>>...since about 1968 or so when I was a young brat working at a pet store and going to Purdue University.< In 1968 I was just a young brat, PERIOD! rinsing 2-3 times per day is impossible with my current work/family/homeowner loads. I'll have to work with once a day. You didn't mention how often you rinse them after the first week. >>I'm ashamed to say my dwarfs won't eat a flake.<< FWIW mine eat flakes, freeze dried bloodworms and BBS. But I haven't tried setting them up to breed yet, so I think the blackworm diet is a helpful hint for conditioning. BTW my Kribs are feed the same diet (sans the BBS) and they just spawned again (2nd time). The 1st time was in a 10 gallon tank at work. The female killed the male after the fry became free swimming. Now I moved her back home into a 30 community tank with 4 males, the largest of which she pair with. There are some other fish in the tank (3 swardtails, cory cat, & 1 killifish), so things may get interesting this weekend. P.S. I have called a friend to take some of the other males. Bill Vannerson http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/william_vannerson