A New 20 Gallon Aquarium

I got back today from several days visiting my father in Baltimore. He gave me a 20-gallon tall aquarium with accessories that he had used to winter goldfish from a pool in his backyard. Since they're all deceased he no longer needs the tank, and I drove it back to 'bama. It's full with a running hanging filter in my lab now, and mercifully shows no signs of leaking. Once it's cycled I'll used it as a stock and display tank.

Brittany gave me all of the data she's put together about the telescope shiners project. We have some interesting results for April and May fish. Not surprisingly, there's a tendency for larger fish to have more ripening eggs in them than smaller fish. And there's no tendency for eggs to get bigger with fish size, which is true of most local freshwater fishes. A species produces eggs of a given size, the only difference being that larger individuals will produce more eggs. So our data fit within this relationship. I think that Loren has finished her egg measuring for the other months of interest, so once she gives it to Brittany and we average their observations we'll have much of the project completed. We already know that the peak month for GSI is June for both males and females, and that females are significantly larger (not by a lot) than males, so we'll be able to tell a fuller story soon.

James and Andrew, if you read this, we're still on for a trip next Saturday to the Tallapoosa.