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Thread: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

  1. #1
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    Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

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    Hello folks and experts,

    need some advice for keeping killifishes
    i gather some info on the web and found killifishes to be really stunning.
    their brilliant colors and small size makes them a good choice for impressive planted tanks

    i like ALOT of advice on keeping killiefishes...
    1) Minimal tank size for keeping\breeding groups?
    2) what type of filtration to used? a simple sponge filter or OHF\powerfilter?
    3) suitable PH levels for keeping\breeding, what do you used to bring down PH?
    4) is live plants necessary? can i use silk or plastic plants?
    5) is light necessary? can i use low powered LED lights?
    6) is substrate necessary? what do you use?
    7) what's the stocking ratio for a breeding group? 1male 2 females?
    is it recommended to mix different types of killifishes in a large planted tank? example:4feet 69gal
    9) do you keep fry in a separate outgrow tank?
    10) do you need a chiller? i read most recommended temp is 24C?
    11) what's the recommend beginners killifishes? hardy and beautiful types.
    12) what's the average livespan for the killifishes below?

    Aphyosemion australe
    Epiplatys annulatus
    Fundulopanchax gardneri
    Nothobranchius guentheri
    Nothobranchius rachovii
    Aplocheilus lineatus
    Austrolebias nigripinnis

    thank you all

  2. #2
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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Hi there, Ksc

    I started with Aplocheilus lineatus (Common Name : Golden Wonder or Yellow Panchax), I got 6 pairs in a 4 feet tank mixed with some Molly fish and Redish Molly.
    And definitely they love natural plants, plastic artificial one will harm their fins - so my advice keep them out but most of the time they will bite the natural plants (they eat plants too).
    I managed to breed the next generation with survivors rate of 80% (due to overlook) and now I expand my collection with two more type of Fundulopanchax gardneri (Blue and Pink).

    My most importance advices are :-
    1) NEVER change the full tank water - they will fall ill fast. Change only 1 to 2% of the tank water each week.
    2) REMEMBER to cover your tank - not even a hole - cause they are first-class jumper - you might see their dry bodies on the floor the next day if you don't.
    3) I feed them with vege as well, they just love it (beside bloodworm and shrimp).
    4) The Panchax family can survive for almost 4 years but the others are annual lifespan and hard to maintain.
    5) And breeding take luck too - sometime it spawn, sometime it don't but remember to remove the adults once you see the eggs cause one of them will eat them up.

    I will be getting my Blue, Stripe, Volcano Panchax next couple of weeks and if I am lucky enough I will get the clown killies fish too (Epiplatys annulatus).
    The Japanese clown killies are famous cause their colour are much more brillance and more stylish look in the tail part.

    Mike Koh (Just a Killie Lover).

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello mike!
    thanks for your kind advice.
    after looking around, i think i am more into the african killies.

    so for a start do u recommended the following species? can i mixed them in a 4ft tank?
    Aphyosemion australe - 1m 2f
    Fundulopanchax gardneri - 1m 2f

    which is a more hardy choice Nothobranchius guentheri or Nothobranchius rachovii?
    whats the average price of a killie breeding trios?

    thanks mike!

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Dear Ksc,

    Fundulopanchax gardneri is easy to rise and can be found at Jalan Kayu at the fish farm.
    It is going for $6.80 there (male and female) but you can also find them at Chong Pang Aquarium shop at $4 each (smaller size but only male).
    As for Aphyosemion australe, it is a very rare and expensive breed, so far only Charter Green sell but at $50 each (not always available, you have to try your luck).
    And it is not easy to maintain this rare breed and you cannot mix with other aggressive fish even the yellow or golden panchax cause they will bite their elonged fins.
    I would suggest you to start with Fundulopanchax gardneri (Blue and Pink available at Jalan Kayu but the colours can changed due to environmental settings).
    Chong Pang Aquarium at Yishun only sell the Blue Male only.

    I don't think you can find Nothobranchius guentheri or Nothobranchius rachovii in Singapore cause the eggs are difficult to hatch and maintain.
    If you ever come across them, PLEASE inform me - I am very interested in them too. No luck so far for my search.
    I came across one type of fish that look similiar to these but the colours are not so brillance - it is the American Flag Fish but they are not killie fish, they are chiclid fish.

    I used to keep RAM too (very beautiful Blue rainbow and Yellow rainbow) but once one of them got ill, the others followed.

    I hope these infor can help you for a good start.
    Keep it simple in the beginning, you don't have to spend so much for a start until you know their characteristic and hibitant style, then you expand from there.
    Last edited by piperon; 3rd Nov 2012 at 13:04.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello piperon

    thanks for great lobang!

    i think i should start with Fundulopanchax gardneri trio then progress slowly.

    as for temp, do they need low temp 23-24c?

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    No problem, ksc.

    I use only a simple filter system but always make sure the air bubble is strong.
    When the Killie start floating on the surface, they are lack of oxygen, so make sure the air flow is good.
    As for the temperature, I pay no attention to it cause so far never give me any problems.

