I took the plunge. I have sold some fish on Aquabid now. :) I ran an auction for 2 trios of reds and one for 2 trios of blue/red grass. The grass auction went pretty well and ended up around $25. These were for fairly young fish, so they were good prices. I just need to thin out a few tanks a bit.
So if you are on Aquabid.com and want to see if I have any auctions up, my name on there is Banty. I will be adding a link to the side of this blog so that they will be easier to find.
I still have plenty of Blue and Red Grass Guppies if anyone wants any. They are $15 a trio or 2 trios for $25. Shipping is $15 priority and $30 express.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
It's been a while!
Ok I have been pretty busy this summer, so not too much time to do the blogging thing. The Guppies are all doing well but I discovered that my GH issues were causing a rapid decline in fertility. I think I have that fixed now, and the girls look to be plumping up like little sausages again. :)
Now for strain updates...
Blue Grass -
I have a bunch (and I mean bunch!) of these growing up now. Had a few red grass in the bunch as well. I am selling off any that are not extended dorsal, as that is one of the reasons I love this line. Everyone else will be kept and some shipped to the October show. The original females are HUGE again with dorsals larger than my male guppies bodies. Just amazing!
Blue Snakeskin -
I sold off my Solids except for Bubble's offspring. I kept 1 of her sons, and a few daughters. They all have semi-variegated tails and will be bred back into my variegated line to improve body type, size, and tail shape. I culled VERY hard the offspring from my original trio to keep only the best patterned males. Many had a lack of black patterning on the caudals or dorsals. I would also like to breed out the 'saddle' marking. Here are 2 of the males that I kept. These boys are in with my variegated girls as well as the Bubble daughters.
Red Cobras -
I have split these into 2 lines. The first being the original intent of Leopard tailed. The second is these beautiful Blonde Red Cobras. Both need adjustments to their caudal size and shape. I ordered some Albino Red Cobras to add to both, and have my albino full red female in with the Blonde Reds for now.
Yellows -
I lost one of my Yellow females due to dropsy over a month ago. Besides that the tank is doing very well. I did have to remove one of the 2 males because there was a lot of fighting going on and he kept getting beaten up. The other female dropped for me and there are lots of nice little fry in there now. I still have the Sunrise Ribbon female in there. I still want to work on the yellow intensity on these, and am trying to get some other lines to combine with them.
Blues -
I have a few little Moscows now, from 2 lines, as well as the solid blues that pop up out of my Blue Snakeskin line. I had no real intention of starting to work with Moscows but these just kind of fell into my lap so I put them in a tank.
Leopard Endler Project -
The male is in the outdoor 30 gallon tank with 2 goldfish, 3 blue snakeskin females, the Leopard Endler Hybrid female, and an IFGA HB Yellow female. No I really have no clue what will end up coming out of this tank in a month when I bring them in, but it should be interesting. lol
Full Reds -
Almost forgot about these guys. That female I got from the show dropped over 50 fry. They are starting to color up now and looking beautiful! I hope to have a few of these guys to send to the show in October as well.
I think that's about it. I have a few other varieties here and there but they are meant mostly as additions to others, or are just looking pretty in my tanks. I currently have too many projects and will probably cut back a bit more as fall hits, still deciding what I want to continue working on.
Now for strain updates...
Blue Grass -
I have a bunch (and I mean bunch!) of these growing up now. Had a few red grass in the bunch as well. I am selling off any that are not extended dorsal, as that is one of the reasons I love this line. Everyone else will be kept and some shipped to the October show. The original females are HUGE again with dorsals larger than my male guppies bodies. Just amazing!
Blue Snakeskin -
I sold off my Solids except for Bubble's offspring. I kept 1 of her sons, and a few daughters. They all have semi-variegated tails and will be bred back into my variegated line to improve body type, size, and tail shape. I culled VERY hard the offspring from my original trio to keep only the best patterned males. Many had a lack of black patterning on the caudals or dorsals. I would also like to breed out the 'saddle' marking. Here are 2 of the males that I kept. These boys are in with my variegated girls as well as the Bubble daughters.
