How long do belly sliders live?

[joteo]

Hi everyone,

No serious questions about killies here.

I was wondering how long belly sliders normally live. The last few times, mine lasted only a day or two. But in this recent batch of Simp. magnificus, there's a belly slider that has lived for several weeks.

His brothers are already colouring up, but here he is, maybe only the size of a fry a few days old.

Every morning, I look at him and he's on his side and I think he's dead. Just when I think this is it, the day he becomes fodder for the lobster, he moves. When he gets some food in his belly, he swims upright again.

Swimming up to the surface is a challenge for him and he sinks right back to the bottom of the container.

Do your belly sliders live long? If so, how long can they live? Will all belly sliders eventually die? If they survive, what do you eventually do with them?

Thanks
joanne

[turaco]

Joanne,
Sometimes, belly slider can live to full maturity if food are always available(drop food right beside them) & there are no competition with the healthy ones.

"Will all belly sliders eventually die?"- All living things die, eventually . Correct me if I'm wrong, belly sliding are caused by external factor, like delayed wetting or insufficient oxygen etc. I had experienced raising a group of belly slider Austrolebias, collected their eggs & managed to raise healthy fry again.

"what do you eventually do with them?"- It took double the effort to raise them to produce eggs & is no fun seeing them lying flat on the ground most of the time. Some choose to cull them straight.

If you have your belly slider MAG living together with its healthy siblings, it will not be able to compete with them & die from hunger. That's the rule- Survival of the fittest!

[joteo]

Haha. I guess I should've been clearer. All things do die, but I thought that belly sliders have a limited life span 'cause of the lack of oxygen or late wetting.

I thought because there some kind of abnormality that causes them to sink rather than swim, that this abnormality would cause early death.

But I got my answer... they can live to full maturity. But since I don't have enough space, I don't think I will be keeping a special container for belly sliders.

Right now, I don't know if it's better to cull it, let it see how long it can go on with its siblings or throw him into the lobster tank and be eaten.

They all seem like terrible alternatives and I am getting rather fond of this side sleeper.

Thanks
joanne

joanne

[nonamethefish]

I suppose his siblings will eventually get to the point where they can eat him?