Jordanella floridae eggs!

[nonamethefish]

Removed the plants from the Jordanella tank and realized they had spawned...lots of eggs. I've picked out probably 20 or so in various stages of development and bare in mind this is a tangle of java moss, hornwort, and Najas so most of the eggs are likely hidden. The flags seemed to like the hornwort the best presumably because it has harder leaves and the eggs could be protected from possible predators if laid inside the whorls.

Wright if you're reading this could you offer some insight? You wrote an article mentioning the different spawning modes some time ago. However my fish didn't seem to read it! The water was maybe 7 inches deep but I found eggs deposited everywhere. The male did get more aggressive with the female but I haven't seen any signs of nest fanning or a nest of sorts. However my view is blocked off by a coating of algae and the fishes shyness so I may be missing something. The male seems to spend quite a bit of time near piles of plant debris on the floor which perhaps he fanned together as a nest? I don't know...can't check those for eggs without taking down the spawning container.

[whuntley]

A few comments:

Pupfish, in general, do the best when the sight path is short enough to give them some privacy. Heavy planting and wide, shallow tanks are good for that. Large tanks seem to work better than the usual small killifish tanks. 20G lows may be ideal.

Jordanella floridae have a variety of spawning patterns, and I suspect most are aimed at providing the eggs with adequate oxygen and a shallow spot for hatching, so they can easily reach the oxygen-rich sub-surface film.

Eggs that hatched for me in water more than a few inches deep failed to survive. Shallow-water hatching was best. I never had time or inclination to explore this effect further.

Good luck with them. Try to get them into a tank where observations are easier, for I suspect we still have a lot to learn about this genus.

Write up your experiences with them.

Wright

[nonamethefish]

They seem to like the setup they are in(2 gallon critter keeper on the patio table). Gets lots of sun which makes the algae worse of course. I've now got maybe 20 or so fry(hard to count)...and just found 100 or so eggs in the plants!

What I'm doing is swapping bundles of hornwort/Najas/java moss through...letting them spawn for a few days, and then taking it out and moving it to a hatching container. Wonder how many people are interested in F1 Jordanella floridae?

[timebomb]

Joseph,

I'm interested in this Killie because it's known to be a very good eater of Black Brush Algae. I had some in my tanks a few months ago but they were those short-body types bought from the fish shops.

How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? If the period of time is long enough, you don't even have to pick the eggs. Just send them attached to your mosses. I don't know if you would consider it a fair trade but I'll be happy to exchange the eggs with some Taiwan Moss. Please let me know.

Loh K L

[nonamethefish]

Hmmm...I think they take about a week to hatch. How would I go about sending these? I will definetly consider if the pair keeps up this production. Again they will be F1 from wild fish so not the ones you are seeing in the stores.

How would one go about shipping for such a long distance?

[RonWill]

How would one go about shipping for such a long distance?

Joseph,
I recall Wright said that eggs in development also releases ammonia, so do not be tempted to pack lotsa eggs together. Six to a dozen eggs, per breather bag worked best in an experiment. Amount of water used in the trial was 2 film canister full.

Tint the packing water VERY VERY lightly with acriflavin/methylene blue mix.

Send in insulated box via EMS. Fry that hatch enroute will be ok.

[timebomb]

How would one go about shipping for such a long distance?

Breather bags with some water is one option but it's too much work and trouble. Just send them how you would send moss, Joseph. I have sent mosses, slightly moist and packed in padded envelopes to hobbyists in the US of A and Canada and on a couple of occasions, fry appeared when the recipients put the mosses into water. The fish in question is the Java Medaka but I'm pretty sure this method will work for Jordanella floridae too.

I'm game if you are

Loh K L

[whuntley]

Be advised, the American-Flag Fish is a great algae eater, but they are no substitute for SAEs for black brush algae (aka red algae).

Wright

[nonamethefish]

Now maybe 100 or so fry in two different sizes. The older ones are the size of swordtail fry and then their are maybe 70 or so newly hatched ones. I pulled some damselfly larvae from the second container so the number I have now must be considerably less than what was originally laid.

[nonamethefish]

Here are some photos...

First the male


A recently laid egg removed to a container for closer observing. As they develop they darken and right before hatching the eyes can be seen visibly. In these eggs you can actually make out the position the fry is curled in as the tail portion of the body is striped!


Bad photo of newly hatched fry. They seem to hug the bottom for the first week or so.


The setup baking out in the patio.




Since I'm too lazy to make mops and pick eggs I just keep clumps of plants around(the flags seem to like hornwort whorls) for them to spawn in...then rotate them into containers like this...again out on the patio...to hatch. Then when I think everyone has hatched I remove most of the plants and the fry are revealed.

Hope you enjoyed having a little peek at this setup.

[stormhawk]

Ron, KL, no need to get the eggs from the US.

I found a good number of healthy normal-bodied specimens at a local fish store near where I live. Very nice critters but I fear they might be too aggressive for the rest of my fish. I had a bad experience with them when they terrorised the smaller fish in my previous tank.

Wright, does this species require a brackish habitat, or will it acclimatise to a slightly acidic setup?

[whuntley]

They do well in most kinds of water, but may be slightly more disease resistant if a little salt is added (like Nothos). I'm not too sure of that. Many live in the limestone-hardened waters of inland Florida, but lots are found in brackish inlets all along the gulf coast.

If I had to guess, I'd say that soft acid water isn't ideal.

Wright

[nonamethefish]

Here are some updates on the fry(these are my medium sized ones).

The photo doesn't show it but they have the black spot on their middle and the brown checkers as present on adult females.





I have some 2x the size of these looking essentially like mini adults...I was moving the smallest batch to an outdoor tub and they got stuck at the bottom of the bucket. I added in some water and dumped them into a tub of putrid greenwater not expecting to see them ever again. Turns out they grew way faster than any of the others(to make things rather ironic the ones I had carefully transferred to the tub are almost all gone now). I think I've got around 40-50 fry and the pair continues to produce eggs. Dropped a mop in with them.

It is possible these may be known as J. floridae 'Myakka' DM 05 in the future.