biggest thread on this website

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
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You might want to get a couple more clown loaches since they like to be in groups, but they get big so you're running out of room in your tank. Rock and a hard place there I guess.

Oh, and a nitrate test kit if your mast test kit didn't come with one.
 

Feb 27, 2009
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I need to-get more fish my tank is empty. What are some compatible fish for 4 tiger barbs a clown loach and a pleco and i really dont want more tiger barbs
Rehome the pleco and clown loach, they will get far too big for your tank size. Then add 4 more tiger barbs to complete their shoal (school).

After that, lots of fish will fit in your tank. The tiger barbs make the tank semi-aggressive, but in a proper shoal, they should keep to themselves.

Just my 2cents
OC
 

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
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I was wondering, can you alter how a fish looks such as breeding a cherry barb family so much they turn a different color or something?
I know you can kinda breed platies (and probably mollies and guppies and swordtails) in a certain direction to get certain colors and such. I'm not sure if this is what you meant.
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
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Northern NJ
it takes so much time and devotion that it will probably take you 100 years to get a green cherry barb. jk exaggeration.

but seriously it will take you a very long time to change somethin'g color selectively. its easier among livebearers beause you already have a large color choice for them that you can breed, but even with livebearers, getting the perfect color is very difficult and takes many years. for cherry barbs it would likely take much longer.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
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Northern Arizona
If you don't want more tiger barbs, then get rid of the tiger barbs you have. They will become aggressive with anything else you put in the tank and you'll have World War III on your hands. In larger groups, their aggression is spread among their own kind and they leave everyone else alone.

The clown loach can go to the LFS or put an ad on Craigslist for him. Someone will take him, just make sure they have a properly-sized tank and either have friends for him or will get him some (properly-sized tank is 75+ gallons and they need to be in groups of three or more).

Why does it feel like we're advising you in circles?
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
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Yelm, WA
From what I read somewhere in this forum, it might be pretty difficult to be sure you had a virgin fish to begin with considering they could already be pg when born. Dominate genes are a funny thing - I had a bay mare - in horses that is supposedly dominate. She had 4 foals - all black - even when bred to a bay and she was never bred to a black.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
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Northern Arizona
From what I read somewhere in this forum, it might be pretty difficult to be sure you had a virgin fish to begin with considering they could already be pg when born. Dominate genes are a funny thing - I had a bay mare - in horses that is supposedly dominate. She had 4 foals - all black - even when bred to a bay and she was never bred to a black.
I'd like to see this link as well because I've never heard that they're BORN pregnant. I do know it's hard to find virgin livebearers at the LFS because they mix the males and females so they are guaranteed to be pregnant when you bring them home. Even with guppies that Petco and Petsmart separates to sell males separate from females, the females will most likely be pregnant because the breeders don't separate them.

On the horses note...my boss has a beautiful bright chestnut arab mare with four white stockings and a nice big blaze...who is out of two dark bays with not a speck of white on either one of them. There are no chestnuts in her bloodlines or anything.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
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Chesapeake, Virginia
Selective color breeding can be a severely difficult thing. Horses, dogs, etc. Things like fish can be just as bad, if not worse. Fortunately, fish tend to have several babies at a time, so you can do selective breeding with the 1 out of 20 that turned out the way you like.
 

Oct 3, 2010
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Detriot Mi
from what i read somewhere in this forum, it might be pretty difficult to be sure you had a virgin fish to begin with considering they could already be pg when born. Dominate genes are a funny thing - i had a bay mare - in horses that is supposedly dominate. She had 4 foals - all black - even when bred to a bay and she was never bred to a black.
most random topic out of the blue!!
 

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
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Northern NJ
lol randommmmmm.
fish arent born pregnant (the only application would be livebearers, and i know that isnt true) Egglayers are out of the question. they are born, they mature to sexual age, they mate and release gametes into the water. no pregnancy.
Livebearers are born, they mature to sexual age, they mate once and the female can store sperm for as many as 6-8 broods from the same male (even if he is not around). after the stored sperm runs out, the female has to mate with a male again.
This is the extent of all common aquarium fish circulating in out hobby.

There can be a very rare and unusual fish species that is born pregnant (and possibly only born as female) but these would not be commonly discussed on a fish forum like this.
I am disregarding that one species of molly, the amazon, that is only female, because they are not born pregnant, they need a male of some other species in order to mate.
The only thing that comes to mind as being born a female and not needing males to reproduce, is most Rotifer species. but even those will sometimes make male individuals...But i doubt even these are literally born pregnant, the female rotifers need to mature before they start releasing eggs.
Theres also aphids. thats kinda what youre talking about, Thyra, but idk of any fish that behaves like aphids .___.
 

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Feb 27, 2009
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From what I read somewhere in this forum, it might be pretty difficult to be sure you had a virgin fish to begin with considering they could already be pg when born.
Born pregnant? Huh?

Dominate genes are a funny thing - I had a bay mare - in horses that is supposedly dominate. She had 4 foals - all black - even when bred to a bay and she was never bred to a black.
Bay bred to bay should have 75% chance of bay, 25% chance of black.

UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
 

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Feb 27, 2009
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On the horses note...my boss has a beautiful bright chestnut arab mare with four white stockings and a nice big blaze...who is out of two dark bays with not a speck of white on either one of them. There are no chestnuts in her bloodlines or anything.
Not sure about the white gene, but two bays being crossed have 25% chance of throwing a chestnut.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
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Yelm, WA
I will have to spend some time seeing if I can find the source of that, but I know I was surprised by that statement about being born pg so I guess it is up to me to find the source. But even that I suppose won't make it true.
 

Oct 3, 2010
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Detriot Mi
In my expirence with guppies they had babys and i started out with seven a yellow male
2 red females 1 red male then 2 yelowish females and i cant remember the other. that was almost 3 years aso and after they all died and the frie were now my main gupppies they were all like tiger tails blues miked colors like blue red yellow. and i didnt even have a tiger tail guppy or a blue 1.