Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

So a 600 gallon pond wasn't enough. I wanted something out by the swimming
pool, so I took a 25 gallon flower pot, plopped a water lily in it, a few
strands of elodea, a crawfish, 30 or 40 tadpoles, and a half dozen gambusia
(mosquito fish, sometimes referred to as "minnows" by us Southern
creek-crawling kid's of the 60's).

After a few hours of direct sunlight here in sunny Texas (the lily hasn't
covered the surface, obviously) the crawdad was toast, the tadpoles were
racing around the rim like their tales were on fire, and the gambusia were
just non-chalantly cruising the warming waters. I stuck my finger in and
thought "That's hot!"

So I got my digital thermometer and measured the temp.......104.5F at the
surface.....104.1F at the bottom.....!

Three days later.....all the tadpoles are history.....but the gambusia are
still just swimming so gracefully in the steaming water.....are these fish
tough or what? The hot water just glides off their back....

Jay (No, I will not put any goldfish in....)

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

We are going to have to revise that old joke that goes something to the
effect of, " The only two things to survive a nuclear attack are cockroaches
and Keith Richards" to include damnbusia.

--
Wendy* in N. California,
"A lot of growing up takes place between "It fell" and "I dropped it." —
Anonymous


"Jay Adair" wrote in message
...
So a 600 gallon pond wasn't enough. I wanted something out by the
swimming
pool, so I took a 25 gallon flower pot, plopped a water lily in it, a few
strands of elodea, a crawfish, 30 or 40 tadpoles, and a half dozen
gambusia
(mosquito fish, sometimes referred to as "minnows" by us Southern
creek-crawling kid's of the 60's).

After a few hours of direct sunlight here in sunny Texas (the lily hasn't
covered the surface, obviously) the crawdad was toast, the tadpoles were
racing around the rim like their tales were on fire, and the gambusia were
just non-chalantly cruising the warming waters. I stuck my finger in and
thought "That's hot!"

So I got my digital thermometer and measured the temp.......104.5F at the
surface.....104.1F at the bottom.....!

Three days later.....all the tadpoles are history.....but the gambusia are
still just swimming so gracefully in the steaming water.....are these fish
tough or what? The hot water just glides off their back....

Jay (No, I will not put any goldfish in....)

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

I thought it was cockroaches and Twinkies snack cakes?
LeeAnne
"Wendy Kelly Budd" wrote in message
ink.net...
We are going to have to revise that old joke that goes something to the
effect of, " The only two things to survive a nuclear attack are
cockroaches
and Keith Richards" to include damnbusia.

--
Wendy* in N. California,
"A lot of growing up takes place between "It fell" and "I dropped it." -
Anonymous

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

Ouch! Maybe you could put a large potted plant next to or something to
shade it?
"Jay Adair" wrote in message
...
So a 600 gallon pond wasn't enough. I wanted something out by the
swimming
pool, so I took a 25 gallon flower pot, plopped a water lily in it, a few
strands of elodea, a crawfish, 30 or 40 tadpoles, and a half dozen
gambusia
(mosquito fish, sometimes referred to as "minnows" by us Southern
creek-crawling kid's of the 60's).

After a few hours of direct sunlight here in sunny Texas (the lily hasn't
covered the surface, obviously) the crawdad was toast, the tadpoles were
racing around the rim like their tales were on fire, and the gambusia were
just non-chalantly cruising the warming waters. I stuck my finger in and
thought "That's hot!"

So I got my digital thermometer and measured the temp.......104.5F at the
surface.....104.1F at the bottom.....!

Three days later.....all the tadpoles are history.....but the gambusia are
still just swimming so gracefully in the steaming water.....are these fish
tough or what? The hot water just glides off their back....

Jay (No, I will not put any goldfish in....)

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

LeeAnne wrote I thought it was cockroaches and Twinkies snack cakes?


In an inadvertent experiment run by eldest son and friends we discovered that
Twinkies eventually will succumb to mold.
But, not to dispare! The unmolded end of the Twinkie was still edible and
didn't even involve emergency stomach pumping.


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

are these fish tough or what?

I once found a Gambusa swimming in my pool. I immediately checked the
chlorine level... :)

Jim
Zone 8a - Dallas, Texas
Pond, Veggie Filter, Pond Maintenance & Pond Tour Pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dallas75248

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

are these fish tough or what?

I once found a Gambusa swimming in my pool. I immediately checked the
chlorine level... :)

Jim
Zone 8a - Dallas, Texas
Pond, Veggie Filter, Pond Maintenance & Pond Tour Pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dallas75248

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

Wow,
What an incredible Pond Jim... Any idea how many gallons?
....Kodiak.

"Jim" wrote in message
...
are these fish tough or what?

I once found a Gambusa swimming in my pool. I immediately checked the
chlorine level... :)

Jim
Zone 8a - Dallas, Texas
Pond, Veggie Filter, Pond Maintenance & Pond Tour Pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dallas75248

Gambusia....toughest fish on earth?
 

What an incredible Pond Jim... Any idea how many gallons?

Thanks for the compliment. My pond is a little over 2,200 gallons
(including the veggie filter).

Jim
Zone 8a - Dallas, Texas
Pond, Veggie Filter, Pond Maintenance & Pond Tour Pics:
http://community.webshots.com/user/dallas75248