    * PLEASE cover the tank or else you will not see your fish tomorow.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello bro

    i just went seaview just now.
    they have Fundulopanchax gardneri very small less than 1 inch. but good thing is they have females!
    i saw 2 Nothobranchius guentheri males if i am not wrong. males only. too bad...

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Hey Bro,

    Glad to hear you visited seaview and found these info.
    So, did you get any of the Fundulopanchax gardneri?

    Yeah, usually they control the species by selling only the male - so that you cannot breed them.
    Then they can continue to sell the male at the good price - too many hand spoiled the soup. Hahaha!

    I knew this trick cause my younger brother is operating a fish aquarium at Tampines but he only interested in selling Discus and Dragon Fish.
    And my dad and my older brother used to breed very special range of discus at home and distributed at my younger brother shop.
    But now due to low profit and high maintenance (electricity and water bill too high), they gave it up completely.
    Only my brother is still operating his shop with his wife.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello ron,

    no i did not get the Fundulopanchax gardneri cos they do not look healthy... some dead fish in the tank floating around....
    at the same time i am clearing my 4 ft malawi tank to prepare for killies.... hopefully i can clear my current tank soon.
    then i will start hunting down killies.

    i am not sure if any bros here have Nothobranchius guentheri females? if they can sell\share you 1 or 2 females that will be great!
    anyway is killies popular in SG?

    btw what types of killies you keeping now?

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Hey Ksc,

    One of my client is crazy about Malawi fish too especially the chiclids family.
    He got so many of them until his wife nagged at him always, hahaha!

    Killies has not been popular in Singapore due to its supply - not every day you can spot them at aquarium or fish farm.
    Another reason is most people think that Killies are cheap cake fish, they called them "Longkang fish" instead of killies (drain fish).
    There are several reasons why we keep fishes - one for self admiration, one for sales, one for preservation.
    So, if you keep Killies for self admiration, that is not a problem but for sales, this is not a good catergory to go into cause the profit will be too low compared to dragon fish.

    These are the Killies I am keeping at the moment :-

    1) 6 pairs of Golden Wonder (6 male and 6 female) - Aplocheilus lineatus
    2) 20 over spawned small fishes - Golden Wonder - Aplocheilus lineatus
    3) 12 small Fundulopanchax gardneri (Blue and Pink)

    and others non-killies fish, they are the Molly fishes (Red, Yellow and White) mixed with the 6 pairs of Golden Wonder
    Last edited by piperon; 4th Nov 2012 at 10:06.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Anyone tried those mail order where they mail killifish eggs to us? Saw many ads at taobao.com. Hmmm...did I got the website correct?
    Sharing is Caring

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Hello Astro,

    I read some articles, some eggs doen't spawn in local envirnoment even well packed by professional breeders.
    And there is always a risk in ordering the eggs over the net, I would rather get the small fishes from the aquarium or fish farm.
    Since you are a season player in this area of breeding, do you still keep these beautiful killies?

    If anyone of you encounter any Blue or Stripe Panchax or any special Killies in any aquarium or fish farm.
    Exclude the Yellow or Golden Panchax (I have a lot already) and also exclude the Fundulopanchax gardneri too.
    PLEASE let me know, I want to expand my collection. Thanks a million in advance!!!

    PS : I am looking for Chromaphyosemion (long fins) and Aphyosemio (long tail) too.
    Last edited by piperon; 4th Nov 2012 at 10:26.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello Moderators,

    do you think it is a a good idea to have a killie profile library section here?
    so we can show case the killies we keep and share pictures and information to other bros and sistas here?
    example: like
    what species data?
    where we got/bought them?
    how long we keep them?
    did they breed?

    good idea?
    thanks

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    wow piperon

    u have a good collection there, do u all keep them in a 4ft?

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    1) Minimal tank size for keeping\breeding groups?
    2) what type of filtration to used? a simple sponge filter or OHF\powerfilter?
    3) suitable PH levels for keeping\breeding, what do you used to bring down PH?
    4) is live plants necessary? can i use silk or plastic plants?
    5) is light necessary? can i use low powered LED lights?
    6) is substrate necessary? what do you use?
    7) what's the stocking ratio for a breeding group? 1male 2 females?
    is it recommended to mix different types of killifishes in a large planted tank? example:4feet 69gal
    9) do you keep fry in a separate outgrow tank?
    10) do you need a chiller? i read most recommended temp is 24C?
    11) what's the recommend beginners killifishes? hardy and beautiful types.
    12) what's the average livespan for the killifishes below?

    Aphyosemion australe
    Epiplatys annulatus
    Fundulopanchax gardneri
    Nothobranchius guentheri
    Nothobranchius rachovii
    Aplocheilus lineatus
    Austrolebias nigripinnis
    To answer your questions ksc,

    1) Minimal tank size can be 1 ft for a peaceful pair, 2 ft for a breeding group and 3ft for very large species like the ex-Megalebias

    2) A simple sponge filter with regular small water changes will do. You can use a canister too if you like. I had an Eden 501 running off a 2ft tank and it worked for my small breeding group. Just place a prefilter sponge over the inlet.. in case.