Red Cobras -
I have split these into 2 lines. The first being the original intent of Leopard tailed. The second is these beautiful Blonde Red Cobras. Both need adjustments to their caudal size and shape. I ordered some Albino Red Cobras to add to both, and have my albino full red female in with the Blonde Reds for now.
Yellows -
I lost one of my Yellow females due to dropsy over a month ago. Besides that the tank is doing very well. I did have to remove one of the 2 males because there was a lot of fighting going on and he kept getting beaten up. The other female dropped for me and there are lots of nice little fry in there now. I still have the Sunrise Ribbon female in there. I still want to work on the yellow intensity on these, and am trying to get some other lines to combine with them.
Blues -
I have a few little Moscows now, from 2 lines, as well as the solid blues that pop up out of my Blue Snakeskin line. I had no real intention of starting to work with Moscows but these just kind of fell into my lap so I put them in a tank.
Leopard Endler Project -
The male is in the outdoor 30 gallon tank with 2 goldfish, 3 blue snakeskin females, the Leopard Endler Hybrid female, and an IFGA HB Yellow female. No I really have no clue what will end up coming out of this tank in a month when I bring them in, but it should be interesting. lol
Full Reds -
Almost forgot about these guys. That female I got from the show dropped over 50 fry. They are starting to color up now and looking beautiful! I hope to have a few of these guys to send to the show in October as well.
I think that's about it. I have a few other varieties here and there but they are meant mostly as additions to others, or are just looking pretty in my tanks. I currently have too many projects and will probably cut back a bit more as fall hits, still deciding what I want to continue working on.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Reds
The Red female, that I bought at the show last month, dropped about 45-50 fry for me yesterday! I am so happy to have a nice big bunch of fry to pick from when they grow. I would never have guessed she was carrying that many fry though! When I checked on her in the drop jar yesterday I saw about 8. She looked like she was done and was eating some food so I took her out and put her in the female tank. Then I took out the plants I had in teh jar and came back and thought, wow there are like 20-30! Then I took a picture of the jar later to post and counted at least 40! And that was with some of them down by the gravel where I could not see. Not bad!
Now I just hope my RREA Red female is hit. She's still not very round, so I am losing hope there. I have her in a drop jar anyway just in case!I got my rack all set up, though I still have a few tanks to seal. I did get 3 ten gallon tanks set up on top, and all my drop jars on the wall shelves. It's slowly coming together!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Fish Updates
Still working on my rack. It is all built but still being modified and tweaked. :) I did decide I want solid shelves on it to accommodate my slightly odd shaped tanks. And I am still working on working out the lighting.
My fish from the show are all doing great, except that I did lose one of the HB yellow males. The other two are doing wonderfully though they seem to be freaked out by girls. Once I get my rack set up I will put both in with a few girls and maybe the fact that they have competition will get them going.
I am still trying to decide what strains to keep and which to part with. I do want to focus on my Blue/Green Snakeskins and my Red Snakeskins. Blue Grass are staying for sure, as are full reds. And I would like to work on a line of full deep yellows, so I am keeping a few Micariff, the HB yellows, and I just bought a pair of Yellow Deltas that will be arriving next week. Plus I have the Hybrid Endler project and the Speartails. That means that I will probably part with the Solid Blue Snakeskins. They are nice hefty fish, from several well known lines, but I just don't care for the color. Bubble was the exception and I will keep her daughters till I can tell if any will end up like her. If they do I will breed them to my Blue Snakeskins.
With all these projects going I really should cut down a bit more but gosh I just love them. lol We will see this fall which ones have done well for me and which will go.
My fish from the show are all doing great, except that I did lose one of the HB yellow males. The other two are doing wonderfully though they seem to be freaked out by girls. Once I get my rack set up I will put both in with a few girls and maybe the fact that they have competition will get them going.
