My new article ‘Potted Plants for Fish Breeding Tanks’ describes maximizing plant growth so that I can keep 10 fish breeding tanks without any filters. Keeping plants “mobile” (i.e., in pots) makes it doable. I measured no NH3, no NO2- and almost no nitrates in the 10 tanks over the course of several months.
I revised my 2020 article ‘Breeding Guppies: Genetic Pitfalls and Successes‘. Revision contains
same basic material, but I simplified article. I spent more time discussing popular mutations that can perplex beginners. And I down-sized a complicated discussion on the genetics of swordtail guppies. It was not that relevant in successfully outcrossing my beautiful delta-tail females (Photo) with male swordtail guppies. These outcrosses were wildly successful and I had no trouble breeding out the swordtail trait.
My article Guppy Longevity (10 pages) answers the question of why fancy guppies don’t live that long. It puts much of the blame for guppy fragility onto the common practice of using only young fish as breeders. The long-term result is detrimental genetic changes. Since I started using only older fish as breeders, I’ve increased the longevity of my fish from ~6 months to over 12 months. Photo shows a 15-month old male and female. Still room for improvement, but this is progress.
Hatching and Growing Brine Shrimp (Artemia) is–I believe–the ultimate brine shrimp article for aquarium hobbyists. Starts with hatching eggs in a soup bowl without aeration. Moves onto ‘hatching dishes’ that automatically separate nauplii from shells, making harvesting fresh nauplii incredibly easy. More new subjects include cold storage of harvested nauplii, feeding fish decapsulated eggs, why lower salinity works best, and growing shrimp out for 3 days. Author discusses the many factors (osmoregulation, iron nutrition, sensitivity to heavy metals, etc) that affect hatching success.
How to breed nice guppies in just 8 planted tanks
My article Small Scale Guppy Breeding describes how I breed fancy guppies in just nine tanks. Articles covers the basics, but it contains new, vital information on guppy reproduction. Learn why I keep “chase” females with my juvenile males, why one female accepted and quickly mated with a new male but her full-sister rejected him… Learn the pros and cons of separating the sexes, how I breed for fitness… Overall, the article celebrates the guppy’s genetic trait of color polymorphism. Unlike breeding methods that emphasize strain uniformity, I work with the guppy’s natural tendency to produce different color patterns (Photo). This not only makes guppy breeding more fun but avoids inbreeding problems and genetic weaknesses.
Diana Walstad's Books and Articles 