Re: [GSAS-Member] Another auction fish coming to the meeting

["Connie Carlson" <nwconniec@hotmail.com>]

Hi Bryan,

Yep, I really have enjoyed them, glad my posts, etc. have got you thinking 
about it.  The popluation control concept is what got me looking at them in 
the first place too.

I have been feeding them relatively sporadically honestly.  They were VERY 
hungry when I first got them, and several fish for each of them a day didnt 
seem like enough at first.  I have learned to put a dozen or so fish in at a 
time, especially if the feeders are on the small side; the quickest Belos. 
get one or two immediately, then they are content enough to let the others 
grab thiers.  They are all getting enough food now though that when I put a 
batch of reasonably-sized feeders in, a few usually end up swimming around 
for a few hours before disappearing.

SO, with five Belos. a dozen or so feeders go into the tank at once, and I 
do this daily if I have a good supply (for up to three days max so far), 
every other day if not, and with this routine they seem perfectly fine if 
they go three or even four days without anything, which I have let them do 
several times now.  By then though, they are starting to watch me closely 
from inside the tank in anticipation of that next batch.

Endlers are on the smaller side, but one or two full-sized ones daily or 
close to it should be more than enough to satisfy this guy.  I have read and 
can confirm by experience that if they are being fed enough they will let 
potential food swim on by if they are already full.  They are pretty 
entertaining to watch how closely they track where that lunch bite went if 
they do ignore it though.

And a 55 gallon home will make his spawn mates envious...   ;+)

Hope this helps!
Connie



----Original Message Follows----
From: "Bryan Nichols" <nicholsbryan@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member 
chat<gsas-member@thekrib.com>
To: "Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat" <gsas-member@thekrib.com>
Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Another auction fish coming to the meeting
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2008 18:27:28 -0700

Connie,
Of the reading that I have done on the net and of your posts these fish
sound truly fascinating! I've been considering the undertaking seriously if
not only for the fact that I have a great over abundance of endlers :P. One
question I have is: how often do you feed these guys? Once a day? Twice a
day? More often? Less often? I have a 55 Gallon that I have been considering
setting up that would fit a fish like that nicely.

-Bryan

On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Connie Carlson <nwconniec@hotmail.com>wrote:

 > There are some that may not know about my Belonesox obsession - I finally
 > received some from a guy in Illinois a month or so ago, and they are 
doing
 > great.
 >
 > One of the males is getting pushed around by the other male and probably
 > needs a new home though...  any takers?  I was planning on bringing him 
to
 > the meeting if for no other reason than to let everyone look at these
 > really
 > cool fish!
 >
 > BUT, if anyone wants first dibs on him, please speak up.  He is an
 > almost-adult ~4-inch male.  Know what you are getting into though; these
 > fish are FAST and hungry predators, and will eat any fish small enough to
 > fit into their fascinatingly expandable jaws, not unlike snake jaws I 
have
 > discovered.  Even small goldfish have been gulped down with enthusiasm.
 >  And
 > they need at least a 30 gallon tank, although if you just keep the male 
you
 > might be able to get away with a well-planted 20 gallon.  The guy that I
 > got
 > them from said he has been raising them for years, and a 30-gallon was
 > plenty big for a trio.  I have had all five juvenilles in my 30-gal long
 > tank, and they are just now a) starting to display breeding behaviours, 
and
 > b) starting to push the smaller male around.
 >
 > From what I have read they are not very aggressive towards other
 > similar-sized and bigger fish, and have left the clown plecos (and a 
large
 > tadpole) alone as far as I can tell.   Anything food-sized though, all 
bets
 > are off.  They are also very tolerant of water conditions as long as the
 > tank they are in has lots of cover/plants.
 >
 > Link to more info, and a pic or two:
 > http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Belonesox_belizanus.html
 > They are the largest, by far, of the Poeciliidae live-bearers, if that
 > helps
 > any.
 >
 > These particular fish have been bred in captivity, and actually have much
 > better coloring than those pics.  They even have a thin turquoise fringe 
on
 > the base of the tail, and the caudal black spot is much bigger than the
 > photos, as you shall all soon see next week.
 >
 > Any other questions, feel free to ask.
 >
 > I am looking forward to the meeting!
 >
 > Cheers,
 > Connie
 >
 >
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 > GSAS-Member@thekrib.com
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 >
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