    3) Suitable pH is dependent on the species in question. Some prefer alkaline, some prefer acidic. To be safe, pH 6.5 is fine for most of them.

    4) Live plants like mosses and such are not actually necessary, but beneficial since they perform bio filtration on their own by taking in nitrates and such, thus creating an ecological balance in the tank. Giving the killifish cover in the form of plants like Anubias and moss will help in reducing stress and giving the plant spawner types a place to deposit their eggs.

    5) Light is necessary if you're going to keep plants, unless it's in a spot where it gets daily sunlight, then you can skip the lights and just use natural light for the low-light plants to survive with.

    6) Substrate is not a necessity for most part, because for ease of maintenance, some killie keepers use bare bottom tanks with just mosses, spawning mops and pieces of driftwood. If you have to use a substrate, a fine sand base with a very thin layer is sufficient.

    7) Typical spawning ratio is 1M:2F, or just 1M:1F. If in a large group and raised together from young, you can use multiple males. Note, aggression level differs between species.

    Try not to keep them in a community setting, as most killies are not meant to be kept together. Hybridisation can occur between related species and this is discouraged among serious keepers.

    9) For some species, you can raise the fry alongside the parents, but for most part, they are raised separately in another tank. Growth rates among fry will differ and for some large predatory species, it is imperative that the slower growing individuals should be moved to another tank as they are likely to be females.

    10) You don't need a chiller unless you are keeping highland or forest killies that live in colder environments, such as the ex-Rivulus punctatus or Aphyosemion joergenscheeli. Getting those alive to Singapore as eggs.. is another matter altogether. Stick with tropical species and you can skip the chiller.

    11) Recommended beginner killies are Aphyosemion australe, Fundulopanchax gardneri, Nothobranchius guentheri, Nothobranchius rachovii, Nothobranchius korthausae. They are prolific under right conditions.

    12) Average life span is unknown but approximately 6 months or slightly more for well-fed annuals and longer for non-annuals.

    Feel free to ask more questions. I'll try my best to answer them.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    WoW! Thanks Stormhawk,

    Your knowledge is very valuable to us as new breeder of killies. Thanks you very much.

    Ok, here is a tough question for you - as from Astro, he/she said that the Stripe Panchax was the wild version of the Yellow Panchax and the Blue Panchax is a native fish.
    The question is how did they managed to add the yellow to the body and red stripe to the tail which transformed the wild Stripe Panchax into a Golden or Yellow Panchax?
    Did they used chemicals or dyed device? Or the food stuff? Or kind of hybridisation of two species you mentioned above?

    Thanks you in advance.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    Thanks ksc,

    I hope you will get yours started soon.
    And your ideas are great but I think there is already a place here in forum which we can upload our fish's images already.
    I think it would be great to have one more section for EXCHANGE or DONATION perhaps? Hahaha!

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello piperon

    i think the yellow Panchax is what they called line breeding in cichlids term.
    i am a ex-malawi nut and i know they used line-breed to produce german/ruby peacocks which do not occur in wild. no chemicals. but selective breeding of fishes that have some red color over many generations. so the final fish is much more red than a wild peacock.

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    yes today i sold off almost half of my malawi and victorian cichlids to bro bravvo here.
    he is a nice guy. i hope i sell off the rest soon. so i can free up my 4 ft tank for killies!
    really itchy for killies esp Fundulopanchax gardneri

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    Re: Hello! new to killifish and need advice.

    hello storm
    master speaks! your advice is invaluable to us newbies.
    ok now i have ALOT more questions... to prepare myself for diving into killies world.

    1) TANK - currently i have a 4ft tank and i intend to divide it into 4 sections/acrylic for keeping 4 different types of non-annuals. Top of the tank will also be covered with acrylic, is this idea ok?
    2) Filter - since for keeping killies, i may have alot of tanks. i will use mature sponge filter power by ACDC air-pump to saving electric costs. it is simply not effective to use many small powerheads.
    3) PH/DH - can using driftwood alone bring down PH to 6.5? or i need to use some brands of blackwater solution etc?
    4) live plants - i don't really like live plants, can i use some soft silk plants instead for breeding? i read non-annual killies breed in mops too!
    5) Lights - if live plants are not needed, i will use the 3ft 1.8W LED strip i buy from IKEA for viewing only. i also read killies hate bright lights.
    6) Substrate - again! i hate them due to maintenance... sorry for being lazy. i read killies like dark substrate and look best with dark surroundings. so i intend to use black oyama for back and base of my tank. is this ok?
    7) breeding groups - is it ok to stock 2males 3females per type per tank? or better to have more females? it is better to buy smaller fish 1inch rather than bigger ones for breeding groups?

    i am looking at Fundulopanchax gardneri for a start.
    then progress to
    Aphyosemion australe
    Aphyosemion striatum
    Epiplatys dageti

    annuals is another project for me Nothobranchius guentheri, i read they require marine salt or salt in the water.

    thanks folks and masters!

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