I had one last fish to do.

Through fate, luck or subconscious design, my achievement of the MAS-BAP Ultimate Breeder level would come with the spawn of a Tetra. It would be my 99^th species in a little over 4 years.

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It was sometime in January of 2003. I was at "Gary’s Pets ‘n’ Things" in Cudahy, Wisconsin where I had just challenged Brian Woodruff to find a suitable Tetra to be "My Last One." His face nearly lit up as he hurried me over to a tank of Silver Tipped Tetras; Hasemania nana. They were spawning RIGHT NOW. It was fate. I joked with Brian about how he’d have to be included in the article I’d end up writing; how HE picked my last fish. I bought a dozen and headed home with that third person narrator’s voice in my head. That one you hear when you sense your personal history being written:

"…and Kevin was confident he had the last one he needed to achieve his dream…."

I set them up in a 50/50 tap water mix with R/O. The temperature was about 76 degrees. I made three open swimming areas in a 33g long (48 inches long, 12" high) by bunching plastic plants at both ends and in the middle. Without missing a beat, they began (continued) spawning almost immediately. Look Brian, you were right! I pulled all the fish the next day.

Dozens of tiny fry began appearing 2 days after spawn, sticking themselves to the glass in the quiet areas of the tank. I use gravel so there were plenty of microscopic bugs to eat, supplemented by superfine crushed flake. Despite what I considered a perfect environment, I had no warning that by the time they depleted their yolk sac, about and around the 4^th and 5^th days from spawn; the fry died. I was shocked and confused. This had never happened before. I was so confident this was a random and singular event that I set them up again in the identical fashion…with identical results.

What in the world…?

Do you even need to feed fry who still have a yolk sac? How small does supplemental food have to be? If I can see live scuds and springtails and the like, then there shouldn’t be a food problem, right? Maybe this species is light sensitive like the neon and cardinal? Is the water too hot? Too cold? Too soft, hard, acid, alkaline? Why has this never happened before? I’ve never had problems with miniscule fry. MAYBE…wait…OK, so the cat is drinking from the filter discharge and there’s something in his saliva that kills fish fry. That’s got to be it.

In the following months, in varying experiments with different species, water chemistry, heat, light and sock color, I was successful enough to get fry from the pristella, the red-eye, the red phantom and (again) the silver-tipped tetras. In every case, the fry wouldn’t last a week. By Summer I had convinced myself that a microscopic parasite had set up house in every tank and was killing my fry. I was going to give up. Really. In desperation, I bleached my 3 remaining tanks and regrouped.

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I’ve been constantly amazed by what some people know about fish keeping…and equally amazed by what some THINK they know. Some people are quick to open their "bag of tricks," some are hesitant. You could probably read the articles I’ve written and see that I only really KNOW a handful of things. In this Tetra dilemma, there was apparently something I DIDN’T know…something I never heard or heard incorrectly, or didn’t understand when I did heard it. It had to be something basic. Fundamental. I felt like the kid in the joke that was absent the day they handed out brains.

I believe that part of our duty as hobbyists, is to share knowledge. This sharing is the foundation of the BAP program. There are fish in your tanks right now that wouldn’t even BE there if the old-timers had kept their mouths shut. If MAS-BAP members Tom Wojtech, Jerry and Jeff Michels, Dan Cram, Ismail Resul and many others had been selfish, I wouldn’t be writing this article today. They shared their knowledge of both the fundamentals and the tricks. They eagerly helped a greenhorn ex-drunk sort out the wives tales from the fish tales…or is it tails?

* * * * *

And so, it was me, one of those "whyaremyfishdying?" whiners that walked into "Gary’s Pets ‘n’ Things" one fine Saturday in late July. Note that this is SEVEN MONTHS later. A seven-month ordeal to spawn a stinkin’ little tetra!

I was a wreck.

It wasn’t my intention to beg for advice, but Gary is pretty good at opening his "bag of tricks" when you ask him. Tom Wojtech was in the store that day, too. I absolutely HATE whining in front of him…but I did. I HAD to. Before me stood two of the most experienced fishkeepers I knew. I owed it to myself, in the spirit of "sharing knowledge," to challenge them to this task. I dared them to say or think of something that I hadn’t. About 20 minutes into what had now become a "charged atmosphere," Gary asked a question that stopped me mid-sentence. The world went silent. It was if Gary had spoken a magic word. A foreign, but magic word.

"Did you use A.P.R.?"

"Did I use…what?"

In the spirit of sharing knowledge, here’s what I learned: A.P.R. is an acronym for Artificial Plankton Rotifer. It is a dry, extremely fine powder made by Red Jungle, an OSI brand, as an egg and fish protein substance. It was originally researched for use with saltwater species. It is a perfect size for very tiny fry and, in fact, dissolves into particles smaller than you can see (well, smaller than I can see). In the stores, it can be called "Micro-Food" and may be found in a triangular acrylic tube, shrink wrapped to a cardboard backing. The powder is pale yellow. There is another similar product called "Liquifry No.1 for Egglayers". It is made by an English company called INTERPET. This product is liquid and a little less messy than the A.P.R. Gary describes these as a ‘niche’ food -- "Something that gets them from one food type/size to another." In the case of my tetras, it is apparently the niche food needed at the depletion of the yolk sac; their first actual external food.

I have now used A.P.R. to raise a couple dozen of Brian’s Silver-Tipped Tetras. I also have fry from two other tetra species that have passed over that critical "niche" period. I’ve gone a little A.P.R. and Tetra-crazy and have my sights set on pursuing the MAS-BAP "Tetra Specialist" category.

There is always a "Last One." The last turn in the road…the last piece of pizza…the last fish to spawn. Here, I come to another ending; that of my 39^th article. I’m going to consider it the "Last One" for now. It’s time for others, like you, to get involved with the MAS-BAP. Share your knowledge and fill the SPLASH with articles taken from your own "bag of tricks".