Killifish

[DRD1812]

I've heard they are really susceptable to changes in PH whats the best way to overcome this when buying new Killi's without stressing the heck out of them by slowly adding your own water over a matter of hours whilst leaving them in the bag?

Also a very good site for a massive range of pics of killi's Alf and Anita's

 

[Colin_BC]

You can try the method I used to recently acclimate some apistogramma cacatuoides from the breeders ~4-5pH to my 6.8pH. I picked this up from a post somewhere about someone acclimating stingrays. You slowly drip tank water into the bag to acclimate as gently as possible.

I floated the bag in the tank it was to be released in for a while to get the temps equal. I then opened and secured the bag to the side of the tank in a manner that no tank water would accidentally pour in. Near the top of the bag I cut a small hole so if too much water dripped in the bag, it would flow back into the tank rather than all over the floor. I then syphoned some tank water out into a jug. This jug was rigged up with some aquarium airhose with a cheap plastic control valve/splitter coming out the bottom. I placed the jug above the tank and attached some airhose to the splitter on the jug with the other end hanging in the bag of new fish. I then very carefully opened the valve on the splitter to allow a drop of tank water from the jug to drip into the bag (in the tank) every 3-5 seconds. I started this at 4pm and left it till 9am the next morning. This slow drip means you don't have to worry about the temperature difference bewtween the water in the jug. It also eases the fish into the new tank as gently as possible as there is never a sudden drastic change.

I hope this makes sense...

Colin

 

[J-Money]

What I did when acclimating mine was:
1) buy bag of ghost shrimp with killifish hitch-hiker
2) Set bag in tank to sync up temps.
3) Dump shrimp and fish into tank
4) Go Back to the LFS 3 days later and ask them what kind of fish are in their feeder tanks )

 

[Crookster]

What I did when acclimating mine was:
1) buy bag of ghost shrimp with killifish hitch-hiker
2) Set bag in tank to sync up temps.
3) Dump shrimp and fish into tank
4) Go Back to the LFS 3 days later and ask them what kind of fish are in their feeder tanks )

WHAT?

 

[J-Money]

i bought some ghost shrimp for my puffers and tigers a while back and there were 2 hitch-hiker fish in the bag that I didn't notice till I got home. I didn't know what they were. 1 turned out to be the male guppy and the other ended up being the florida killifish in my sig

 

[Hoplesswfish]

I never new they were odd fish I got mine at petsmart and just put them in my tank like I would any other fish and they have been fine are theyt suposed to be hard to take care of?

 

[Crookster]

i bought some ghost shrimp for my puffers and tigers a while back and there were 2 hitch-hiker fish in the bag that I didn't notice till I got home. I didn't know what they were. 1 turned out to be the male guppy and the other ended up being the florida killifish in my sig

Oh right, now I get ya!

Can't complain at free fish!

 

[Colin_BC]

i bought some ghost shrimp for my puffers and tigers a while back and there were 2 hitch-hiker fish in the bag that I didn't notice till I got home. I didn't know what they were. 1 turned out to be the male guppy and the other ended up being the florida killifish in my sig

Acclimating them can be a pain. Other than that, keep your tank COMPLETELY covered and don't keep any fish in the tank that will fit in there mouths. I lost about 18 small fish to one killie (see my avatar). It committed sushicide later on via an opening at the back of the tank. I lost 3 other killies in the same fashion (minus eating all the tankmates). They are renound jumpers. If there is an opening they can fit through, they will eventually find it and test it. Supposedly killies can act like lemmings at times. I've read some reports of poeple losing 50 fry overnight. One of them would find the opening and jump and the rest would follow suit...

Colin

 

[J-Money]

thanks for the info, there is some space for him to get out, but I have a big bushy plant that got tangled when I moved it so now I just let it grow in the middle of the tank, near the top. He seems to stay in there most of the time, darting in and out, hopefully he'll continue this rather than try to jump out . He's not very big at all right now, how big will he get? will my DP's eventually be in trouble?

 

[Colin_BC]

The closest I could find to Florida Killi is Fundulus heteroclitus, aka Zebra Killie or Mummichog ( ). They're supposedly one of the most commonly found small fish found on the Atlantic Coast from Canada to Florida. They can get up to 20cm (or so I read). Search here and google the latin name and you should find some more info and pictures to identify.

Colin

 

[J-Money]

thanks for the latin name. I googled it and i don't think it's the same fish. My fish has a black stripe in the middle of his body, going from head to tail.

 

[Elgonte]

Possibly this is the Florida Flag Fish, or Flag Fish. jordanella floridae. I just got two, although so far they lack the red color for which they are named (Their sides look like an American flag). They're not supposed to get much larger than 2 or 3", and are avid algae eaters. From what I've read, they're mostly peaceful, and eat mostly veggies. Google that name and the first response has a nice picture.

 

[Elgonte]

Ok. I just did some more reading, and apparently, the correct common name is American-Flag Fish. Some call it Florida fish because it's from Florida (the fact that I'm currently living there doesn't hurt). Also, mine are starting to show their red stripes. How exciting.

 

[noelberg]

'Florida killie' sounds like the Florida Flag Fish, but 'black stripe from head to tail" sounds (possibly) like a different fish - Flag's usually have a dot. Have a pic?

... could be a different color pattern/strain