Nothobranchius Guentheri

[lachojski2005]

i brought some killifish eggs off ebay a while ago and recieved them last week.some have hatched and i can see them swimming around.what i need to no is how and when do i feed them?they are in a little lunchbox at the mo with a little airline in there(as was instructed by the seller) but there other instructions seem vague.so any help would be much appreciated.
many thanks

 

[BigC]

Nothobranchius guentheri, is an annual killifish from West Africa but I expect you know all that so I wont bore you with specifics.
Upon hatching you should be feeding newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms as the fry of this species are large enough to consume these. N. guentheri will not take to flake and dried foods eagerly. They prefer live. You should seek out and get some cultures going of Microworm, Grindalworm and Whiteworm. and should be hatching brineshrimp. daily.
On this diet the fry will grow quickly and be mature enough to breed in around 6 weeks. Males are quite quarrelsome so you may have to segregate the females from the group.
I will advise you more as and when you need the help, but for now do as you are doing get a large plastic cake box or similar when they grow a bit and add about 2" of water keep the airline to a trickle and feed above foods three to four times per day (greedy little buggers) Cleanliness is also a factor so keep the tank clean of any leftover food. They will benefit from a little salt (few grains of cooking salt) in their tank when they get up a bit. If you have not got these foods then make a point of getting them right away especially the microworm and the brineshrimp eggs to hatch.
See my pinned topic at the top of this section on how to culture your own livefoods.
I hope this was of some immediate help although you should have got you feeding regime inplace before you wetted the eggs. (they would have waited many days/weeks longer) Anyway get some brineshrimps hatched and you'll be fine.
Remember cleanliness.
Lets know how you get on and if there's any more questions you need answering they just fire away.
Regard
BigC

 

[lachojski2005]

i wasnt told that when i brought them they said there was some sort of food in there 2keep them going for a week or 2.my dad has got some microworm so will use some of that.how do you change the water as they are very tiny and dont wanna lose any.that info is great so will start doing as you say.lol.
many thanks

 

[BigC]

Technically yes there will be some food around upon wetting the peat. Food in the form of infusorians. But although Guntheri will feed for a time on these, they need larger foods such as microworm and newly hatched brineshrimp. Infusoria is a fine first food for harder delicate species of Notho such as Eggersi or Rachovi but Guntheri will take larger morsels.
Changing the water, Get yourself a meat/turkey baster remove water carefully from a spot where you know there are no fry present. Discard this water and replenish with clean water from an aquarium not the tap again using the baster. Small syringes with a length of airline attached are also helpful when removing ineaten food. Dont overfeed with brineshrimp. as it will die in about 30mins and form into a clump which the fry get tangled. Add to the water depth around 1cm per day as the fry grow. Also purchase a good small hand held magnifying glass. (chemist or hobbyist shop)
Incidentally how many fry have you at present.
How did the seller relay to you regarding how many eggs were in the peat, Did he say 1 dozen eggs or a weeks spawn.
If it's a dozen eggs then basically thats all you will get give or take a few.
If it's a weeks spawn then not all will hatch at the one time. my advice here would be to. seperate all the fry into a different container (clean 1LB marge tub) with the syringe method mentioned or like I used to do with a small white plastic teaspoon (takes practice) Then drain the water from the peat tub, thake the peat in your hands and squeeze out the access water and place on a newspaper or kitchen roll. The peat needs to be the consistancy of pipe rolling tobacco just damp without being too wet. Now rebag the peat and put in in a warm dark place for a fortnight, then take it out and rewet as before. You may find that you'll get a better hatch from the second or third wettings than the first. This is natures failsafe mechanism to prevent the species from becomming extinct.
Any further questions dont be afraid to ask.
Get some brineshrimp eggs hatched out.... As for feeding microworm, wet a small artist paint brush and swipe the walls of the microworm container then wiggle the brush in the fry tub, again dont over feed and be careful not to transfer any of the microworm media (oatflakes/meal) to the fry tub as this will foul a small body of water very quickly.
Regards
BigC

 

[lachojski2005]

ive just changed the water and going down to the shed 2get some microworms and start another batch.where do i get the other cultures from?not heard of them before.lol.ive got a very good lfs that wil have some brineshrimp.the seller said 50+eggs so should i take the fish out and dry the moss off then start again?this info is great
many thanks
rich

 

[BigC]

Sadly since the death of my father I no longer send out Livefood cultures so below is a link to a guy I used in the early days
http/www.worm-cultures.co.uk/index.html?...&lang=en-gb
Regards
BigC