Got Them !

[Naughts]

Re-read @GaryE 's last line in Post 3 - maybe you just need to give them chance.

 

[Back in the fold]

Re-read @GaryE 's last line in Post 3 - maybe you just need to give them chance.

Yeah, I'm not giving up. I want fry but I'm realistic. Some things are just not meant to be no matter how much you want it. On a bright note, they are very healthy and eat really well. They are colorful like I've never seen in any aquarium fish and they are fun to watch. The price I paid and the length of time I've had them puts me at less than a buck a day to enjoy them. Can't gripe about that. If they go belly up tomorrow I wouldn't cry about it. Still have my Aplocheilus lineatus Golden Wonders that breed like mice and give me tons of fry. The three of those that I found in the tanks I put the australe's in are nine weeks old and are eating fruit flies now. That's amazing growth !

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Do you have spawning mops in with them? Doing anything to try to trigger that spawning instinct?

Hopefully @GaryE , being the killifish guy, will have some suggestions!

 

[Back in the fold]

Do you have spawning mops in with them? Doing anything to try to trigger that spawning instinct?

Hopefully @GaryE , being the killifish guy, will have some suggestions!

Crimony pup yes ! Got mops up the wazoo , thickets of Java Moss and just everything and anything they might want. It's Killifish Central in there. I did see one egg at a water change and they are quite small. I don't pick eggs. I go the au' naturale way. One guy told me a pair will fill a tank that way in no time. Another guy says that's the only and best way to go with this fish. I do my lineatus by taking the mop out of the breeders tank and putting it in a 2 1/2 . I get tons of fry in about a week.
Time will tell but if they don't start earning their keep they'll be the last of their kind in my house. Maybe it's time to try a Nothobranchius .

 

[GaryE]

Nothobranchius?
Heretic!

Go with a Chromaphyosemion. A. australe is a very difficult killie for me. They are too outbred.

Yup. People started crossing lines to try to get vigour, and it backfired. They went from an easy killie to a difficult one. I just gave up on mine. That was maybe the 7th time with them. I get fry (sometimes) but the lines just kind of hang in and die off.

 

[Back in the fold]

@GaryE what do you have against the dirt spawners ? Anyway, I tried gardneri awhile back and that supposedly "easy" Killie wasn't so easy . And now this . I'm going to break down and actually try picking eggs this week. My females are egg eaters. One female will shiver over that mop like crazy and then turn right around and eat her egg she just laid. Another female runs wild all over the tank spewing eggs but leaves them alone but no fry. The third female is something else altogether . She is big and burly and picks the tail to pieces on her mate. He fears her. The females are all very different in temperament from each other but the males all seem to be alike. I actually started to wonder if the females might be something other than A. australe but then I figured that couldn't be true. Well, the battle does not go well but it still goes. These fish are a tough nut to crack.

 

[Floridapierce78]

They were shipped Monday the 22nd and just got here an hour ago. Think about it , the better part of five days rattling around in cargo jets and trucks and they arrived alive. All three pairs. Getting them acclimated and settled in now. Aphyosemion australe Orange Red Hjerresen variety. Once known years ago as the Cap Lopez to German aquarists , the Cameronensis to Americans and then the Lyre-Tail. I shouldn't do this but I am already counting my eggs before they hatch. Wait until the Pet Shop Lady gets a load of these.View attachment 165528View attachment 165529

I had never heard of them before. I looked them up to good a really good view..they are absolutely stunning! Can we eat one? Just kidding. Amazing fish. Great job!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

BEHOLD ! ! ! View attachment 165634

They’re absolutely beautiful!

 

[Crispii]

Nothobranchius?
Heretic!

Go with a Chromaphyosemion. A. australe is a very difficult killie for me. They are too outbred.

Yup. People started crossing lines to try to get vigour, and it backfired. They went from an easy killie to a difficult one. I just gave up on mine. That was maybe the 7th time with them. I get fry (sometimes) but the lines just kind of hang in and die off.

Strange. I never had issues whenever it comes breeding my A. australe "Orange". I was able to breed my australe a few months back and I got nothing but success. I even got two or three male offspring that ended up being "Orange Spotless," a color strain that is completely different from the father.

 

[GaryE]

Strange. I never had issues whenever it comes breeding my A. australe "Orange". I was able to breed my australe a few months back and I got nothing but success. I even got two or three male offspring that ended up being "Orange Spotless," a color strain that is completely different from the father.

I don't find it that strange. Orange australe are all ofrnothing, I believe depending on the stock you start with. I can breed the supposedly difficult Aphyosemions, but australe won't cooperate. With me. I know others who pump them out like guppies.

I suspect the pairs @Back in the fold has probably shouldn't be in one tank for a natural set up. Egg eating can be an issue. Reducing the number of adults would be step one.

 

[Back in the fold]

@GaryE each pair is in their own separate tank. Three pairs , three tanks.

 

[GaryE]

If they are small tanks, old school keepers used them for egg collecting. You need a 10 for natural set ups. Even then, australe have always needed egg collection here.

 

[Back in the fold]

If they are small tanks, old school keepers used them for egg collecting. You need a 10 for natural set ups. Even then, australe have always needed egg collection here.

Two pairs are in 5's and one pair in a ten gallon that is choked with Java Moss. The most prolific female in one five gallon lays eggs everywhere. Up into the Salvinia , onto the sponge filter , into the sand and into the mops and Java Moss. They are fed well all day long and I am puzzled as to why one egg doesn't hatch out. She couldn't possibly find every egg and eat it. The eggs are so small I don't see how I could pick them from anywhere but the mops.