Do Killifish Do Well On Flake?

[CathyGo]

I have heard some really conflicting stuff on killi's. Some people tell me that they won't eat flake, others say they will but not do as well, and others say it's great for them. I feed Hikari MicroWafers twice daily with frozen bloodworms as a weekly treat. I also will give the female bettas peas about twice a month. Will this work with a Aphosemion Striatum? The Golden wonder Killi's we have at the store do fine on flake and occasional frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. They have nice color and are very active. But they're not really closely related.

 

[BigC]

It depends on the species in question, some will and some wont. Some will refuse all non living food point blank.
Aphyosemion striatum and Aplochelius lineatus Gold will accept flake/dry food readily.

 

[fishman 1]

Flake is ok on quite a lot of the aphyosemion species as part of a varied diet. I think flake is ok to just about to maintain them but if you want them to do well, or you plan to breed them, then live or frozen foods are (in my opinion) essential to get them in tip top condition.

All of my killis are fed live food most of the time (bloodworm, tubifex, daphnia, freshly hatched brine shrimp) I do also use the following: flake, decapsulated brine shrimp, red crumb (TA aquaculture granulated foods) frozen foods.

I have found species such as the Northo's and cynolibias species are better on live foods and tend not to eat flake.

 

[Leahzebelle]

I have a Chaper's Panchax killifish, ive had her for about a year now. When i first got her i had no idea what i was doing, i only fed her flake, but after a few weeks she started to get VERY aggresive owards my guppies. At one point i got a new trio of guppies and she swallowed two of them whole. Then i realized what a predator i had on my hands. When i would give her the flake she would literally jump at them and come halfway out of the water. Now i give her small ghost shrimp, freeze dried gammarus*(i dont know if that is the correct spelling) shrimp, brine shrimp, blood worms, tubifex cubes. yesterday i found a tiny little worm outside and brought it in for her, the moment i dropped tht thing in she lunged at it, it was lightening fast. She is quite healthy now a days.

 

[BigC]

I'm very suprised that E. chaperi is so aggressive. Normally they are very placid. They are a small species from around Ghana and the Ivory Coast they are very alike E. dageti. Have you only got the female. Post some pics if you can. Maybe a mislabeled fish and not chaperi at all.

 

[DarkEntity]

My Lineatus wont touch flake, they will however take defrosted brineshrimp and bloodworm etc...i just think they are spoiled lol and have grown accustomed to it, so now wont take anything else

 

[CathyGo]

I got the killies today. I picked them up at the guys house so he gave me a tour of the fish room and showed me the basics of how to breed and raise killies. He also gave me 3 males, 4 females, and a spawning mop instead of just the pair I bought. He showed me what size to start breeding them at too. The only problem I'm having is that he has fed his killies live foods their entire lives. I tried them on frozen bloodworms tonight and about half of them ate them and the other half wouldn't even touch them. Should I just keep giving them frozen and hope that they'll eventually get hungry enough to try it?

 

[BigC]

They will eventually take frozen. but vary the diet, mine love the discus mix. If you are not squeemish beef heart is also excellent but in moderation. Then again you too could culture your own livefoods.

 

[CathyGo]

I tried them on Hikari MicroWafers tonight since that's what I recommend to people with picky eaters at work and they gobbled it up! They even ignored frozen bloodworms to get to the wafers. I scooped out the bloodworms and gave them to the other fish who would appreciate them more. I love those wafers. And another of my "females" colored up so I now have 4 pairs.

 

[Leahzebelle]

I'm very suprised that E. chaperi is so aggressive. Normally they are very placid. They are a small species from around Ghana and the Ivory Coast they are very alike E. dageti. Have you only got the female. Post some pics if you can. Maybe a mislabeled fish and not chaperi at all.

You know i think i did misidentify it....im going to post pics of her just in case, and im pretty sure its a female.