Hi there,
Just thought I'd intoduce my paddletails with a short intro and a few pictures. I got these guys about six months ago in a well-known plant market here in Taipei, Taiwan. The owner didn't know much about them but said he was selling them off as they weren't big earners. (They were going for about US$2.50 each.) I had a tank that I knew I could adapt easily, and guessing they were probably firebellies, I thought I'd be able to keep the temperatures in range without too much work. So I bought a couple and took them home. Well, on closer inspection, they were obviously paddetails. That bothered me for a few reasons, among them the lower temperature requirements. Winter was fine, with ambient temperatures drifting between about 12 and 20 degrees C (about 54 to 68 F in old-fashioned money), but now temperatures are climbing and I've been playing around with different cooling methods. It isn't perfect yet, but tank temperatures haven't yet gone above 21C (70F), while ambient temperatures in the apartment have been in the high 20s (up to 80F) during late afternoon. By July the ambient temperature will never drop below 30C (86F) in the apartment ... I'll have my work cut out then!
I was also worried about their aggression, and indeed there have been times when they fought viciously, and early on I had to divide the tank. However, since I put them back together about four months ago, they've been fine, apart from minor squabbles at feeding times.
Anyway, that's a lot of rambling about nothing. Here are some snaps of the guys. (If indeed they are guys ... any ideas on sexing?)
Thanks for looking, if you made it this far!
Red and Ralph
Ralph
Red
Just thought I'd intoduce my paddletails with a short intro and a few pictures. I got these guys about six months ago in a well-known plant market here in Taipei, Taiwan. The owner didn't know much about them but said he was selling them off as they weren't big earners. (They were going for about US$2.50 each.) I had a tank that I knew I could adapt easily, and guessing they were probably firebellies, I thought I'd be able to keep the temperatures in range without too much work. So I bought a couple and took them home. Well, on closer inspection, they were obviously paddetails. That bothered me for a few reasons, among them the lower temperature requirements. Winter was fine, with ambient temperatures drifting between about 12 and 20 degrees C (about 54 to 68 F in old-fashioned money), but now temperatures are climbing and I've been playing around with different cooling methods. It isn't perfect yet, but tank temperatures haven't yet gone above 21C (70F), while ambient temperatures in the apartment have been in the high 20s (up to 80F) during late afternoon. By July the ambient temperature will never drop below 30C (86F) in the apartment ... I'll have my work cut out then!
I was also worried about their aggression, and indeed there have been times when they fought viciously, and early on I had to divide the tank. However, since I put them back together about four months ago, they've been fine, apart from minor squabbles at feeding times.
Anyway, that's a lot of rambling about nothing. Here are some snaps of the guys. (If indeed they are guys ... any ideas on sexing?)
Thanks for looking, if you made it this far!
Red and Ralph
Ralph
Red
