It's Killies now!

[fishdudein]

OK....having been in this hobby for 35 some odd years, there are a few fish that you see pictures of in books, and think "I need to get me some of those next time I go to the LFS". But they are never there. For me, badis badis badis is one of those, as well as peacock and purple spotted gudgeons....and there are always these beautiful pictures of killifish. Now the rare occasions that I have seen any type of killifish at all in any of the local shops they have been bland silverish colored fish. Nothing that would cause you to look twice. Nothing that looked anything at all like the killifish pictures I had seen in books. Then there was 2 weeks ago.....
On my weekly trip to the LFS, I was pleasantly surprised to find several aphyosemion australe "gold". These are an absolutely stunning looking fish. I ran home, did some quick research, decided that with a minimum of moving fish around that I could easily give these fish their own tank, and went back and bought 2 pairs. So far they are doing very well, they are quite young fish but hopefully will get to a breeding size soon.
The following week, on my next trip to the LFS, they now had gotten in a small amount of blue gularis. I was quite impressed by these fish also, and I bought a pair of them. They are about twice the size of the AUS, probably breeding size already.
I will hopefully be able to post pics of these fish soon. As you may have guessed, I fear that I am evolving into one of those "killi-nuts" you have all read about who keep all these little boxes of peat moss and dried out fish eggs.

I hope I am posting this in the right section. I never noticed this before, but there doesn't seem to be a killifish section on this forum. Any other killie fans around who might have any advice for me? I'm kinda clueless on this "spawning mop" thing...is this something home-made?and how do you go about making it? I have read that water quality is important, and I am already a fanatic about water changes anyway, but what about water make-up...I have read that these fish do best in hard water from one source, yet reading from another source I am getting that they require soft water.

 

[Dwarfs]

Killis are beautiful fish Could you use a clump of java moss as a spawning mop? I believe the idea is to collect the eggs in whatever the spawning mop is made of, but that's what I vaguely recall fromk a fish mag Good luck, I hope someone can give you better advise than me

 

[lucky62]

Not surprized .


Let me know how that goes , please .

I've thought about them as well .


Originally they were said to have very short life spans [ wild ] , they [ most , I guess if not all ] seem die after spawning / the drought kills them , so tank kept killies live a little longer .

I've only seen them in books , they have some amazing colors as well .

See I have at least thought about them .


What size tanks are they in ?

 

[CFC]

To make spawning mops wrap some nylon wool around a piece of card laying the strands side by side and not over lapping, do this until you have around 12 strands wrapped around the card. Take a seperate piece of wool and tie it around the strands of wool on one side of the card, then using a pair of sissors snip the wool on the oppisit side of the card in half so that the wool resembles a mop head.
Attach the mop to a cork with a blob of silicone and leave to dry.
When the fish spawn they swim through the mops laying sticky eggs on the strands, when spawning has finished the mops can be safely moved to another tank with the eggs attached.

 

[elgecko]

I have many years ago bred the aphyosemion australe "gold". These are my favorite killies. I have not had any killies for about 10 years.
I hope to get a few pairs next month when the talk at the local fish club is on killies.
If you want to use live plants, water lettuce is a great choice.

 

[fishdudein]

Thanks for all the replies, guys, much appreciated.

Dwarfs: They are beautiful; I really can't wait to be able to get some decent pics to post on here. Java moss would probably work as a spawning mop. However, some of what I have read indicates that they lay a few eggs every day for a period of several days. I am thinking I would need to do a lot of switching out of whatever I use to receive the eggs, so I thought I might be better off with something artificial. You are definitely on the right track, though, my friend.

Lucky: I somehow had a feeling these might interest you , too! Isn't that amazing! I will definitely keep everybody posted. The AUS "gold" that I bought are supposed to be 5 to 6 months old, LFS told me they would live to about 3 years, which I thought was pretty exceptional for a killie! Not sure about the blue gularis' age or longevity, but hopefully it will be similar, they are an Aphyosemion also, A. sjosomethingorother (I did figure out that the australe are called AUS, the gularis are called SJO, in killie-talk! )
Some of what I have read (lots of conflicting information...imagine that!) suggests keeping them in 1 gallon fishbowls , supposedly they have been bred in these. I don't have the heart, mine are in 10 gallon tanks with mostly bare bottom and a touch of gravel, lots of floating type plants, and a sponge filter (my typical set-up). They also REQUIRE a covered tank...excellent jumpers!

CFC: I can visualize what you are describing, very similar to what I would have come up with on my own if I couldn't get any "inspiration", so hopefully I am on the right track here then. Thanks for the card idea, that will speed things up a bit when I make these. Another idea I had was to use a small fishing bobber attached to the mop for flotation. Is most yarn (knitting yarn) nylon wool, or do I need to look for something else?

elgecko: Thanks, good to know somebody here has had experience with these before. If I run into a wall here with these guys, I may drop you a line, if that's alright?
Are you suggesting water lettuce as a "natural breeding mop"? I didn't think it would grow in an aquarium? Some that I had this summer in my backyard fish tub, didn't do too well. I had heard it was hardy, but I guess I wasn't getting it enough light (it was on my back deck which is shaded with a roof overhead)

Thanks again, guys! Anymore comments or suggestions? I'll take all the help I can get!

