Baby guppies

Several days ago this female guppies had babies. This picture of her was taken a day or so before she had her babies. I think she had about 2 dozen. I just got this guppy about two and half weeks ago. The babies are healthy and the mom is okay. The mom's usually take a week or so to start looking healthy again, though. When baby guppies are born they are clear; after a few days they will get some black color, then they get more color as they grow up. Guppies only take a few months to grow big enough to be in community tank. When they reach this size they can usually be recognized as male or female. They continue to grow, but usually the males only grow to be about 1 1/2 inches and the females 2 1/2.

Betta Splendens

Siamese Fighting Fish-do they really fight???
Yes, male bettas will fight another male betta. They are usually fine with other non-aggressive types of fish, but never mix two males! But it is very interesting to show a male betta his reflection or a picture of another betta. He will put on quite a show for you! My betta was doing this tonight as I showed him pictures of other bettas. He flared his fins and puffed up his gills. He looked like a dragon! They are very beautiful fish!

Chinese Algae Eater

Last week my Chinese algae eater died. I have had him since August of 2003. This is longer than most fishes stick around! He was fairly small when I got him but eventually grew to be about 5 inches or so. He quickly devoured algae, cleaning the tank up in no time, when he was small. When he got bigger he didn't want to eat algae anymore. He would eat fish food or algae pellets. He was a fish with a mind of his owe... He would stare at me like he was mad or something! My mom said he looked like he belonged in a river. He was a semi-aggressive fish. He was usually okay, but as he got bigger it got worse. When he was still small, I looked into the tank one day; he was no where to be found! I looked all over the tank. Finally I looked in the filter. There he was, looking mad that we discovered him! He apparently swam against the current and into the filter looking for something delicious to eat!
He was an interesting fish. He survived a lot. I kept him in many, many different tanks over the years. When I got him I had no idea what I was getting into! I have enjoyed having him though, I'm not ready to get another one...

Babies born!

Tonight I decided that our biggest black molly (The mother of most of our mollies) was going to have her babies soon. I put her in my plastic breeding trap-she didn't like it but I kept her there anyway. She is a little bigger than the guppies so she didn't have as much room. This morning I took out ten babies. I sucked them up into a turkey baster and put them right over into my baby tank. I have both tanks about the same temperature so I can easily move fish like that :) Their are a few more babies still in the trap. I have to put her in the breeding trap because if any babies are born into the tank the other fish will quickly devour them! My fish are cannibals! So I have to protect the babies. The mother may have eaten some, but they probably all would've been eaten in the tank.
So I have at least ten more fish now!