I am still trying to decide what strains to keep and which to part with. I do want to focus on my Blue/Green Snakeskins and my Red Snakeskins. Blue Grass are staying for sure, as are full reds. And I would like to work on a line of full deep yellows, so I am keeping a few Micariff, the HB yellows, and I just bought a pair of Yellow Deltas that will be arriving next week. Plus I have the Hybrid Endler project and the Speartails. That means that I will probably part with the Solid Blue Snakeskins. They are nice hefty fish, from several well known lines, but I just don't care for the color. Bubble was the exception and I will keep her daughters till I can tell if any will end up like her. If they do I will breed them to my Blue Snakeskins.
With all these projects going I really should cut down a bit more but gosh I just love them. lol We will see this fall which ones have done well for me and which will go.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Building a rack!
OK the time has come. I MUST build a rack. I found some plans at livebearers.org and have modified them to fit my needs. My space is only 36" wide so I had to shorten it. Here are my plans and instructions. I hope to add progress photos as I go to get some of you, who may not be so inclined towards carpentry, to give it a try!
The supply list for mine includes only 8 2"x4"x8' boards and approx 70 3" galvanized exterior screws.
The cut boards are labeled on the drawing. Their lengths are listed below. Now I only have a 36" wide space to use so I will not be able to fit 3 ten gallon tanks on the lower two shelves. If you want to make yours hold 3 tens on each shelf, extend boards A and E two inches longer. This will give you a tiny bit of space between each tank as well. Alternately you could put fifteen gallon talls on the top shelf just as easily as tens. I don't really care for the added height though.
A - 33" need 6
B - 48' need 4
C - 16.5" need 8
D - 4.5" need 4
E - 30" need 3
F - 21" need 6
When cutting the boards, figure out the best use of each 8' board so that you do not have much waste. Here is how I will cut mine. Yours may need to be different depending on if you have spare boards laying around or if you choose to extend the rack the extra 2" wide. You will need to be precise. If this is your first project, it may be wise to purchase or find an extra board or two just in case.
2 - cut in half for two 48" boards each
3 - cut two at 33" and the last piece will be 30"
2 - cut four at 16.5", two at 4.5", and the last will be 21"
1 - cut four at 21" and put that last 12" piece away and save it for a future project.
The supply list for mine includes only 8 2"x4"x8' boards and approx 70 3" galvanized exterior screws. The cut boards are labeled on the drawing. Their lengths are listed below. Now I only have a 36" wide space to use so I will not be able to fit 3 ten gallon tanks on the lower two shelves. If you want to make yours hold 3 tens on each shelf, extend boards A and E two inches longer. This will give you a tiny bit of space between each tank as well. Alternately you could put fifteen gallon talls on the top shelf just as easily as tens. I don't really care for the added height though.
A - 33" need 6
B - 48' need 4
C - 16.5" need 8
D - 4.5" need 4
E - 30" need 3
F - 21" need 6
When cutting the boards, figure out the best use of each 8' board so that you do not have much waste. Here is how I will cut mine. Yours may need to be different depending on if you have spare boards laying around or if you choose to extend the rack the extra 2" wide. You will need to be precise. If this is your first project, it may be wise to purchase or find an extra board or two just in case.
2 - cut in half for two 48" boards each
3 - cut two at 33" and the last piece will be 30"
2 - cut four at 16.5", two at 4.5", and the last will be 21"
1 - cut four at 21" and put that last 12" piece away and save it for a future project.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Lost my Bubble
Alas death finally over took my dear Bubble, and she is now helping my Dalias grow. I am glad I have many of her offspring, but it is just not going to be the same. Hopefully some of them grow up to have her incredible blue tail. below is a snap shot of the young female tank. Can you tell which of the three pictured is Bubble's daughter??
