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Thread: Terranatos dolichopterus 'V96/7' - Beginning of a journey

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    Terranatos dolichopterus 'V96/7' - Beginning of a journey

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    Dear all,

    Anyone who's not familiar with the Terranatos dolichopterus is likely to call it "terror whatchamacallit".... I know I did.

    It is a very unique fish with very, no... make that VERY long fins, like sails. They are also known as the 'Sabre fin killie'.

    Strikes me as unusual in that for such a fish, there's really little info to be gleamed from the web. Googling would normally return tons of hits, but not this baby!

    I'm doing a page on these fishes for posterity and my journey has just begun. I intend to log my observations from egg to spawn, and hopefully I'm inspired sufficiently to wait till they mature... in about a year (gosh!!)

    A word of caution.... my attempt to test-wet the eggs didn't go as expected and some pics may be considered gross.

    The page is;
    http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/fi...chopterus.html

    Anyone who can imput more info to be included in the page is always appreciated.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Re: Terranatos dolichopterus 'V96/7' - Beginning of a journe

    Dear all,
    I was in the midst of updating this thread when a search returned 2 other threads on the Terranatos dolichopterus.
    One was started by Au, dated Feb 22nd 2004. The other, by Lily on Apr 12th 2004 (just re-linked image). Do check up on those threads as well.

    So what's the update?

    Frankly, I'm pretty ticked off but so will you... when male DOLs start making out with each other in a peat bed (the clickable images can express my frustrations better... <sigh>) Talk about happy and gay Dollies!


    Pics taken Jun 30th 2004 (you won't find gay DOLs pics elsewhere. Remember you saw it first on Killies.com and it's one of a kind )

    Many of the big fellas are obviously male and amongst the smaller belly sliders, I'm not sure if there are females. Even if there's only one female, there is hope.

    I'm making an call to anyone in here who's willing to trade/sell female DOLs... One Lady Dol should get me on my way (David, any extra females I can buy off from you?).

    Will update further if I see a real pair making whoopie...
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Folks, one stupid question... how does one differentiate DOL sexes??

    I've been studying the big pics of the 2 DOLs and wonder if my hopes are sub-conciously playing mind-tricks, but won't you take a closer look...

    In pic #1 (from Left), does the 'male' (behind) have a shorter dorsal and caudal (tail) extension than the one in front?

    In pic #3 (from Left), examine the dorsal and anal fins. The 'fella' in front has shorter of both and is beginning to look more and more like a 'gal'.

    Anyone who has bred these DOLs please say something and put me out of my misery!

    ok... let me go edit some pics, just so no one gets confused with what I'm saying.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Served fresh and piping hot! Gimme your best shot, folks.





    ... so what will it be? Do I have a pair
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Hello Ron,
    I was searching the internet and I came up with two pictures of female DOLs:
    http://thearkfoundation.org/SAA/publ...rus_(f)-1.html
    http://dkg.killi.org/starthilfe/sten...rus_Female.JPG

    They look quite bland and lack the trailing fins that the males have.

    I can't really comment on the ones you have on the picture. I am as well pretty much oblivious with this species. But it does look like you have a gay pair . Now, what would the scientists think about this?
    -Mark Mendoza

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    Quote Originally Posted by Slaigar
    But it does look like you have a gay pair . Now, what would the scientists think about this?
    Mark,
    Thanks for doing the search. Guess I haven't been looking hard enough for images of DOL females and drats... back to the drawing board

    I'll be leaving the lab in a bit and gonna get this off my mind... siphon the peat and check for eggs when I hit home.

    Will post my observations later.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Ron, here's a picture from the DKG site of a DOL female.

    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    oh well... as some would say, it's "back to the drawing board". At least for now, the DOLs are keeping themselves occupied until I find a real female DOLL!
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Don't feel too alone, Ron.

    The only Doli I ever had was an old male. He spent his early and useful breeding life with the famous ex-killy breeder, Robert Nhan. From there he went to Sue Bunte, and later to me.

    When he died, Sue and I checked back with Robert and determined he was way over 3 years old. Not bad for an "annual!" Since many species in fish shops don't live that long, we could use this to disuade them from the rumors that killies don't live long enough.

    BTW, the other killifish breeder here in Bishop, Howard Wu, has kept them for over 8 years. His fishroom was closed down for a bit, while he made an emergency trip to Australia on family business. I suspect his entire stock of them is in peat at the moment. He's back, so let me know if we need to contact him about more eggs or females. OK?

    Wright
    01 760 872-3995
    805 Valley West Circle
    Bishop, CA 93514 USA

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    Quote Originally Posted by whuntley
    BTW, the other killifish breeder here in Bishop, Howard Wu, has kept them for over 8 years. His fishroom was closed down for a bit, while he made an emergency trip to Australia on family business. I suspect his entire stock of them is in peat at the moment. He's back, so let me know if we need to contact him about more eggs or females. OK?
    Wright, I have 6 male DOLs and will be bring 2 of them to the '1st Saturday meet' this 4th. It's taken me 9 months to raise them to between 6~10cm and quite perky if maintained in a low-lit tank with dark substrate. A small group of Pseudomugil gertrudae help keep shyness at bay and tease the DOL into the open during feeding.

    It's unfortunate I can't go on with the next generation, for lack of females, but if I have to do it all over again, I will.

    Would it be possible for you to contact Howard? Do check if he has some DOL eggs lying around... it would make someone very happy. (I'll naturally reimburse you for any expenses incurred)
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Someone PM'ed saying that the DOL maxs out at 4cm and not possibly 10cm. Guess what? He's partially correct and my eyeballs need adjustments.


    Using the lighter as a guide, I'd say that the largest, from mouth to tip of caudal extension, is 8cm.

    Here are some pics of the DOLs before heading off to Eco last Saturday;


    BTW, Wright, any news from Howard yet? I've 3 lonely boys waiting for mates.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Hi Ron,

    Howard is back, but I lost track of this thread so have not talked to him, yet. I'll try to do so soon.

    Wright
    01 760 872-3995
    805 Valley West Circle
    Bishop, CA 93514 USA

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    Wright, thank you very much. Will be looking forward to the good news.

    I'd really like to have the DOLs established amongst the local killie-keepers and worst case scenario would be to start over from scratch (which I don't mind)

    With Howard's extensive experience working on DOLs, it would be great if you can drag him onboard! :wink:
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Quote Originally Posted by RonWill
    Wright, thank you very much. Will be looking forward to the good news.

    I'd really like to have the DOLs established amongst the local killie-keepers and worst case scenario would be to start over from scratch (which I don't mind)

    With Howard's extensive experience working on DOLs, it would be great if you can drag him onboard! :wink:
    The news is not good. Howard no longer has them, and isn't much help.

    I do see eggs advertised on Aquabid, and it may be that Bob Schwiegerath still breeds them in New Mexico. He's in the AKA roster, and might be worth a try.

    Wright
    01 760 872-3995
    805 Valley West Circle
    Bishop, CA 93514 USA

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    I think Gary Bartell still breeds them too. In any case go to http://www.thearkfoundation.org/SAA and join the SAA study group. You should be able to find eggs there!

    tt4n

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