My Killifish Showtank Journal

[helterskelter]

BBS is to large for newly hatched killi's
You need that micro worm or eel's ASAP.

Royal mail will not be delivering anything till Thursday, so hope their yolk sac lasts.
Do u have a pond with loads of green water, they will find food from tht is u add a little.

 

[Fella]

BBS is to large for newly hatched killi's
You need that micro worm or eel's ASAP.

Royal mail will not be delivering anything till Thursday, so hope their yolk sac lasts.
Do u have a pond with loads of green water, they will find food from tht is u add a little.

They are eating the BBS. It does look big, but some are eating it. I'm also adding infusoria that I've been culturing since around the beginning of this thread, and a tiny drop of liquifry.

 

[helterskelter]

thats good news then.

 

[BigC]

They will not remain small for long, by the end of week 1-2 you will notice a remarkable difference in size. Feed brineshrimp and microworm 4 times a day (little and often) Perform small waterchanges Bi-Daily and keep the tubs clean. Remove uneaten food regulary using an eyedropper/pipette.
Also get hold of Grindalworm and Whiteworm cultures for when they get bigger as a second food (larger than micro).
Once over the critical fry stage they will develop and grow fast. (they have to, being annuals) I have some Data sheets on culturing livefood (my way) PM me if you want me to email them to you.

 

[lljdma06]

Congrats on your fry. Did you ever decide on your lighting? I'm curious as I always thought a planted tank and killies could work well. The bright colors would be very attractive. Especially a low-light planted tank, say between 1-1.5WPG, with some floating plants for cover. It wouldn't be necessary to add either CO2 or much in the way of ferts, and you certainly could even have an inert substrate. Moss carpets could also be cultivated. It would be an interested setup anyways.

 

[4ftguppy]

well the first lesson is patience!

You should not have hatched these eggs until your microworms hd arrived. They can go a days, even weeks without wetting, whilst staying viable. Better to keep them over and have food.... If in doubt keep them at lower temperatures

BBS are a far better first food - 2-3 days after hatching and being fed IMMEDIATELY with bbs they will be able to take grindal worms. These fish can grow very quickly indeed, but good quality food is essential. Hungry fry will eat each other. Their metabolisms are so fast - they might be dead in a few weeks, when their ponds dry up - they need to be able to grow and get breeding asap - generally in 3-4 weeks if well looked after

 

[Fella]

well the first lesson is patience!

You should not have hatched these eggs until your microworms hd arrived. They can go a days, even weeks without wetting, whilst staying viable. Better to keep them over and have food.... If in doubt keep them at lower temperatures

BBS are a far better first food - 2-3 days after hatching and being fed IMMEDIATELY with bbs they will be able to take grindal worms. These fish can grow very quickly indeed, but good quality food is essential. Hungry fry will eat each other. Their metabolisms are so fast - they might be dead in a few weeks, when their ponds dry up - they need to be able to grow and get breeding asap - generally in 3-4 weeks if well looked after

I've been feeding BBS.

They eat microworms fine. I've had one die, causes unknown, but they are feeding, and getting considerably bigger.

My filter arrived today too. it's going to need a bit of fiddling before setting up, but it does work. the postal strike has really slowed the progress of my journal.

As for lighting, i still don;t know. i might still build my own hood.

 

[Fella]

Taking photos of fish this small is near impossible.

Out of the ten or so eggs I counted when I first got the batch, 3 fry remain. I will be contacting the seller about the misleading ad, he claimed at least 50 eggs!

Still feeding on BBS and Microworms.

 

[BigC]

he claimed at least 50 eggs!

A great many times you will get a larger hatch from the second wetting of the redried peat.
This species is not that easy to hatch and rear, I would have suggested N. guntheri or N. palmqvisti as a better choice as they are easier to get to grips with. But anyway you will either need to get some more eggs from the seller or hope you get a pair from the remaining fry.
Have you checked the peat for any more eggs.
Regards
BigC

 

[Fella]

Aye, I am aware of the second wetting often producing more eggs, but sadly there really were just ten-ish eggs, they were very easy to see, and I magnifed the whole pot of peat. (I ran through the whole tub checking).


If I did this again I think I would buy a pair of fish and then breed them to get my own brood.

 

[fishman 1]

It's a dear way to buy peat when there are no eggs at all. I know cus I have had it!

I have psudoepyplaty annulatus currently breeding. I have seen eggs for sale in peat on the internet. I have never bought any though, because although I breed them I have never managed to see an egg within the tank! So how anyone can say that there are X ammount of eggs beats the hell outa me! I only sell off young pairs or juveniles of these never eggs.

I prefer to buy actual fish, eggs in water (depending on the species) or have a known reliable breeder (which can be hard).

If you are in the UK Fella are you in the BKA? If so there is an auction at Reditch in December I think? If you look on the TA aquaculture web site then you might see exactly when and where it is. I'll be going to buy some pairs to breed from.

 

[BigC]

Yeah if your new to all this, and I use the term new loosely. Then buying fish is the best option. If I go to a show I always buy two pair/trios of the same species of fish as I have learnt from my mistakes that buying one pair is a recipe for disaster right from the outset as there is nothing worst than loosing a single fish from a pair.
I dont get this dozen eggs from Nothos biz. I know some breeders do this but I cant see the point, If I were selling Notho eggs it would always be advertised as a weeks spawn even from the more trickier species.
Going on what fishman 1 has stated above I never collect Ps. annulatus eggs at all. (I have certainly noticed them) prefering to leave them in the natural breeding setup for as long as possible and then fishing them out to rear when they are a decent size. I feel the eggs are to delicate to be handling.
Check out Tim's site
http/www.killifish.f9.co.uk/Killifish/Ki...bsite/Index.htm
for more details on killifish species.
Join the BKA or the AKA, you wont regret it.
Regards
BigC

 

[mlawson]

Any updates on this tank...?

 

[Fella]

Any updates on this tank...?

Turned into a disaster essentially. I still have the tank, but teh killifish were belly sliders with bent spines. I admit I made a few mistales, but I wouldn't buy stock off Ebay again.

There are now ember tetras, plants and checkerboard cichlids in the tank. I would love to do killis, but my experience has put me off, sadly.

 

[BigC]

Hey Fella,
I wont harp on about how I was trying to persuade you to go with an easier species than Eggersi. Yes you did make mistakes but we've all been down that route. And to coin an old cliché ...Learn by your mistakes. Don't give up on the killifish front go for (if you want Nothos) Guntheri or Palmqvisti (old failsafes and virtually bomb proof) beginners/novice fish. Not as colourful admittadly but will give you more rewarding results and secondly buy your stock by a weeks spawn and not a dozen eggs.
Better luck next time
Regards
BigC