And if the pattern continues as it has.. I should be expecting fry in the next few days. It seems every time I have a tragedy of this sort, within a few days there are new fry to ease the loss. Those Solid Snake girls from frank Falcone are starting to square off, and that new red female was so cranky I had to put her in her own 5 gallon bucket. So we will see.
Back from the Michigan Guppy Breeders show!
I had a GREAT time! Wow. The fish and people were amazing. I got to meet Laura Barrasso and chit chat with her. She brought me some beautiful fish! A trio of Gold Snakeskins, and 3 of her HB Blues. We are hoping the HB Blues are a trio. The male she brought with them did not make the trip. Fingers crossed for one to be a male! I took a painting for her that I did of one of her beautiful Lace Snakeskin males, and about 10-12 of my Red Snakeskin fry. Hopefully she likes them, and can work with them. I will post pics of the fish I got from her later today hopefully.
I got to meet so many other wonderful Guppy loving people at the show I don't know if I can remember them all. They sure seem like a fun light hearted bunch. :) I look forward to getting to know them better at the meetings.
The judging got off to a late start due to a computer issue but Saturday was a good day of learning. I shadowed the judges as much as I could to absorb any tidbits of knowledge that I could. My oldest daughter, Katlynn, also came to the show and shadowed the judges as they went through. I learned so much! I am so glad I came prior to showing any of my own fish. Now I have a much better idea of what to look for in a show fish. I need to order the IFGA judging guide now so I can get it solidified in my head better.
Ok now for the auction.. I had a great time there too! I am glad I signed up as a cash bidder, and had a limit of the cash I brought or I could have spent quite a bit! I spent about $60 and got a pair of Gary Mousseau's HB Yellows (gorgeous!!), a Red female (1st place novice female), 3 baby Cory cats for my daughters tank, a bunch of plants, and a giant can of color flake food.
After the auction we stayed a little while to help debench fish, and dump tanks. During this we helped pull Gary's fish and found that there had been a slight mix up in which fish were auctioned. He ended up giving us the HB Yellow male that was supposed to be auctioned as well as one from his 1st place HB Yellow male tank entry (as it's tank mate had died)! How cool is that!? I am so thrilled. I just love these fish!
I did not get as many photos as I had wanted to. By the time the judging was coming to a close it was so late and my feet were killing me. I decided to wait till Sunday morning to do pics and ended up getting there after many people had debenched. Here is the album of photos: Enjoy!
I got to meet so many other wonderful Guppy loving people at the show I don't know if I can remember them all. They sure seem like a fun light hearted bunch. :) I look forward to getting to know them better at the meetings.
The judging got off to a late start due to a computer issue but Saturday was a good day of learning. I shadowed the judges as much as I could to absorb any tidbits of knowledge that I could. My oldest daughter, Katlynn, also came to the show and shadowed the judges as they went through. I learned so much! I am so glad I came prior to showing any of my own fish. Now I have a much better idea of what to look for in a show fish. I need to order the IFGA judging guide now so I can get it solidified in my head better.
Ok now for the auction.. I had a great time there too! I am glad I signed up as a cash bidder, and had a limit of the cash I brought or I could have spent quite a bit! I spent about $60 and got a pair of Gary Mousseau's HB Yellows (gorgeous!!), a Red female (1st place novice female), 3 baby Cory cats for my daughters tank, a bunch of plants, and a giant can of color flake food.
After the auction we stayed a little while to help debench fish, and dump tanks. During this we helped pull Gary's fish and found that there had been a slight mix up in which fish were auctioned. He ended up giving us the HB Yellow male that was supposed to be auctioned as well as one from his 1st place HB Yellow male tank entry (as it's tank mate had died)! How cool is that!? I am so thrilled. I just love these fish!
I did not get as many photos as I had wanted to. By the time the judging was coming to a close it was so late and my feet were killing me. I decided to wait till Sunday morning to do pics and ended up getting there after many people had debenched. Here is the album of photos: Enjoy!
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