Kari's Killifish Journal

[karigupi]

This is going to be a little journal dedicated to my adventures in the world of killifish, I am reading & researching lots, but as with any fish it seems, there is some conflicting information, so I will be doing my best here, I will post as accurately as possible, but if I am mis-guided, please someone let me know.

I'm sure I will make mistakes along the way, but thats the best way to learn. I will also try to take as many pictures as possible, my camera is really not up to this challenge, so I am borrowing my husbands, its still not great, but much better.

I began researching killifish as a little project for my daughter, but the more I read, the more interested I became with these very fascinating fish, I'm close to obsession now a have signed up as a member of the BKA

Armed with info kindly provided on here early this week I took the plunge and ordered some eggs from a well known auction site. I have waited very impatiently for two days until my postie finally decided to bring me the envelope this morning.

The eggs are from the Fundulopanchax Nigerianus P82 which is a very pretty colourful little fish. I purchased 10eggs, but the little packet they came in says 15, I will be happy is just a third of the eggs hatch. According to the info given, the eggs can take upto 21 days to hatch.

They came very well packaged & the eggs were all on a mop in a little plastic bag, as you can see from the pictures the eggs are very visable & arent as tiny as I thought they would be & you can see that they are at various stages of development.

The mop has been placed in about an inch & half of tank water at 22 degrees, in a used(and well washed) carte d'or (yum) container, the pot has been put on top of one of my tanks to keep the water from going cold & a lid has been placed loosly on the top. When I put the mop in, one of the eggs fell off so I have taken a picture of that one on its own.

Here's the pictures from today fun!

 

[BigC]

Yea Killi eggs......
At least you know they are viable.
Got all your foods together.
Promising start Kari
ATB
C

 

[karigupi]

Yea Killi eggs......
At least you know they are viable.
Got all your foods together.
Promising start Kari
ATB
C

Thank you, so far I have Infusuria & some banana worms, also have hikari first bites & liquifry, am looking at some vinegar eel or walter worms as well, what foods would you suggest?

 

[youngfisher]

Looking good Kari.

 

[BigC]

Most Importantly you need Artemia (brineshrimp eggs)
GAR. dont need Infusorians/paramiecium as a first food. They will take BBS from hatch.
Vinegar Eel (stay at the surface) I only ever use on occasion for such species whose fry like to keep to the surface. i.e Ps annulatus.
BBS is you main staple diet for feeding most Fp. sp. (but not all) fry. Use alongside Micro/Banana worm and eventually on to graded Grindals.
ATB
C

 

[karigupi]

Thank you, I have some BBS eggs in packets, I will set the hatchery back up. I really appreciate your input, feeding the fry succesfully will be my biggest challenge I think, this is one point where there is so much differing information on the internet.

 

[karigupi]

Here is my most mature egg at day 3, I can see eyes(I think)!

Lots more eggs have come away from the mop now & some have little black spots in.

I've been spending lots of time on the net reading about all the different killifish & looking at pictures & you really are spoilt for choice out there, choosing which ones to buy is like being a kid in a sweetshop, but much more expensive!
I would like to choose an adult pair, I love the Aphanius Dispar, but also the Northobranchius Furzeri, lots more research to do before I decide for definate, or I might get both

I have also been giving lots of thought to where I can put all these fishies, I have a 52" tank which is being emptied, this I think will be a good starting place for me, it is 18" deep & 18" wide, so if I were to place dividers to split it into 4, each section would have a good 60+ ltrs. This means that I dont have to spend too much money on lots of equipment early on while I decide if this is the right project for me, I also have 2 x 2ft fry tanks empty at the moment.

Oh, I almost forgot, I also ordered a pack of eggs from Thailand last week, they are Northobranchius Eggersi these are really beautiful fish & I really hope I get some to hatch.

