More Frys?

I thought I would be able to find the time to post some pix, but life got too busy this month to do much but simply "keep up." In the meantime, Minni had another batch of frys on July 18/19. We pulled out about 16 and put then in with the June 9 frys. We still have about 10 surviving (at least that's all we can find at any one time). One of the older fry died this past week. Yet the older ones have grown so much in the past week, that we have decided to put them in with the momma and other grownups. Before I took switched them to the big tank, I took photos of them along side the smaller fry. My camera is acting up, so I apologize for the quality. The pix still give you a good sense of their size differences.

Born 6/9/09 on 7/28/09	Born 6/9/09 on 7/28/09
Born 7/19/09 on 7/28/09	Born 7/19/09 on 7/28/09
Together - 7/28/09

Five at Four

I don't have new photos of the little fry rascals, but all five of the baby platy are alive and swimming after four+ weeks. They have not doubled in size in the past week, but they have grown quite a bit, and I am close to putting them back into the 10 gallon tank with their momma and aunts. Momma actually looks ready to deliver another batch of fry, by the way. Another platy in the larger tank appears ready to burst as well. I think I will switch her into the 10 gallon and move the two aunts in the small tank back into the big tank with the male.

I'll continue to keep you posted and try to get new photos within the week.

Flash Frys

The Platy fry continue to thrive which seems to indicate that they may actually survive. In the past week, they have doubled in size and are now approximately one-half inch. I placed a ruler on the back of the mini-tank so that the growth can be watched. I have three little rock forts in the tank for them. This actually seems to keep them out and about more as they dart in and out of the mini dwellings. I have included the most recent photos. It is still hard to get good pictures of them as they can move extremely fast. Finding them in the rocks is always a challenge unless an eye can be spotted peeking out. LOL You can click on any of the images below to see a larger version.

Little more than a blur


Sized up


Can you find the fish?


One fish - two fish


Whaaa? Itty Bitty Eye ;^)

GH + KH = TH - Hardness in ppm OR dH

Ode to a Chemist... and I can never remember which letters to cap and uncap!!!

Also, I can never remember which goes to what when it boils down to hardness of water. My water, out of the tap, typically, measures right around 100-120 ppm for TH (Total Hardness). (ppm = parts per million.) GH is the representation of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). Some countries measure it as dH (degrees of hardness). Most of the measures in the US also measure KH (magnesium) along with GH for TH (Total Hardness). But, of course, most of the really fishly folks frown on combining the two... Here is more information about water hardness that actually made sense to me. Water Hardness

When I read articles that speak to one type of measurement while my measuring stick is marked in another, I start to see why even NASA scientists screw up when going back and forth between two forms of measurements.

So, for my own peace of mind, I will just come back here from now on to get my numbers semi straight for dH 2 ppm in relation to GH and let KH fall by the wayside for now.

ppm	GH	dH
0 - 70	very soft	0 - 4
70 - 140	soft	4 - 8
140 - 210	medium hard	8 - 12
210 - 320	hard	12 - 18
320 - 530	very hard	18 - 30