Does it only take 7 days?

[dharnden@mindspring.com]

Wow,

This was quick. 10 days ago I was trying to find some apistos. 7 days ago I
got what appeared to be definitely a male and probably a female A. borelli.
I put them in a newly setup 10 gallon in my kids' bedroom (that's where my
wife wanted it) about 1/4 full of stones I had collected from a nearby
creek. The tank doesn't have a filter. I don't know any of the water
parameters except temperature, which is stays at about 78 deg. F.

I have added water from a year round stagnant pool from the woods nearby.
The pool is not associated with any creek or anything that has fish in it.
This pool of water is full of insect larva. There are daphnia, mosquito
larva, cyclops, blood worms, glass worms, fairy shrimp (look like gigantic
brine shrimp), amphipods, isopods, volvox and other stuff I can't identify.
The water is full of rotting leaves and is amber colored so I assume it is
fairly acid.

I also threw in a bunch of rotting leaves from the stagnant pool into the
tank to give the female places to hide.

She needed them, because for the first five days the male chased her all
over the tank. I could usually find her hiding under a leaf and eating baby
isopods, getting fat.

Yesterday morning she looked a bit yellowish, much different than brownish
with light vertical bands that she had been wearing. In the afternoon and
evening I couldn't find her, but the male was out in front alot. Today the
male is hiding under leaves. And I have seen only once since yesterday when
for a moment when she emerged from a cave, and chased the male away.  She
was very yellow.

I hope this is good news, and that she is guarding eggs. But neither
yesterday or today have I seen any sign of an ovipositor or breeding tube on
either one. She was skinny 7 days ago, and rounded yesterday. Could she have
developed eggs inside her in just a few days? Or could this just be some
sort of rehearsal? I guess I will just wait and see.

I don't think guppies would be having offspring 7 days home from the pet
store.

Daniel Harnden



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