The last several summers I have raised livebearers and other fish in Kiddie Pools over the summer months. The last two years I noticed that the outdoor fish seem to tolerate temperature swings much better than those in my fishroom. At the end of the summer I had a few fish and things that refused to be captured in the pools when it got cold. I decided I would use this situation to run an experiment. The fish and animals remaining are as follows:
Endler
Least Killies
Marble Crayfish
Ramshorn Snails
The Endlers were last seen with water temps in the 50s. That was a few weeks ago, however they do like to burro in the leaf littler muck and that generates heat from the decomposition process.
Least Killies were viewed again today in water in the mid 40s. It should be noted we had four days in a row with highs in the 20s-lows in the teens. Their pool froze over completely. They appeared fine today despite being very slow. They also hide in the muck.
Marble Crayfish are said not to tolerate water less than 50 degrees, so they should not be able to survive our winter. They happen to be in the same pool as the Least Killies and today were not only dong fine but actively feeding.
Ramshorn Snails are in all four pools that are still up and filled. All appear to be doing fine and are moving around. I did note most have this grayish coloration to the shell. If anyone can shed some light on this shell color change please do tell.
If anyone else has done something like this please let me know. If I can develop and keep Least Killies, Crayfish and snails outdoors all year that will give all of them a huge jump on the fish stocked in in May. It will also help to jump start the pools in the spring.:duh:
Endler
Least Killies
Marble Crayfish
Ramshorn Snails
The Endlers were last seen with water temps in the 50s. That was a few weeks ago, however they do like to burro in the leaf littler muck and that generates heat from the decomposition process.
Least Killies were viewed again today in water in the mid 40s. It should be noted we had four days in a row with highs in the 20s-lows in the teens. Their pool froze over completely. They appeared fine today despite being very slow. They also hide in the muck.
Marble Crayfish are said not to tolerate water less than 50 degrees, so they should not be able to survive our winter. They happen to be in the same pool as the Least Killies and today were not only dong fine but actively feeding.
Ramshorn Snails are in all four pools that are still up and filled. All appear to be doing fine and are moving around. I did note most have this grayish coloration to the shell. If anyone can shed some light on this shell color change please do tell.
If anyone else has done something like this please let me know. If I can develop and keep Least Killies, Crayfish and snails outdoors all year that will give all of them a huge jump on the fish stocked in in May. It will also help to jump start the pools in the spring.:duh:
