Help a gal brand new to Killifish out!

[newmag1659]

Yes ! New members get a free pair of beginner fish. I don't know what they are but that's a good deal. Another place to look is with Sarah Walker. E-mail [email protected] She is on the board of AKA and she sells fish too. If she don't have it she can find it ! Another place is Dan's Fish but he's pricey and not much selection. Tell Sarah that member # 10659 sent you. She is awesome. Good luck.

Will do!

 

[aryan09014]

Thank you for such an in-depth response! My only issue now is finding somewhere to buy them (the gardneris)! The only place I've found so far is two hours away and they still might not have any. Should I buy eggs on ebay? Where the heck can I find some live? The only place online I could find was arizona aquatic gardens and they are out of stock.

If you buy eggs be prepared to hatch them, also feeding may be difficult as you will most likely need live foods, your cories may also eat the babies

 

[newmag1659]

If you buy eggs be prepared to hatch them, also feeding may be difficult as you will most likely need live foods, your cories may also eat the babies

Well I don't have any cories yet, so I might end up doing eggs and trying to raise some up. Otherwise I'll probably go with the American Killifish Association

 

[Back in the fold]

The eggs are easy to hatch. The only real problem is keeping them about 75 degrees or so. Easy this time of year. For feeding you really should have a microworm culture going or vinegar eels. Super easy to do. Also have what you need and know how to hatch out baby brine shrimp. Again, easy to do. These are things every aquarist should have and know how to do. I've read posts on this forum where people had suddenly unexpected fry that they wanted to keep and got caught with nothing to feed. Raising your own fry up and breeding those is the most rewarding thing in this hobby. Be prepared ! Live food cultures are readily available from many sources and so is the information needed to succeed with them. Fish guys Place website even has tutorials. There isn't anything difficult in this hobby. Anything about it is easy to learn if you want to learn. You want trouble and difficulty ? Go saltwater. @Colin_T will disagree with that statement but he is Yoda and the rest of us are not.

 

[newmag1659]

The eggs are easy to hatch. The only real problem is keeping them about 75 degrees or so. Easy this time of year. For feeding you really should have a microworm culture going or vinegar eels. Super easy to do. Also have what you need and know how to hatch out baby brine shrimp. Again, easy to do. These are things every aquarist should have and know how to do. I've read posts on this forum where people had suddenly unexpected fry that they wanted to keep and got caught with nothing to feed. Raising your own fry up and breeding those is the most rewarding thing in this hobby. Be prepared ! Live food cultures are readily available from many sources and so is the information needed to succeed with them. Fish guys Place website even has tutorials. There isn't anything difficult in this hobby. Anything about it is easy to learn if you want to learn. You want trouble and difficulty ? Go saltwater. @Colin_T will disagree with that statement but he is Yoda and the rest of us are not.

Oh man, when I'm not a poor college student, maybe I'll try saltwater one day, but I've definitely heard some horror stories. Instead of eggs, I've actually found a guy that's local (sorta, like 2-3 hours), that breeds killifish and is apparently an expert! He's offered to sell me a pair of gardneri killies (the ones I wanted) later this month. Super thrilled! I will definitely post pictures once I get them!

 

[Back in the fold]

@newmag1659 That's great news. Always best to buy locally. It's also better to see before you buy. Pick his brain good. Ask him everything. If you can, get several gardneri. Two males and four females. But if not, ask him his thoughts on the male aggression issue. Also, ask if he has live food starter cultures that you can get from him. Since he's a breeder he will have them. Good luck.

 

[Colin_T]

He's offered to sell me a pair of gardneri killies (the ones I wanted) later this month. Super thrilled! I will definitely post pictures once I get them!

Make sure the fish you buy are young and he isn't selling you an old pair that only have a few months left to live. Young fish are smaller, thinner and more colourful. If he offers you big 2 inch long fish, don't take them.

As BackintheFold said, try to get 2 males and 4 females. Then if 1 male dies you still have a spare. They will all be fine in a tank that is 18-24 inches long and has lots of plants.

 

[mmarx339]

You should do a biotope style and get a pair of blue gularis killifish. Siamese algae eaters are big and fast enough to survive with them if you want a clean up crew. They are considered semi aggressive but will fight another male to death so no more than one male can do 2-3 females if you want to breed them. That species lives for years and is beautiful