 

[nomaddan]

I have been bitten by the Killi bug as well and have been doing some looking around. My LFS recently got in a pair of AUS but I am short a tank for them AARRGH! .

From what I have read there are three types of Killies.

The first is the short lifespan. They spawn in lake beds that dry up. After the rains come again the eggs hatch and the fry grow fast and get busy.

The second live in year round water sources and live longer

the third has the ability to do both.

AH! I found the web site I was reading.

http/www.killifish.us/about.htm

 

[elgecko]

I can try to help, it was a long time ago.

I'm planning on trying the water lettuce when I get mine.
I throw lots of the water lettuce away every week from my 2 tanks, mainly my discus tank where it completely goes nuts. It's a shame that the fish store I trade cutting to will not take any of this plant till spring. It does not grow as large as it would outside in the sunshine, but that's a good thing. The biggest I have had them get is a little over 3".
It's a great plant for tanks as it takes extra nutrients directly out of the water column and gives great hiding places for fry. I'm not sure why many people do not use it.

Here's a picture of the top of my discus tank.

 

[DRD1812]

I was thinking of seeing if I could get a killi section on here actually but didnt think any1 else was a fanatical about them as me so far I've had 4 different types of killi's and from my experience.

The males are stronger and accept changes in water better than the females its mostly the change in ph that you need to be carefull of but once they get settled in they seem to pretty hardy fish.

I've had a couple of par of aphyosemion australe "gold" before and they live for about 2 years 3 if your lucky but there worth it. I've got at the moment a male which I'm not sure what he is since the variations are so slight sometimes its hard to tell but he is extremely similar to the aphyosemion australe "gold" but bigger n spottier. I've had a Epiplatys annulatus "Maboshi" but he died within a few days they are only tiny but lovely and I would love to try again with some so I can't really say much about them but they are very 'weak' fish at handling change in water. And finally I have 11 Cynolebias Whitei fry and they fry are bleeding tough little biggers I tell you. there colours n shapes of the body are just starting to come threw bless em lol.

One of the fish shops nere me I wouldn't exactly call it local but nere enough gets them in quite regular they had some Australe "blue" in as well but I missed them cos they sell so quick.

 

[fishdudein]

Cool!!!! The killie keepers keep coming! Appreciate the feedback, guys!

elgecko: Great pic! I love the look of that water lettuce. I have duckweed in a lot of my tanks, and when it gets thick I kind of get the same effect. I've read posts from several people on this forum warning other members not to try duckweed, like it's some kinda plague or something, but I really like the look of it, and I'm sure it helps with excess nutrients. I can tell when I've missed a water change because the duckweed will go crazy! This spring I'll try to pick up some water lettuce at the LFS, they have a pretty nice selection of pond plants then.

DRD1812: Thanks for the info. Those Whitei fry you have, are they from fish that you have spawned, or did you purchase eggs to hatch? I would love to see an Australe "blue"! That killie section thing, It's beginning to look like there are at least a few of us around. Maybe if we keep this thread going and keep it "bumped up" for a few days, we will be able to shake the bushes and see just how many of us there really are. That would be interesting.

nomaddan: Thanks for the link, that will be helpful. Sorry about your tank issues , it's frustrating to find a nice fish and not have the tank space to be able to get it. Better luck next time!

 

[DRD1812]

No they were from someone on here who got them from a bloke in america lol he hatched them his self.

As far as I know theres mop spawners n pelt spawners for mop spawners just attach a bit of cotton wool to a cork n float it there for a while lol it worked for a guy in a book.

 

[DRD1812]

I've been asking around at my 'locals' lol and by the sounds of the only way to get killi's over here is by independant breaders. Since both of the garden centers I went to said 'what' and the other pet stores n fish shops I went to said oh we can't usually order them in we get them off of a different supplier when they're ready.

I have found a website of a store in england that does ship them to you but they are a little expensive and then there's P&P on top of that and I aren't prepared to pay nearly 20 quid (about $35) for some fish that I haven't picked myself. Apart from that the only other way to order them in as far as I can tell is from something like aquabid where you get about 40 eggs n hatch em yourself and everything.

For other people in Engalnd I've heard that there a quite a few Killi conventions going off on a regular basis but as of yet I am yet to be able to get to one since I crashed my mode of transpot a bit ago and it was a write off and am now recovering from a broken finger n wrist lol.

LOL keep posting.

 

[bunjiweb]

My LFS (Aquatic Habitat - Brockworth) Sells lots of types of killifish, usually has 5 or so different varieties in! Always thought they were very pretty but never really contemplated them..

Ben

 

[DRD1812]

Damn you lol mental note, find Aquatic Habitat in Brockworth lol.

Any ideas what types they are latin or common names?