It's late. I'm tired and feeling unwell but I just got to tell you all about this amazing thing I discovered today before I can go to bed.

    On the eve of the gathering, I brought some of my Nothobranchius rubripinnis adult killifish to Karin's shop. It was my intention to put them up for sale during the gathering. But when I was in Karin's shop, I noticed that my fish were infected with Callamanus worms. I didn't know earlier because my tanks are quite heavily planted and the front piece of glass is always full of algae so I can never see the fish clearly. Anyway, not wanting to sell sick fish, I brought them all home.

    Yesterday, I was on sick leave. Having some extra time, I decided to tear down the tank holding the Notho rubripinnis. I transferred the infected fish into a hospital tank. I pulled out all the plants and threw them away. I then washed the gravel several times. For good measure, I poured in a cup of bleach (chlorox) to kill of any Callamanus worms that may be hiding in the gravel. About 15 minutes after pouring in the bleach, I saw a few shrimps struggling in the water. They were obviously in deep distress but I thought I should let them die in the tank because if the bleach is strong enough to kill them, it would definitely kill off all Callamanus worms too.

    I let the bleached water stand for about an hour, by which time all the shrimp were dead. I then washed the gravel several times again and filled up the tank with new water.

    This afternoon, I came home from Karin's shop. I was sitting in front of the tank when I suddenly saw movement. On closer examination, I was really shocked to see 3 fry swimming in the water.

    I can't be hundred percent sure as it's impossible to identify fry but they have to be Notho rubrippinis fry because that was the only killifish I kept in that tank for the last 4 months or so. How on earth did they manage to survive the bleaching? And why were the eggs not crushed when I washed the gravel several times?

    It's really incredible that there could be fry because the eggs never went through a dry incubation period.

    The thing I can tell you from this experience - The more I learn about killifish, the less I know.

    Loh K L

  2. #2
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    KL,
    The cat is out of the bag . How are you going to tell your boss that you were at Karin's shop when you were on MC ? Never mind about the other amazing discovery

  3. #3
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    KL, that's a pretty amazing discovery! And to think you added chlorox, which is all the more mind-boggling to realise that there were still fry in the tank

    Anyway, just so you know, it's Camallanus worms, not Callamanus, I think. :wink:
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

  4. #4
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    Hi Loh,

    I was amazed by the eggs surviving the bleach treatment. (could you have decap the eggs, just like what we did for brineshrimp eggs!!??)

    Ok, joke aside. Frankly I wasn’t too amazed about eggs developing without going through the dry incubation, especially when it is a planted tank. I had ever read an article about annual eggs hatching in water as long as sufficient oxygen was available for the egg development.

    After reading this article, I did an experiment to verify this finding. I used a breeding bowl (take away box) with a bigger mouth so as I could place an oxygen generator in it. I used Nothobranchius palmqvisti for this experiments. The fish breed in the breeding bowl while the oxygen generator was producing O2 all the time. I took out the breeding bowl and continued to incubate the eggs in the water with the O2 generator, after 3 weeks, I saw 5 fry.

    I stop the experiment and dry the peat. When I browsed through the peat, I saw developed eggs. However in different stages. I thought I could get annuals in weeks if this experiment was successful., but the sign of eggs developing in different stages stop me from doing so.

    Why we do not see this in our breeding tank is due to the lack of oxygen, especially so when eggs are confine in the breeding bowl. Why did I say this is possible in a planted tank was plants are natural oxygen generators.

    I had written put down paper on my findings and like Loh, my hard disk crashed before I could posted it up.. I lost about 4~5 experiments articles.

    regards
    Gwee Sia Meng
    AKA 08742
    SAA 163
    Fish List

  5. #5
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    Sia Meng,

    Although it was a planted tank, there weren't much plants inside. So I don't think it was the oxygen from the plants that causes the eggs to hatch. Rather, I think it was because I changed the water several times and that, in one way or another, force hatched the eggs.

    I remember reading an article in one of the AKA's journals that someone had very good success hatching Nothobranchius eggs without having to dry incubate them. I can't be sure but I think he was using an undergravel filter. The current of water going through an undergravel filter would provide a lot of oxygen so eggs in the gravel will develop at a fast rate.

    I've once said that Mother Nature is very clever. She will not programmed every egg to hatch at the same time. In order for the species to survive, eggs must have different development times in-built into their genes. I believe some eggs will hatch even if they don't through a dry incubation period. I think what I saw in my tank has proven that to be true.

    What is really amazing is how the eggs or fry manage to survive being crushed when I washed the gravel. I washed the gravel at least 6 times so I really find it incredible the eggs weren't crushed.

    Loh K L

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