New To Forum & Killis

[Nadine F]

Hi all

Just joined and up for inttroducing myself and my new interest - the killis

My name is Nadine, and I am from Rugby in England and I have recently invested in my first killis

2xpaors Notho Patrizi
2xpairs Notho Eggersi
and
2xpairs lyretails (not too sure of the exact name of these but they are bright orange with black flashes in there tails and the females have red freckles - will post pics later)

They are all living together in a 300l tank alongside 10 neons, a very stunted ruby shark (2 years old and only 2 inches), 4 shwarz corys and 2 sucking loaches (full grown but just can't bring myself to part with them yet. )

My current chem is 6dgh, 4kh and 7.2ph at a temp of 26C. Not looking to breed just yet as can't decide on the species I want to pursue. Althought the eggersi are my definate faves at the mo.

Anyway all comments and advice welcome

The only things I really know at the mo (about killis) is that they like soft water, not too warm (so I may need to drop my temp), and thrive on lots of live food

 

[BigC]

Hi Nadine,
Below is a little article from a fellow Killifish associate who resides in South Africa its in .pdf format so youll need Acrobat reader installed on you computer to read it. (For you Nothobranchius species)
http/tgenade.freeshell.org/myfish/notho.pdf

The other species you have is possiblly Aphyosemion australe (orange) but the black stripes in their tails is throwing me somewhat. I'll await pics.
Regards
BigC

 

[Nadine F]

You are right thank you.

I have looked up the Australe and the following picture is spot on

This fish seems shyer than the Notho's and tends to hang out in the long grasses I have at the back of the tank.

Is this also to avoid current?

I have a jumbo internal filter which can be quite powerful, I have angled the outlet up towards the surface to try and reduce the current caused.

If current is a problem for killis, is there anything else I can use to reduce it?

Also, looking into the breeding bit, if I add a small container of peat to the tank, will this disperse into the water?

And one more question (sorry, but keen to learn)

Is it best to have a seperate peat box per killi pair or will they happily use the same one?

(Not too worried about the breeding at the mo, as my main aim is to keep my first killis healthy and learn how best to cater for their needs)

Sorry but thought of another question.

My Patrizii seem to have paled. They now have no body colour at all and the red in their tails is very faint.

Is this due to them settling down, or should I adjust my water chemistry?

They were introduced on Monday so have been in the tank for three days. Since then they have been fed a mix of flake and bloodworm.

They seem active enough, just pale

 

[BigC]

Hi,
A perfect setup for most nothos would be a 12"x8"x8" glass aquarium with a heater, air driven sponge filter and a glass jamjar 1/2 full of peat. Its best to keep species seperate as they will possibly interbreed (frowned upon in killifish circles) If you have a few pairs of the same species then the dominant male will do most of the spawning. Nothos need live food for the most part, dried or flake will not suffice. Aphyosemion australe is different in as they will accept dried food. Don't go messing around with water chemistry if you dont know what you are doing as this can lead to more problems. The setup above is all thats required. And the knowledge of how to collect the eggs and their drying periods. But I suggest that you obtain or collect some form of live food.
The power filter is going to be a bain and not really part of killifish husbandry unless you can turn it right down, which sort of defeats the purpose of the thing in the first place.
Regards
BigC

 

[Nadine F]

I was pretty ok with water chemistry when breeding jewel cichlids, oscars and bettas, but the killis seem to be more susceptable (from what I have read) to changes and / or incorrect ph, dgh levels etc.

I have sourced a ready supply of bloodworm and daphne, but finding live brine shrimp is harder in this area. Will frozen do?

The tank I have is a jewel rio 300, hence the large filter. If smaller tanks are more appropriate to the nothos, I could divide this tank up into three compartments which would be approx - 40cm x 62cm x 51cm each. I could then drill the dividers so that the current would also be reduced running through the end compartments. Unfortunately the filter is in built with the tank so I can't see any other way of reducing it.

However this tank is ultimately destined to be a display tank in my living room. I am eying up our brick built shed at the moment for adaptation into a fish house, so that is where any breeding would take place.

Be warned I will probably be pestering when the time comes to get started on the build, so my apologies in advance.

Thank you very much for your advice and I'll keep you updated

 

[BigC]

Be warned I will probably be pestering when the time comes to get started on the build, so my apologies in advance

No problem Nadine.....anytime.
Frozen brineshrimp for nothos can be a hit and miss affair, sometimes they'll take it and on other occaisions you will end up syphoning it fome the base of they're tank. Nip out to the garden especially during the summer months or when it has been raining quite a lot and collect midge and small earthworm (chop these up using a stanley knife blade). Fruitfly are excellent. I will send you some when the weather becomes more kinder, If you are still interested.
As I said before don't go messing aroind with water stats too much for Nothos, as I found that they are not as critical for this species than for others ie:Aphyosemions & Rivulus.
Dividing the tank would be an idea fo now but ultimately species tanks are the order of the day. (still not sure about your filter though). You don't want killis in a sort of washing machine situation.
I hope I have answered all of your current woes and I look forward to hearing from you again.
Regards
BigC

 

[Nadine F]

Your help is very much appreciated and yes the supply of fruit flys sounds good.

Caught the australe's breeding this morning so could be needing to build that fish room sooner than expected

The patrizii are also getting their colour back, however I need to find new homes for two full grown sucking loaches and a ruby shark as their constant flashing around the tank is upsetting the killis