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Thread: FAQs ?

  1. #1
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    FAQs ?

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    Well, since this is a FAQ topic on a killies maybe I can start a thread...
    I'm not putting the answer, but I felt that these are my qns when I started killies. Pls add to list.

    1) the plural for Killifish is Killies or Killifishes?

    2) they must be kept like betta, alone in jugs ?

    3) they only eat live food ?

    4) they only live for a few months?how long they live ?

    5) they are expensive ?

    6) they must be in planted tank ?

    7) the eggs can be kept for how long ?

    8 ) they are very difficult to keep ?

    9) they are great jumper ?

  2. #2
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    I hope someone answers these questions...I have been wanting to get into killies and these are some questions I have.

    ben
    ben

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    Re: FAQs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by joel
    Well, since this is a FAQ topic on a killies maybe I can start a thread...
    Kwek Leong, I think it's time we fixed up a FAQ for newcomers hoping onboard. We're gonna tire ourselves silly if we need to answer the same 'ol questions.

    Quote Originally Posted by joel
    I'm not putting the answer, but I felt that these are my qns when I started killies.
    Joel, why no answers? Most of us have taken that same beaten path but your approach may be enlightening for some.

    Since no one has responded, I'll stick me neck out and hazard a few educated guesses;

    1) the plural for Killifish is Killies or Killifishes?
    Killie = Killies , Killifish = Killifishes

    2) they must be kept like betta, alone in jugs ?
    NO! and neither should bettas!

    3) they only eat live food ?
    Some species like GARs and AUS are easier to train in accepting prepared foods or flakes. I've had no luck with BIV, BIT and Nothos to eat anything that isn't moving.

    4) they only live for a few months?how long they live ?
    Annuals supposedly live up to nine months, but that's if they follow the recurring rainy seasons in their natural habitats. In our tanks, some annuals reportly live beyond 2 yrs (I read that on the grapevine and have not experienced it myself).

    Non annuals, live like most tropicals and again, supposedly, live longer than annuals. Heck! my cardinal tetras are approaching their third year and they don't look like they're dying! They're quite huge at about 2 inches.

    5) they are expensive ?
    Supply and demand comes in. There was a time when aquarium strains of GARs were fetching $13~15 each.... then again, anything killie was expensive.

    Now with more local hobbyists, prices have slide somewhat but not for those less common species. Prices for slow growers and low production fellas like BIV and BITs are still on the high side, around $10~15, more for those with known population location or collection codes.

    So Joel, what is your perception of 'expensive'? I know of some people who'd fork out $50 for a betta and some who supposedly 'scored' on a $1k aro... but I'll have to be insane at those prices!

    6) they must be in planted tank ?
    Depends on what you want to do with your killies. If you just wanna sit back and appreciate their beauty, then by all means, let them display their colors in a well planted tank. However, there will be some species that's as good as dead in a planted tank 'cos you'll never see them!

    If you wanna breed them, going with a densely planted tank is what some killie keeper coin as 'natural setup', ie. to let the killies spawn and to let the frys grow out in the same tank.

    Others will opt for bare tanks with breeders, furnished only with a sponge filter and spawning mop. Definitely not award-winning as far as looks are concerned, but IT WORKS!

    7) the eggs can be kept for how long ?
    Depends on species and climate. There're over 700 species of killies and you'll have to narrow your question down.

    For non annuals, eggs will hatch between 7~16 days. Colder, and it might stretch to 3 weeks. Diapause or resting eggs can remain clear for up to 2 months (don't ask me why!).

    Annual eggs in peat varies between 6 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS! The colder it is, the longer it takes. Some species MUST be incubated for at least 4 months, even in our climate.

    Question to you is; how long are you willing to wait?

    8 ) they are very difficult to keep ?
    Yes and no. Depends on species and your fish keeping experience. Some wild-caughts originated from cooler waters and may not do well locally. Chances are most fishes can be assimilated... depending on how you handle it. Getting them to breed is another story.

