Could This Be A Way To Get Some Good Killies At A Cheap Price?!

[the_evil_duboisi]

A new kind of fish abuse no doubt.

"Pour the media(Peat) containing the eggs into the tank. Add water, and watch them hatch out of nowhere! Just a few months, they will be over 3cm. So they do not get hungry, periodically feed them with magic shrimp(Baby brine shrimp) that also come with the package. They will live for about two years."

Yet me try to straighten this all out....

1) They hatch when water is poured over them right? But, shouldn't more soft water be poured over, not alkanine?

2) When the all first hatch, fine. A tank this size is only about the size for a hatching tank! Not a growing one! The males are aggresive towards each other! What will happen!

3) Feed periodically? To these fast-growing fishes? I think not.....

Now, a way I could use this.....

1) The site says the hatch rates are about 20~30 fish each hatch. Isn't that cheap for $20?(Conversed won into $)

2) AFetr hatching, couldn't I move them to a bigger tank for growing out?

3) Feeding won't be a problem....I have more brine shrimp than what I know to do with, and I can also get frozen bloodworms. Just curious if the eat any dried foods.....

4)Any more info leading to the care of Nothobranchius species will be appreciated

SHould I try it? Since the fish aren't alive yet(Well, not in the general sense!), I think it could work.....?

 

[The-Wolf]

looks like a great way of getting killi eggs.
the rest of it is butkus as ususal

 

[BigC]

Each species of Nothobranchius has its own specific husbandry although most will be similar sometimes they are very different. If only it were that simple as you wrote in your post.
Firstly the packaging is pure gimmic. What species are we dealing with here.
Secondly a lot of Notho species are incapable of accepting BBS as a first food and must be supplied with infusorians from the ourset then moved on to vinegar eel, BBS and microworm. then to grindalworm and eventually whiteworm, fruitfly etc.
A lot of nothos will not accept dry or frozen foods so provision for live foods must be maintained. (culturing your own or collecting trips)
Please note that all the eggs will not hatch at the same time and the peat needs to be redried inorder for the remaining eggs to complete their diapause.
When I get to the stage of hatching Notho eggs (after their allotted diapause) I place the peat in a large margarine tub (white for visual purposes) I add about 1" of water (neutral pH and at a temperature of around 68'F) Upon hatching I remove the small fry with an eyedropper into a similar setup but without the peat. Now I need to feed immediately or I'll lose them. I culture my owm paramicium/infusorians (using dried milk powder) and add a few drops of this to the container 4 times per day, at the end of the day a waterchange is performed as fouling of the fry tubs will also kill them.
This cycle of events goes on and more and more water is added to the tubs as they grow. Upping the food sizes accordingly as the fry grow.
They are then moved to glass tanks with sponge filtration and males are separated from the females.
Yes Nothos grow very quickly, they have too because their lifecycle is so short. I reckon that if you get 18mth out of a species you are lucky mostly between 15 -18 months would be the norm depending on species. At about 12 -15 months the males literally look old and bent.
If you need to know more the just ask.
If I were you (I dont know where you live) but if you are interested in Nothos then Seek out such Associations such as the British Killifish Association or the Americian Killifish Association and join. The knowledge and friendship you will gain is immense. You will even get fellow members offering you stock and eggs for free.
For the novice Notho keeper I would recommend such species
Nothobranchius guntheri
Nothobranchius palmqvisti
Mainly because the egg incubation times are much shorter and fry are larger than say N. rachovi (which you will eventually want to keep I'm sure)
and they present little problems rearing.
Another point to the above, If you were to buy those eggs and I hope you dont then with so little eggs (most breeders sell eggs by a weeks spawn which could litterally be 100's depending on species) Sex ratios come into play, there is no gaurantee that you will end up with X number of sexed pairs. (there is continueing research trying to determine how to achieve this but there in nothing concrete as yet, many theories)
Let me know where you live and I may be able to offer you a contact. And more details on setting up tanks, peat, diapause etc.
Regards
BigC
Please note that fry tubs are floated in larger heated aquaria (74'F) and the water in the tubs will warm up to around 72-74'F

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

I'm in Korea; quite away from your contacts.

Could you show me some simple basic notho care sheets? I don't want to take away toomuch of you time.

Also, are medaka considered kilies?

 

[Butch]

Medaka used to be killifish group but now the sciencists put medaka into different group of flying fishes and halfbeak I believe.

Why? You have them? In United States the medaka are hard to find lately..and I've looking them for little while.

 

[BigC]

I'm in Korea; quite away from your contacts.

There are some traders on

http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...gi?fwkillifishe
from Thailand and Hong Kong from time to time.
or contact Mr Nakashima in Japan, he is currently into Nothos.
[email protected]

Regards
BigC

 

[orange shark]

you seem to have a lot of contacts big c!

 

[BigC]

After 35 years....Yeah.

 

[orange shark]

thats a long time! have you bought killifish from all your contacts?

 

[BigC]

Most of them yes,
Sadly some of my contacts have gone, Older generation, pioneers and fish collectors who went on expeditions when worldwide travel wasn't what it was today.
Very interesting people to listen to.