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Thread: Belly Slider

  1. #1
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    Belly Slider

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    Hi fellas

    I´ve been reading all I could find, still, I haven´t found what exactly causes belly sliding. Apart form keeping the fish in excellent conditions I was told that I should use oxygen tablets when wetting the peat, specially if they´re nothos which tend to become sliders more easily.

    What do yo think about these tablets? Any good? Do you have any other methods to avoid sliders?

    Thanks.
    No pain ... No gain

    Howler = Juan

  2. #2
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    Would anyone be willing to explain the term "belly slider" to me? I have heard it numerous times, but still I am oblivious to what it is.
    -Mark Mendoza

  3. #3
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    Hi slaigar,

    As far as I know a belly slider is a fish that has a defect in its swim bladder and is unable to swim normally, therefore spending most of its time lying on the bottom of the tank on its belly.
    No pain ... No gain

    Howler = Juan

  4. #4
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    Hello Juan and Mark,

    I've learnt quite a simple method from a friend in France in hatching annual eggs successfully and reducing the number of belly sliders in my short time as a killie keeper. No experience in hatching Notho eggs yet but I've had some experience in hatching SAA eggs. Made some changes to suit myself but its basically the same.

    Once the eggs are ready to hatch (most of the eggs should have eyed-up), place the peat in a shallow hatching tray (a simple transparent plastic tray will do). Wet the peat (if there's little peat use less water, too much water and none of the fry will hatch) with cold water, at roughly about 20°C and break one oxygen tablet into several pieces. Drop the pieces into the tray liberally, ensuring that they are evenly placed for maximum oxygen distribution. Within the first few hours (2-4hrs), some species will start hatching out, like the Simp. zonatus but for species like Simp. flammeus, they take much longer to hatch out. Once you observe any fry moving about on the bottom but not swimming freely, break another oxygen tablet and spread the pieces evenly. This is to allow the developing fry to get enough oxygen dissolved in the water. The use of cool water and oxygen tablets mimics the effect of rain water in the natural habitat, in which the rain water is usually saturated with oxygen. This will effectively reduce the number of belly sliders, which in my humble opinion, are sometimes caused by the lack of dissolved oxygen in the hatching tray. I've done this for my recent hatches and have experienced quite good success with 100% hatchrate for my flammeus. However, as always, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa, so try this with a little bit of risk. It might just work out for you

    Other causes maybe genetic, in which the resultant fry are unable to straighten out and start swimming properly. Deformities can also cause the fry to be unable to swim, such as bent tails.

    P.S. This works OK with SAA but I have no idea if they'll work with Nothos.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slaigar
    Would anyone be willing to explain the term "belly slider" to me? I have heard it numerous times, but still I am oblivious to what it is.
    Mark, besides "belly slider", I'm sure you heard of "belly dancer" too, right? They are somewhat the same; it's all about "bellies" But seriously, "belly sliders" are fish which slide on their bellies all the time. Most "belly sliders" can swim but they swim in a funny way and usually, they can't swim very long. No one is sure what causes this but I remember reading an article in the AKA journal where someone did some experiments and found that the percentage of belly sliders drop dramatically when there's peat moss in the water. Peat extract is supposed to produce the same results too. If memory serves, the experiments were conducted using Notho eggs.

    From my own experiences, belly sliders are not necessarily a lost cause. I have seen a fry which was a belly slidier grow up to be a normal free-swimming adult. But in this instance, it was a non-annual, an Aphyosemion australe to be exact.

    Lily Choo once told me she had to use a belly sliding Notho male with several females in her breeding tank because that was the only male she had. Incredibly, that male was very virile and went on to fertilise several hundred eggs. I don't know if all the offspring turned out to be belly-sliders though.

    Hope this information is useful to you, Juan.

    Loh K L

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