 

[BigC]

The main thing is to get all the bits and bobs you'll need together.
Buckets
Margarine tubs (well cleaned)
Meat baster
Pipettes
magnifying lens
paint brushes (artists)
tweezers
amongst other things
Rem: Fry tub cleanliness is paramount and I mean Paramount. if you want to do this right and I don't wish to come across as being patronising I'm just trying to help you have some success with your initial stock.
Which is why, If asked, I would have steered you away from N.eggersi and N. Furzeri as both can be problematic especially for the novice. but hey ho it's your hobby.
Back to Fp. gardneri P82.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Separate the eggs into two tubs floating in a heated tank. This way if you lose some to fungus it will not contaminate the whole batch.
Try to space them out also. Not too critical at this stage but will become apparent later in your hobby.
When they hatch (let them fill their swim bladders first) transfer them to another tub (pipette) same water conditions. No more than 6 fry to a tub, again for the above reasons.
Start feeding immediately on BBS. (3 times daily) using your pipette to suck out uneaten food each time before feeding again. Rinse BBS through a cotton handkerchief first to rid it of salt.
Water-change the tubs initially 80% daily. must use the same water make-up and temp.
ATB
C

 

[karigupi]

Thank you for the list, I have all of those things & hubby has promised to keep me stocked up with carte d'or tubs lol.

The tip about seperating the eggs is a great one, thank you, I will split them into two pots later.

Excellant advice for when they hatch, I have written it all down in my notebook for when my first one arrives.

 

[karigupi]

Look what came in the post today These are my goodies from the British Killifish Association, there is a Guide To Keeping Killifish booklet & the August Killi-News. Looking forward to sitting down for a read later.

Its Day 4 of incubation, I now have 2 which are showing really good growth, I had to remove 3 eggs with fungus & have split the remaining 10 into 2 seperate pots. Here are a couple of pics of my 2 most advanced eggs.

Apologies for the glare in my pictures, I have to use a magnifying glass & a camera to get the best pics I can.

 

[karigupi]

urrrgh disaster strikes, not in the form of fungus, but in the form of a very naughty, very devious 20mth old little boy

I had taken one of my tubs of eggs into the kitchen to do a water change, as I put it down, my darling (?) little boy decided to smear half a banana into the carpet, while I washed the carpet he snuck into the kitchen & threw my pot of eggs onto the floor All eggs gone, squished into the carpet & the towel he tried to clean up with.

Thankfully I had taken BigC's advise & split the eggs between 2 tubs, so I still have 5 eggs left & they are doing well, i'm quite upset that I lost my most mature egg, had a bit of a sulk I must admit. Then I decided to make myself feel better by buying more eggs

I havent decided which ones to get yet, having a search online to see what is available & which ones are the easiest to raise.

 

[BigC]

Will there's one bit of advice that has truly paid off, always, always split your eggs up.

Then I decided to make myself feel better by buying more eggs

I would get some more P82's for a start as you will need to get a pair from the remaining eggs in order to progress. They are nice fish.
Dont fall into the trap of buying all round you just because you see some nicely coloured fish.
TBH I would stick with the P82's raise them and learn how to do this and do that with them. What they like and dislike
There are people out there who can breed killifish and people who can breed killifish well.
People who can coax an egg here and there and people who collect 20-30 eggs per day of a well conditioned pair.
The moral of this story is pick one or two particular species stick with it, breed and learn how to improve.
Sounds like a lecture dont it, but I know folks who have that many species they dont have time to manage and learn about them.
Fp. gardneri and Aphyo. australe or striatum are always in demand so I would stick to these for now. No problem moving these species on. Australe will involve a little more work but as they are considered a fish for the killi novice and should provide you with the minimum of problems.
Regards
C

 

[karigupi]

Thanks BigC I will order some more P82 on payday.

I have just four eggs left, this photo was taken on Friday, waiting for hub to come home with my camera tonight to take some more, they seem to be developing well.

Yesterday I started my worm cultures, I have microworm, walter worm & banana worm, together with the brine shrimp eggs waiting for when needed.

I must admit to ordering some more eggs (its an addiction ) I have gone for the APLOCHEILUS LINEATUS 'GOLDEN WONDER' & hope that they will arrive today. No sign yet of the eggs from overseas.

I have organised a great little hatching tank, I will take a pic tonight, its my old Betta Breeding tank, which is perfect for the job, its an odd shaped tank, 20cm wide x 62cm long x 16cm high, so just 20ltrs, I have filled it with water & added a heater to keep the temp at 23. The eggs that I have at the moment are floating in there nice & safe & away from little fingers. I have room for another 4 tubs in there I think.

So all going well at the moment, hopefully will have some tiny fry with in the next couple of weeks

 

[karigupi]

I have a FRY One of my little P82's has arrived, he is so tiny. I am amazed as when I did the water change this morning, none of them looked ready at all.

He has now been moved into his own little tub, i've had to call in a favour from a friend as my BBS isnt ready & he is popping me some around in a couple of hours going to go & set my hatcher up now.