No Subject

[jonathan <fung@is2.dal.ca>]

Hi everyone! I was able to convince a professor to fund me in a 25 males/
25 females thesis project for my BSc, involving Apistogramma borellii. I
have 5X 25 gallon tanks, 10 fish in each with a  1:1  sex ratio. I've got
5 potting sausers inverted, each with a 1 cm^2 hole, in each tank. I am
using fine sand, no plants so I can observe the male to male competition.

I am looking for information regarding the nature of
"pseudo-females" in Apistogramma borellii. Apparently there are males
which are morphologically similar to females, presumably to avoid
aggression from the dominant males and perhaps to attain spawning
opportunities by acheiving proximity. Has anyone seen anything like this?
I can't seem to distinguish between true females and pseudo-females.
Any suggestions on reading sources (authors and year)?

Furthermore, I am trying to find info on their natural breeding regime.
When do they breed (rainseason?) and why? What are the conditions that
make such a "breeding season" favorable? Any suggestions on reading
sources (authors/year)? Any thoughts, guesses?

I am also in search of information on the natural temperatures and pH
values throughout their natural range, throughout their breeding and non
breeding regimes. I am seeking to investigate their environmental sex
determination phenomenon (sex ratio of progeny vary with pH and temp). Any
personal observations in this regard? Any suggested readings? What do most
people believe the pH and temperatures are, and how they vary throughout
the year in Apistogramma borellii's range? Anyone know of a good watershed
database for the range of this species? Anyone know of the definite range
of this species?

Many thanks,
Jonathan


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Jonathan Fung... Reef Geek
Dalhousie University Honours Marine Biology
Aqua Creations Inc. Assistant Manager
writer for Marine Fish Monthly 
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