    9) they are great jumper ?
    Generally, YES, YES and YES! I've lost count on how many crispies in my collection and it's wise to have a good cover, and secure gaps with filter sponges.

    It's even better if you can provide a 'safe' environment for the fishes where they don't feel threatened, overcrowded or harrassed by a over-zealous male.

    Having lotsa floating plants makes the fish feel calmer and less inclined to be an inmortal (aka crispies or dried fishes!).

    I've some uncovered killie tanks with Ps annulatus, Simp constanciae and BIV Funge. Most feel comfortable with me around but if they don't like my face, they can always retreat back into the bushes.

    Now that you have your answers, Ben, what are you waiting for?
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Re: FAQs ?

    Joel,

    Before I start, I have to say it is sometimes very difficult for us to answer general questions about killies as we can talking about a large group of fish. There are something like 700 to 800 known species of killies so it's impossible to generalise. But I will try answering your questions anyway. Just bear in mind that my answers do not apply to all killies.

    Quote Originally Posted by joel
    1) the plural for Killifish is Killies or Killifishes?
    I'm no professor of the English language but I think the word "fish" by itself can be both singular and plural. We can say one Killifish or we can say many Killifish; I think both would be correct. Killies is a short form for Killifish, just as Nothos is for Nothobranchius.

    One of the more common grammatical mistake made when we talk about fish is "fry", a term used to describe "young fish". Fry is also both singular and plural. When it's just one, it is a "fry"; when there are many, they are still "fry". There's so such word as "frys". There is a word "fries" but it is not used as a plural for "young fish". "Fries" are used by fast-food restaurants to describe their snacks, for instance "French Fries". But I'm not sure that if you eat only one, would it be "French Fry"?

    2) they must be kept like betta, alone in jugs?
    The few local fish shops that sell Killies often display the fish in small bottles, thereby giving the impression that they are like Bettas. They are not. Although Killies can live well in small tanks, they won't survive long in small bottles. Bettas are Labyrinth Fish, so called because they have organs which enable them to breathe air from the atmosphere above the water. Killies can't do that.

    3) they only eat live food?
    If conditioned from young, I believe many Killies will take flake or pellet food. But if they have been raised on live food all their lives, it would be very difficult to change their diets when they are adults. Generally, killifish lovers stress a lot on live food because that's how you can get many eggs from the fish. I think this would be true too for almost all other tropical fish and humans as well. Although humans don't produce eggs, imagine eating canned food all your life . I'm sure it won't do any good for your libido

    4) they only live for a few months?how long they live?
    This is a question that has been asked many times about killies. It seems like that's the only thing people know about them - that Killies have very short lives. Broadly speaking, we can divide killies into 2 groups, the annuals and the non-annuals.

    The annuals, as the name implies, live only for about a year or so. They come from countries where there are distinct wet and dry seasons. In the dry season, when the ponds they live in dries up, the fish die but their eggs are lying in the mud waiting for the pond to fill up again when the rains fall.

    Non-annuals generally live in streams which do not dry up. Their eggs do not have to go through dry incubation periods. They are known to live several years but no one here has kept them for so long we can't tell you for sure.

    I like to stress that longevity depends on many factors, foremost of which, is the living environment. If you don't give them a healthy environment, even a Non-annual won't live very long. Heck, many people can't even keep the fish alive for a few days sometimes By the same token, annuals are reported to have live for several years in some hobbyists' tanks.

    Time is relative. Some insects live for only a day while a tortoise can live for more than a hundred years. As Gandalf the wizard said in "Lord of the Rings": "It's not important how much is given to you but what you do with the time given" or words to that effect In the case of killies, that would be "If you don't want to breed them, you shouldn't keep them".

