Nothobranchius Eggersi

[ripple]

I'm ashamed to admit it, but in my desperate attempt to find Killi online I decided to buy some eggs on ebay. I so wish I would have found this website sooner but that's irrelevant now.

Anyho, the listing was for 50 Eggersi Blue eggs. Here's a link to a similar auction from same seller.

http/cgi.ebay.com/Killifish-eggersi-Blue-50-eggs-Artemia-20000-eggs_W0QQitemZ290414711632QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439e10d350

Am I correct in assuming the full name for this strain is Nothobranchius eggersi blue? Annuals?

Are there any specific questions I should ask the seller? I realize that this sp is not recommended for beginners but they're on the way now so I'm going to do my very best to raise them.

As for hatching eggs and rearing fry I think I have a good grasp of what to do after spending many hours reading post here. However, I still have a few questions.

Is aeration needed in tubs while they're still eggs/fry? I am not sure due to their need for non-turbulant water. Can oxygen tablets be used safely?

I have an RO unit. TDS 20. The 2 ten gallons I have cycling are 100% RO. Should I use a combination of RO with tap?

Thanks in advance for any help.


I'll update this thread when my eggs get here and there's been some hopeful progress.

 

[anshuman]

* I used tap water and conditioned it, then used another fishtank water and put this in 3 inch tall tray (25 cms x 22 cms) for first 3 weeks.
* DO NOT USE Airstone for oxygen bubbles this are tiny fry and good size tray will give them plenty of oxygenated water naturally.
* I wont recommend you RO water, if your tap water is soft enough, the fry need PH near 7.0 or slightly above.
* Always make sure your have treated the water and tested it for no nitrate/nitrite/ammonia etc.
* Java moss in the tray will help tremendously , the killifish genre are EXTREMELY shy ones, they need places to hide OR they will start coming on surface to JUMP OUT OF TANK OR TRAY. I was horrified to see them attempt to jump out of tank when i was moving them.

you may check my kill fry journal in my sig.

You need more answers regarding this species which i dont know, I am extreme noob too and I too bought killie eggs as impulse buy from thailand, my experience is jounrnalled.

There is Expert here called Big_C , he is currently touring australia, but i guess he will answer us once he stop looking at boobies on bondi beach LOLZ. (ok dont hit me colin, kidding here mate, i know you are there with family or something).

Welcome to fishforums BTW.

 

[ripple]

Thanks a bunch for your tips anshuman. I have been following your journal. Nice work, most excellent fish you got there. I'm terribly excited to get my eggs. Hopefully they won't take to long getting here.

I thought I had read somewhere on here that Big C uses RO water. Maybe I'm terribly wrong. My tap water here is extremely hard that is why I invested in an RO unit. PH is fine in the new tanks and they have been cycling with old filter inserts from my established 30 gallon for close to 6 weeks now and Danios were added just over 3 weeks ago. I was originally gonna use the 2 ten gallon tanks and try my hand breeding Threadfin Rainbow but I fell in love with killi and changed the game plan.

Hopefully Big C will come along and have a few pointers. (If he's not to tired of answering questions about eggs bought off ebay.)

Thanks again anshuman for your help and the welcome.

 

[anshuman]

Another tip. Good amount of peat will adjust PH in water so be wary of that. I have very tiny amount sent by that egg-shipper so it didnt bother me at that time. Now that I am ordering huge amount of peat, i will be taking extra care etc.

 

[BigC]

Eggersi can be problematic (not what you wanted to hear I expect).
Make sure you have everything setup ready for the hatch date and that includes Paramoecium. The fry are very small.
I use RO with Tap for moderate killifish such as Nothos and RO with Rainwater for Softwater species.
I use an acid to drop the pH (this can be very dangerous) and can burn if contacted to skin.
You dont need the acid for Nothos.
Mix Tap with RO to a TDS of around 40-45, check the pH to about 6.8 and add a little salt to the water (helps against Velvet).
Natural method is to hatch the eggs in a small marg tub with a water depth of around 35mm. Add water slightly cooler than the recommended stats for this species and let it warm up. Once the fry hatch leave them in the tub and feed for around a day then pipette them to a new tub with the same stats and carry on feeding. The size of the iris is a good indication of the size of food you should be offering..
After a couple of days and nothing else has hatched you can remove the peat, re-dry and store for a further fortnight then wet the peat again as before. You may find that you will get more fry from the second wetting (not always) as you did from the first. (Natures way of ensuring survival of the species so as not all hatch at the same time which may turn out to be just a flash storm)
Dont need air in the fry tubs really just keep them clean and waterchange regularly. (your new water must match exactly)
No newfangled oxygen tabs either.
Off to OZ now so contact will be pretty sporadic.
Good Luck.
Rember have all your food stuffs at the ready.
Regards
C
Bring on the Boobies

 

[anshuman]

Off to OZ now so contact will be pretty sporadic.
Good Luck.
Rember have all your food stuffs at the ready.
Regards
C
Bring on the Boobies

LOLZ. Happy Journey , give us a ping or two in between. And remember , if you sneak on those boobies from behind and remain calm, you can snap some pics and even pet them.

 

[ripple]

Thanks a bunch BigC for your expertise. I realize now that Eggersi probabally wasn't the best choice. Providing all goes well it will be more rewarding to raise them since a newb like me should have started out with another species.

I've started a infusoria culture, but need the stater for paramoecium. Weather permitting I plan to go to a local fish auction tomorrow. Maybe I will find some there. If not I'll look into online sources.

LOLZ. Happy Journey , give us a ping or two in between. And remember , if you sneak on those boobies from behind and remain calm, you can snap some pics and even pet them.

Be careful, if startled some have been known to bite!

04/08/10

Eggs finally arrived today. It figures their hatch date will be close to the hatch date of my Aphyosemion Striatum. I have decided to go ahead and set up another 10 gallon. Yup, I was warned about Multi-Tank Syndrome. I've been dropping hints to the husband to build me a shelf unit so I can efficiently raise everyone. We'll see how that goes. I've been studying Killies in a Cupboard by BigC and would love to try something similar.

Anyho, hatch date on these guys are April 25 so I'll keep this thread updated as things happen.

*edited on 4-27 to add* WOO HOO 41 of the 50 eggs I bought have hatched from the peat. I have removed all fry to a new container and have stored the peat for a future wetting. I really don't exspect any additional fry in the future, but I figured why not. Maybe they sent me a few extra eggs.

 

[ripple]

Well, I'm sorry to say but of the original 41 there are only 4. Not sure, but think my loss was due to predation. Now I'm just hoping I get a pair. One little guy looks to be showing some color so hopefully I will know in the near future.

I also re-wet the peat they came in yesterday for a total of 1 fry so far. DOH! I'm hoping I can fatten he/she up in the next couple weeks because the hubby will be fish sitting while I'm out of town.

As always, trying very hard to get pics. Maybe as they get a little bigger I'll have better luck.