Re: [RML] sourcing of fish or eggs

Gary Lange (gwlange at stlnet.com)
Sat, 7 Nov 1998 10:33:51 -0600

----------
> From: Michael Eckardt <mike at odg.com>
> To: Rainbow List <rainbowfish at pcug.org.au>
> Subject: [RML] sourcing of fish or eggs
> Date: Friday, November 06, 1998 10:25 AM
>
> Just a couple of quick questions:
> Is this list an appropriate venue for sourcing fish and/or eggs?

The RSG (rainbowfish study group) fresquently has fish and egg listings that
are available to it's members. Check my sig for the web site or contact me
directly for info on joining.

> Can fish eggs be mailed in the winter? Logic tells me "no, they would
> freeze" - but it also tells me that shipping eggs via airliners at 35,000 ft
> would expose them to freezing temperatures too, at least in the standard,
> unheated mail compartments.

Fish and eggs have been traveling via the jet for a great many years now. Fish
are better when shipped above 65 degrees, eggs can go down to about 40 degrees.
All are shipped in styro boxes, the thicker the better, especially in winter.
Shipping to Canada from the US though is almost like shipping overseas now
though. Things seem to get hung up at the border for a very long time. I
would suggest only shipping to and from the US and Canada very early in the
week, Monday or Tuesday to avoid getting anything hung up in the mail. Uh some
people have been labeling the box - "aquarium supplies" and remarking that it
gets their quicker. If it says "fish" and it's not a walleye or a pike the
Fish and Game guys don't quite know what to think of it. I had once labeled a
box as "roe" but it ended up in the agricultural department :-) I guess they
thought it was a "row" of corn, no telling.

> Thanks, Harro, for sending me the "Regenbogenfische" book. Excellent
> pictures, btw. However, the author suggests to keep M. boesemani and M.
> herbertaxelrodi in 600l tanks. That's 170 US gal or 133 Imp gal. In other
> words, a fairly large tank. How reasonable is this? I'd like to have a small
> school (about six) of either (not both), in a 250l aquarium. Does that make
> sense?

I'm sure you'll hear an answer from Harro (probably a typo) but you can keep
about 6 of either in an 18-20 gallon tank. It's a little crowded but a good
spawning situation. A seven foot tank (170-180 gal) will hold a lot more fish
than that.

> Last question: Does anybody in Southern Ontario have eggs/fry/juveniles of
> these species and is willing to part with them?
>
> TIA
>
> Michael Eckardt
> --------------------------
> "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity." Unknown
>

Gary Lange
gwlange at STLNET.com
Rainbowfish Study Group of North America
http://home.stlnet.com/~gwlange/rainbowfish.index.html