New Killifish - Info Please

[Jessica13]

Hey,

Picked up a new pair of killifish today But the guy couldn't tell me anything about them, or even if they were the ones i thought they were I was hoping someone on here could give me a bit of info about them to make sure i've bought what i was wanting to

Here's a picture of the male.. Sorry its such a bad pic, was taken through the bag. I will post some better ones when i get them, but hopefully someone will be able to ID him from this pic

Thanks

 

[Mad Duff]

Looks like a Nothobranchius Eggersi mind you I'm no expert on killifish. Almost definatley Nothobranchius though.

Nothobranchius Eggersi
Originates from East Africa, Tanzania.
Male is much more colourful than the female and has longer fins.
Max length 5cm
PH <7
Substrate spawner

 

[MAM]

What he said, definitely a Notho of some sort, but I can't tell from the pic just which one. I'm sure BigC will be along shortly to help as well, but in the mean time, check out this site, has a nice gallery of killis:
http/www.killi.co.uk/AfricanAnnuals.php

 

[Bloo]

Gorgeous killi Jess hope they settle well

 

[BigC]

I not 100% sure they are Eggersi (although they could well be) as a lot of Nothos. can be similar and are sometimes very hard to distinguish. I will try to find out as to what species this is exactly and get back to you.....Meanwhile
They are a Nothobranchius species (annual killifish) which means that they come from areas in Africa.
They are fish which inhabit temporary pools of water which are prone to drying out (evaporating) during the hot season. This type of killifish has developed a survival strategy where by they they lay their eggs in the soil at the bottom of the pool and they remain there even when the pool has evaporated only to hatch again when the rains return. Not all the eggs hatch at the same time. This means that if there is a freak storm before the regular rainy season begins and the pool dries out again that the species will not become extinct. The incubation period for these eggs can be as long as 18 months but it is usually between 2 and 6 months. For these Killifish life is rather chaotic as they have to hatch when the rains come, grow to maturity, breed and lay their eggs before the pools dry out again and they die. So their growth rate has to be extraordinarily fast and most will reach maturity inside 6 weeks. Examples of annual killifish are the African genus Nothobranchius. of which Nothobranchius guntheri (noth-o-branc-e-us .... goon-fer-eye) is considered a good beginners fish with not too long an incubation period.
The species in you pics should be given a species tank of around 12"x8"x8" with no substrate and a margarine tub weighted down with a heavy stone. Fill the marg. tub with pre boiled peat moss to a depth of around 2" and this set up will be fine for a trio. 1 male:2 females. They will only live in the aquarium for 8-14 months and the older they get their looks go too.
If you need to know more about incubation times/breeding etc then pm me.
Regards
BigC
The above is an exerpt from my soon to be published website.
P.S. I've had a look through my Killifish Literature and Eggersi does seem to be the closest to your pic, so I stand corrected even if it is tentively.
Regards
BigC

 

[Jessica13]

Thanks for all the info

Unfortunately the male has died though I have no idea why, though he did seem quite stressed out on the way home, he was trying to jump out of the bag and stuff The female is doing really well, she seems very happy! Will go back to the shop tomorrow and see if they can get me another male

 

[Jessica13]

Well, i have a new male! He's a lot bigger and seems much happier in his new tank Hopefully he'll last a bit longer!

Anyway, a couple of pics.. Does anyone know for sure what he is?

 

[bunjiweb]

Very nice, Glad the new male is ok, he looked very healthy and happy when i bagged him up!

They were Nothobranchius kilomberoensis according to the list however they could be eggersi... If you pop into Aquatic Habitat any weekday morning or anytime on Thursday, ask to speak to Phil. He is an absolute Killifish expert, and will be able to tell you exactly what they are. He has kept every killifish i've ever seen, and has like 50+ tanks at home for breeding and keeping, infact he has so many tanks he has them on top of his cooker, and doesnt even use that!... now thats what you call MTS!

Ben

 

[BigC]

Nothobranchius species are pretty diverse both in location and colouration, below is a tentitive list of known Nothobranchius Eggersi Locations and codes. As you can see there are quite a few and finding the exact strain would be nigh on impossible unless you have this info from the outset. Eggersi come in blue forms (predominatly blue in colouration) and lately red forms.(predominatly red in colouration).
Known Eggersi strains
Aquarium strain
Ruhoi
Rufiji
Rufiji River Camp TAN 95/7
Rufiji River Camp TAN 95/8
Ruhoi River TAN 95/11
Kanga TZ 97/4
Utete TZ 97/55
Ruhoi River TAN 98/11
Ruhoi River TAN 98/12
Saadani TZ 99/8
TZ 99/11
Bagamoyo TZL 01-52
Rufiji River Camp TAN 02-16

Like wise there is a list for Nothobranchius kilomberoensis which are
Aquarium strain
Kilombero TAN 95/4
kilomberoensis Minepa TAN 00-14

So as you can see it can be rather difficult sometimes to pinpoint exactly what you have.

This information is only for purists who wish to maintain species without the risk of cross breeding and distributing incorrectly named stock.
I would again guess that your fish is more like an Eggersi (red form)
http/www.vascogomes.net/Imagens/Fotograf...rsi_Red_M_2.jpg

 

[bunjiweb]

they're sexy whatever they are!