| April
6, 2006
 
June
2, 2006
 
July
30, 2006
 
September 30, 2006
 
December
15, 2006
March
01, 2007 
What's
it all about... a happy grandson and
10 inch fish 
TGG
Experiment Part II: Fx growth rates
(07/07/07) With
considerable uncertainty regarding
the growth rates of Fx offspring,
this experiment within an experiment
will attempt to measure Fx growth
rates in comparison to F1. This
experiment will run for several
months to get a good comparison
between the F1 and Fx fish. The
starting conditions are 4 Fx fish of
about 1 to 2 inches placed in my
small micro-pond which has a few Koi
and lots of Gambusia. 
Update
11_02_07: Pictured
below are three of the four Fx
mentioned above. The average length
of these fish is about 6.5 inches.
That corresponds to a growth rate of
.04 inches per day during this
period. That growth rate is
virtually identical to the F1 growth
rate when they were at a comparable
size. The experiment continues. 
April
14, 2008 We
cleaned out the micro pond today and
that afforded an opportunity to
observe the Fx's that have been
there since July 7, 2007. Each were
trapped as tiny 1 inch fish out of Half-pint
pond. Those tiny fish are now 9.5
inches, 9 inches and 7.5 inches long
as shown below. Certainly this
evidence does not support the
commonly espoused view that
offspring from the F1 fish will
stunt and will become green sunfish.
Neither view is apparent here.
It may be that a lot of the bad rap
given these offspring is more due to
poor management practices, e.g.
overcrowding, rather than loss of
hybrid vigor and "turning into
green sunfish". What do you
think? 
April
18_2008 TGG Update: No
doubt, one of the original TGG
pictured below...now at 11 inches
and still growing. 
|
The
Georgia Giant is a hybrid BG developed and sold by Ken's Fish Farm in Georgia.
It is a unique fish and thus is covered by a patent. This fish has been the
subject of much controversy relative to the claims for growth, aggressiveness,
and sustainability in small ponds. I learned about this fish about the time I
was completing the renovation of Half-pint pond into a Kid's pond. It sounded
like a potentially great fish for Kid's to learn and enjoy the sport of
fishing. In order to evaluate the growth, aggressiveness, and sustainability of
this fish I began an experiment in the fall of 2005.
