maybe so but changing minds and dealing with facts/experience is what really matters. i have african cichlids, some american cichlids and a huuuge variety of community fish. obviously most of these would all have different requirements for water parameters. all my fish live in my 7.2 tap water and are fine for it. as in many many cases especially in lfs' etc where it borders on impossible to simulate 20 different water types. the fish mentioned by the author of the thread are all reasonably hardy type fish and it only takes one breeding pair of each to make sure the numbers keep growing

p.s. science isnt the exact science it is made out to be (and before anyone jumps down my throat, i have a large background on science, physics, biology etc so im not knocking something i dont understand lol)

Hey thanks for backing me up!!! Lol, I still can see how it is hard to believe, when I was told about it I didn't believe it myself, but thought it was worth checking out.

To Kribensis: About not wanting too many people to know where the springs are... that is true. But no pictures wont give away the location so I will post them as soon as I get them. And I am a he not a she, but that's ok.

To aquaticadmirer: The article would give away the location, sorry to be so weird about it but if too many people caught wind (especially since there are a few large towns close relatively close by) then I would be afraid that tons of people would go their and destroy the fish population. I myself have only caught two, and will probably only catch one or two more. Though it is not a natural occurance I think its preservation is important. Oh, and to read the article you have to be a member of JSTOR, which I am through my university, but if you are a member of it or are super interested in finding the article, do a search in JSTOR for it and you will find it.

To fishlette: here is the link to one of the fish that I caught.... http://www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical-Discussion/199045/http-www-fishforums-net-index-php-showtopic-199045/
To all: Please help me identify him!!!! And thanks for the interest everyone, this has been a really fun post. I can't wait to get some pics out to you all.

And I finally got a picture of the other fish I caught, an african cichlid. He hid for three days straight but is finally venturing out:

He's a yellow lab

Is it just me or have anyone else had dreams about places like this?

Thats a nice yellow lab, how do we know that you didn't buy these fish from a petstore I would like to see pics of this pool, and actually be able to see fish

Though I'm not 100% sure if I trust this being real, I do beleive that it is possible. Koi are very adaptive, mroe os than people beleive... if they werent would their be koi and goldfish ponds i nthe Southern US? would they have htem in the filipines or other asian warm waters?

Guppies could reproduce, they stay near the shores, so the bigger cichlids can't wipe them out. Onbly the oens big enough ot fit near there. As for the cichlids, I know personally that african and NW cichldis can live together. It was an experiment I did myself.

To me it is all possible, they adapted and balanced. Florida and that is haveing problems with catching oscars and the such, we all know these arent native ot the region. peopl over the ages could've kept dumping their fish. it could be a local "hot spot" (pardon any puns) that the locals keep a secret to dump their fish into. it only take 2 guppies ot make millions and cichldis live so damned long that it could've been a couple yar before soemone duped their next one, but there you may have a breeding pair.

as for your pic in the other thread, it is very possible that it is a hybrid. think about it. there may be tons of cichlids in there now, but maybe i nthe beginningthere were only 2 species, a male and female, like single cichlids. they cant find another mate so a line of hybrids could've formed. this is possible as most cichlids i'vr seen ,once a pair is established dont break that bond. so you can have a line of hybrid fish i nthere. there could be pure species, we cant know without knowing what and when every fish was dumped.

i too though would love ot see these pics jsut to varify... i don't doubt that it can be done, i jsut want to see the beauty.

btw. nice yellow lab there

This post has been edited by Nevergone815: Jun 13 2007, 04:56 PM

Oh man. You can never know if I just bought the guy at a petshop or not, until I get the pics. You just have to have faith. This post is a lot like a religion , I tell the the coolest thing I have ever seen/experienced and some don't believe it! But some do... so kudos to you that do. Good golly, I am thinking of taking work off just to get the pics to you guys quicker!!!

Oh, we must have been writing posts at the same time nevergone, thanks for the comments and the backup, and thanks for the compliment on my lab! I nearly wet my pants when we caught him. Our methods and nets werent the greatest. Catching fish in a 55 gal is hard enough but a big ol' pond with a net proved to be quite impossible. We caught the lab by placing pieces of bread (all of the fish went crazy for bread) in a modified crayfish trap... we left it sitting for over an hour and this one was the only one smart enough (or dumb enough depending on your point of view) to get inside. The little guy I caught with a net, and you are right, it could be a cichlid hybrid of sorts... never thought of that. We also caught a guppy that my friend took home which was unlike any guppy I have seen, I will try to get a pic of him too.


This post has been edited by Chuka1212: Jun 13 2007, 05:09 PM

In the late 1980s there was a large breeding population of mollies in Warrington, just south of Manchester. There was a power station or something that vented its warm waste water into a river and kept the temp high all year round. A few angelfish were found, too.

It's amazing how many places support tropicals in wet and cold England.

you're very welcome. we could have posted at the same time lol. get these pics up asap to dismiss the doubters, if its beautiful liek you say, we may need ot work something out via pm for my next vacation... obviously it'll probably be too far away so bringing fish back would be a no go. so conservation would last.

I'm with you on that, its been kept a secret for a reason and it should remain that way . when you say other cichlids, can you identify any of them, liek the bigger ones? i'm pictureing this paradise in my head, geez it must be amazing!!!!

and get pics of this guppy

meh, let the doubters doubt dont take a day off for them. just bide your time, go when you can and then if people can see the pics, the doubters will just sound silly lol no offence to those who doubt its more the fact that anyone who is so skeptical to the point of giving the person grief over it, is going to look pretty silly when they proved wrong especially when a lot of them are so adamant.

now ive defended you, you have to make sure you put these pics up lol or ill look silly hehehehehe nah, im not silly, just trusting...dont see why anyone would lie about this

I'm in this same boat lol

lol the trusting shall inherit the earth mwah ha ha ha

Yes, and if everyone trusts each other and everyone doent do anything for someone not to trut... then we just solved oh say... EVERY problem i nthe world in either a direct or indirect way .

I can't wait for these pics. i'm going to have dreams about tthat place tonight !!!

I gotta say that I believe this 100%! I believe it cuz there is a place in the river near my house that is kinda the same, except the hot water coming out if from a power plant. For years people have dumped unwanted fish into the river and the ones lucky enough to find the warm area around the plant have survived. They use the river water to cool parts of the plant (it's a coal plant....unfortunately) and the water leaving the plant is warm enough to sustain tropical fish year round....and they are there. I have personally witnessed pacus, oscars, schools of tiger barbs and (quite surprisingly) neon tetras, assorted african cichlids among others. There is a story of a kid fishing off a dock nearby and pulling out a piranah....doubful tho, was prolly just a Pacu.

So, while I remain skeptical until we can get some pics, I still believe it is quite possible.

this is certanily possable, all these fish can addapt to a wide array of water parimiters,
anfrican cichlids will only cross breed if there is none of the same fish of the different gender.

i cant wait for pics

that lab is a beauty

what i do when im catching stickel backs in my creek i will have a deep net with a long handle, the ones from the doller stores work best, and then put some food or somthing that attracks the fish over then net then once the fish is over the net quickly pull up hte net out of the water, works all the time for me

This post has been edited by caboose_122: Jun 14 2007, 12:14 AM

I live in Canada.... I wish I had some kind of hotsprings/powerplant in my back yard! lol....

ohhh the fun i'd have stocking......

As more and more of you are saying that you have seen places like this, im starting to believe it, i just would like to see pics of this pool and its inhabitants