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mike r-

it is guys like you that make this site the best there is.

Let us know how the school aquarium fares Katie, and post pics soon!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

We do have a heater now. I was mistaken when i said in the OP that we didnt have one. Thanks for all the replys

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Oh, get a heater ASAP. Platies like it reasonably warm, as they come from Mexico and Central America. If you keep Variatus platies, however, they stand lower temperatures.

And yes, if you get White Cloud Mountain Minnows, those things are about as close as you can get to a bomb proof fish. Be picky about colours though - some line-bred stocks are washed out. Try and getgood quality ones from a specialist fish society, that have as close to the natural colouration as possible, then carpet bomb them with Daphnia & colour food. Watch them turn into little jewels! And in the process, see why Innes referred to them in the 1930s as "The Poor Man's Neon Tetra" (back then, Neons were obscenely expensive).

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yea im thinking platys and danios. Ill take pics if i can

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

well i see that you've gotten a lot of replies, but I was going to suggest, you could mix different varieties of swordtails or platys they come in lots of bright colors and stuff :-D my best friend and I maintain the 29g at my school and we've got swordtails in there and they look great

Woo we have a heater. So no more temerature worries

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

If you change your mind let me know. I've got lot's of fish.

You could have your teacher e-mail me if that would work.

Mike

Mike, I cannot express how admirable it is to be willing to donate fish and equipment to a stranger. But unfortunately, i cannot accept your offer. My parents are already nervous of me being in contact with strangers over the internet(not that I wouldnt trust a respected poster such as yourself). And Im not sure how my teacher would react. Also, i cannot vouch for the safety of Angels, as the fish do not stay in school over the summer. Im afraid they would get sent home with someone who cannot house and/or care for them. I would take them home, but at the moment i do not have room and im not sure if i would have room by june.

Im looking into buying a heater and just lending it out, that way she wont have to reimburse me(not that i would make her).


Its posters such as yourself that keeps me coming back to FP. The hobby is better for having you here.


Last edited by katieb at 30-Sep-2004 20:31

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Mike you are great!!! I know coming from a teacher that having something like this project is great, but our personal budgets get stretched to the max, and having people like you who are willing to donate and support us and our kids is wonderful...thanks so much for being a wonderful human being!!! Heidi (3rd grade teacher--Harlem Elementary; Baytown, Texas)

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Looking for ideas:

Size: 20-30 gal?
Filter: Unknown HOB
Heater: Nope


Looking for cheap, hardy fish. If my group and I can keep all the fish alive we can get bonus points for AP Bio (Which we will definately need).

I was thinking:

Danios
or
WCMM
or
Platy's
or
Black/white skirts

Without a heater the temp is going to rely on the schools heating system during the day and hopefully wont plummet at night. Unfortunatley $$ is tight, as it is coming from the teacher and my clasmates pockets.


I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

E-mail me the School's Address and your teachers name so I can put Attention Mr. Proslamski or whatever. I'll send you a used heater and 4 dime size Angels if you want them. You might have a breeding pair by the time school is out.

I could send Malaysian Trumpet Snails too if you want some.

Is the Tank set up yet? If not let me know when so I don't send fish before their home is ready.

You'll have to cycle with the Angels but they're small so there shouldn't be much of a problem but it'll mean keeping an eye on the ammonia and nitrites and changing water when they get high. Are you up for that?

michaelruchhoeft@yahoo.com.

Let me know, Mike

Blind cave fish would be excellent. They are hardy, interesting, and since they come from Texas, are able to stand temps as low as 55 degrees.

And maybe you could put a pair of Scleromystax barbatus in there too.

Last edited by Cory Addict at 30-Sep-2004 19:09

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Some snails and ghost shrimp would look really nice, too. Maybe a fem. betta, as well.

Wow, I wish I could've recieved extra credit for something like this. I barely squeaked by with a 5 and an A the last quarter of AP bio. My hunch is that I was probably on the very borderline of a 5. Anyways, yeah. :-X

"I'd really suggest getting a smaller tank and using that to get a heater. A heater IS important. Unless you plan on having dead fish, or severely limiting your options fish wise. Most strictly cold water fish I've seen are fairly fragile and expensive."

I know a heater is important, but Im stuck with a budget and the tank. I would rather fill it myself, then have another 15 year old kid do it. Even my teacher has little knowledge. My school is Catholic and we have very little funding to spend on extras (besides sports, desks, books, etc). So i want to pick up something that will be able to tolerate a few unfortunate circumstances

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

if you are going for a single species tank, may i suggest getting minnows from a bait shop? they have the advantage of being VERY cheap, and they are easy to care for. also, they are not tropical fish, so they should be able to handle the temp. fluctuation rather well.

sometimes, oddballs show up. i have seen stickle backs and baby catfish mixed in the tanks. you do not want something that will grow huge- most native cats get rather large. crayfish can also be purchased rather cheaply.

while not as "flashy" as some of the tropicals, they do school, and some of their colorations are interesting. your students would have the added benefit of studying a species native to their general area. you could even replicate their habitat with native rocks.

being a smaller tank, you could populate the entire tank for a few bucks.

sorry if this kinda rambles- your post brings back fond memories of my high school science class (so long ago). my teacher set up a similar arrangement with a larger tank. seeing crayfish reproduce was way cooler then reading about it from a book.

whatever you choose- good luck!!!

I agree with the checking the tank temp....if the room has a consistant temp, and doesnt' drop too much overnight you might be okay.

I have danios in....well in all my tanks, but I've got some in the 20 and the 30, they don't look half bad and they're always playing unlike some fish (tetras ) which just sit there.

^_^
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I'd really suggest getting a smaller tank and using that to get a heater. A heater IS important. Unless you plan on having dead fish, or severely limiting your options fish wise. Most strictly cold water fish I've seen are fairly fragile and expensive.

I would go with the danios or WCMM. Both the danios and WCMM do well in lower temps. I think before you decide to put the fish in, you should monitor the tank temp for a couple days to see if it swings (look at the temp in the morning and right before you leave school).