    5) they are expensive?
    The few local fish shops that sell Killies usually sell them for $10 each. I don't think that is expensive if they sell the females too. I wouldn't mind paying $20 for a healthy pair (and I think it would be cheap) because I'm confident of breeding them. With a pair, I can get hundreds. Just a while ago, many of us paid a lot of money just to get the eggs. I paid about US$40 for 30 killifish eggs with no guarantee that they will hatch. I think Ronnie paid even more for his. Darren Lum, during the gathering, paid more than Sing $90 for a species of annual eggs which came from Tom (aka Blinkytom). Last time I heard, only 2 of the eggs hatched.

    6) they must be in planted tank?
    It's not a must but killies, like most other fish, would do better in planted tank environments. Breeders, however, prefer bare tanks.

    7) the eggs can be kept for how long?
    Eggs of annuals have to go through dry incubation periods before they can hatch. Usually, in our local temperatures, this is about 6 to 8 weeeks depending on species. Eggs of non-annuals usually will hatch in about 10 days.

    8 ) they are very difficult to keep?
    Some are and some are not. Most killies are tenacious creatures. They have to be, considering that they can survive in places where during the dry seasons, there's no water. Many of us here started off without any help from anyone yet quite a few of us managed to breed many of our killies. Now, keeping them alive is not a problem; hatching the eggs is.

    9) they are great jumper ?
    Almost all are. But fish don't jump without reasons. The most common reason is to escape a predator but fish will jump if the water level is too high, when they are unsettled and/or when they are bullied by bigger fish. When they jump, they will jump through the narrowest of gaps. Always keep them well-covered when the fish are new to your tanks. When the fish are well-settled, it's still prudent to keep the water level a few inches below the top of the tank. Movements outside the tank can scare the fish and cause them to jump too. I don't use covers but I have many floating plants on the surface of my tanks to prevent jumping. You don't know how heartbreaking it is to find a "dried-out" fish on the floor until you have experienced it yourself.

    Loh K L

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    Waht else can I say ?

    Wah... THX ! THX ! THX !! for the answers !!

    Well, I don't mean to post those qns as a test for the users here ...but those are the rel qns I had for a long time and I really don't have the clear answers.

    though after almost a year with killies (correct now ) I am keeping them almost with my own guess for the answers.

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    Re: FAQs ?

    Quote Originally Posted by timebomb
    I'm no professor of the English language but I think the word "fish" by itself can be both singular and plural. We can say one Killifish or we can say many Killifish; I think both would be correct. Killies is a short form for Killifish, just as Nothos is for Nothobranchius.
    Loh K L
    I'm not even good at English but in marketing one rule is that pronouns, such as brand names and product names, cannot be pluralised. So there cannot be a plural form for Nothobranchius, for example.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

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    Re: Waht else can I say ?

    Quote Originally Posted by joel
    Wah... THX ! THX ! THX !! for the answers !!

    Well, I don't mean to post those qns as a test for the users here ...but those are the rel qns I had for a long time and I really don't have the clear answers.
    Well, Joel, I'm glad you are happy with our answers. But there's something I must point out to you before you make any furthur posts.

    When I answered your questions, I think I must have spent something like 45 minutes to an hour typing on the keyboard. I'm always fussy with my own posts so after I was through with the typing, I previewed my post several times before submitting it. If you noticed, I tried to make my post pleasant for everyone to read. I put all your questions into quotes and I tried my best to ensure there were no spelling or grammatical errors in my answers.

    I don't know if you already know what I'm trying to tell you but if you haven't - let me just say that I can get them pissed when I spent a lot of time helping someone and he doesn't even bother to spell properly when he replies. Please read the sticky on "Forum Netiquette". If you want to know how I feel about people using sms language here, go to:

    http://www.killies.com/forum/viewtop...&highlight=sms

    Loh K L

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    huh ?

    oops ... sorry if I have not observe the "Forum Netiquette" here.

  9. #9
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    Thanks for those answers...I been thinking about getting some killies the only concern I have are the annuals. Where can I find some information that tells which species is annual and which are not. I am interested in keeping Aplocheilichtys normani
    ben

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