Killifish Breeding

[Nadine F]

Hi all, hoping for some help with this one.

I have two breeding pairs of killis at the moment as follows

Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus

Aphyosemion Ogoense Pyrophore.

Both pairs are mature and are in air filtered two foot tanks, kept at room temp, between 21 and 23 degrees centigrade.

Each pair has java fern in with them on which to lay their eggs.

I belive I have a great many eggs but I am not to sure as I removed the Java Fern from the tanks and placed them in floating tanks in my main aquarium to hatch. However they have been their for a week and nothing

I am hoping I have got in wrong and they are not eggs at all. A description of the "eggs" is as follows.

Firm and jelly like spheres about 1mm across. I have no snails etc so and the plants are home grown.

All suggestions appreciated as would like to make a success of breeding these little fish. Photos of eggs would help so I can compare, also hatching times and conditions.

Thanks in advance

Nadine

 

[kev_kb]

I got some Fundulopanchax eggs from Ebay, and they hatched within 2-3 weeks, so I think you need to give it longer, I had mine at 25C, not sure if this will effect the time much. Just be sure to remove any eggs that go totally white, and have some baby brine shrimp or other suitable foods ready for when they hatch.

 

[jayjay]

Yep you need to wait longer, as said remove any fungused eggs.

Higher the temperature, the faster they hatch generally aswel.

 

[BWBettas]

But the faster anything hatches the less developed it is

Bret

 

[Amerce]

Hi all, hoping for some help with this one.

I have two breeding pairs of killis at the moment as follows

Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus

Aphyosemion Ogoense Pyrophore.

Both pairs are mature and are in air filtered two foot tanks, kept at room temp, between 21 and 23 degrees centigrade.

Each pair has java fern in with them on which to lay their eggs.

I belive I have a great many eggs but I am not to sure as I removed the Java Fern from the tanks and placed them in floating tanks in my main aquarium to hatch. However they have been their for a week and nothing

I am hoping I have got in wrong and they are not eggs at all. A description of the "eggs" is as follows.

Firm and jelly like spheres about 1mm across. I have no snails etc so and the plants are home grown.

All suggestions appreciated as would like to make a success of breeding these little fish. Photos of eggs would help so I can compare, also hatching times and conditions.

Thanks in advance

Nadine

Hi Nadine, you say that you believe that you have many eggs, did you check at all ?

You can usually pick the eggs as they are firm to the touch within hours, check the moss and see if you can see them and if you can then check to see if you can see the fry's eyes, if you can then they should be hatching within the next day or so, if not then they still have some devleoping to do.

How long have you had the parents in the breeding tank with the fern, normally the killi's prefer something like a wool mop or java moss, Gardneri like hanging plants so mops are preferred but they will on occassion lay on moss. I think the same is true for the Aphyosemion.

Check out this site it should help you - http/www.killi.co.uk/breeding.php

These fish don't lay sticky eggs so they would fall of the fern.

As for incubation periods check out this site - http/www.garysfishroom.us/pg72.htm

But there are many variables on the hatch times and rely on the water temp, ph etc etc. so the rule of thumb applies, also the fish don't just lay in one session but over a period of days to enable the fry to successfully hatch and survive, if all the eggs hatched at once then they could be eaten by predators in one go so they stagger the hatching period to get around that.

Good luck

 

[BigC]

Amerce has given you a lot of good gen. already, Tweny days or more for Fp. gardneri.
Best to use synthetic spawing mops and collect the eggs daily and place in a margarine tub floated in the parent tank with an airline set to a trickle, this way you can catalog the events (egg development) and remove any fungussed or unfirtile eggs daily. Subsequent fry are able to accept newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms upon hatching.
Regards
BigC

 

[Nadine F]

Many thanks folks, I will have to go on the hunt for some yarn.

Just one more question, I haev some brine shrimp eggs ready to go. Can someone please clarify how much salt to add to the water and what to feed them on once they hatch.

Thanks again

Nadine

 

[BigC]

I use one tablespoon per litre (cooking salt) you do not feed the brineshrimp. Get a jam-jar a meatbaster/turkey baster and a cotton hankerchief. place the cotton hankie over the jam-jar, suck up some newly hatched brineshrimp and sqirt it through the hankie now fill th baster with aquarium water and pass this over the shrimp. Perform this action a few times to remove excess salt, then take the hankie and dip into the fry tank, Feed the fry 3 times a day little at a time. You will probably be better keeping two brineshrimp cultures going in tandem, so as not to run out.
Regards
BigC

 

[Nadine F]

So basically fill container with water add salt and add brine shrimp eggs and wait.

Sounds simple enough that even I may manage it.

Many thanks

 

[BigC]

Not quite that simple .
http/www.brineshrimpdirect.com/res_hatching.html
Regards
BigC

 

[Loko17]

Congratulations on the eggs nadine, I have recently gotten a male Aphyosemion gardneri and soon to get a female. If you have any questions that people cant seem to answer on here, go to google and type in the species name of your killies and just look for different websites. I found a website for mine on breeding and I already know what to do and I dont even have the female yet. Best of luck to you.