Super Newbie is considering Killies :)

[Ptarmigan]

Thanks for the info folks, it seems that partitions is the way to go for my 5ft tank.
regards,
Malcolm.

[RonWill]

heh... Mark, at least you now know they're called Aplochelius panchax and if you're interested in sex... urm... I meant sexes of the fishes , then watch out for the yellow/black bands outlined at the caudal fin (tail) and a distinct yellow band at the edge of the anal fin. Both sexes have blue sheen... only more obvious in the male.

Thank you for the plethora of information!

You're welcomed. It's been fun so far, to put up these pages. Originally, the info was more for personal references than... urm, for lack of a better word, showing off.

... and what was that again? Partitions... or was it more tanks!

[zmzfam]

... and what was that again? Partitions... or was it more tanks!

Talk about partitions, just bought some acrylic to partition off some of my 2ft tank(s) - since cannot bring in any more tanks into the house and of course need to do some shifting of the fishies around.

[RonWill]

Talk about partitions, just bought some acrylic to partition off some of my 2ft tank(s) - since cannot bring in any more tanks into the house and of course need to do some shifting of the fishies around.

ok... so does that mean you're getting ready for more killies??

Zul, for the acrylic partitions, if the gap between it and the tank's panel allows a fish to slip through, that ain't good either.

I've some pics which I haven't had time to upload but that'll give you some ideas in isolating or minimizing a mix-up. Let's see if I can do it tonight.

[zmzfam]

ok... so does that mean you're getting ready for more killies??

That is a definite YES

Zul, for the acrylic partitions, if the gap between it and the tank's panel allows a fish to slip through, that ain't good either.

No, I didn't buy the luohan partition - I'm making a tight-fit partition sealed with silicon.

[BeyondGomer]

Just wanted to say thank you for all the suggestions/advice given in this thread

[alan]

TimeBomb :

about the pic you show what plant is that one the left most? it buyable with it tie on a log or something right ? my plant seem to have smaller leaf

Another Question , during the last meeting you guy had at the Far East . you guy did leave one kind of killies at there right , if possible anyone remember its name ? thank a million

[RonWill]

Another Question , during the last meeting you guy had at the Far East . you guy did leave one kind of killies at there right , if possible anyone remember its name ? thank a million

Alan, if my memory is working, I think Gan and Au left some Nothobranchius (not sure which species) and someone else left some australes.

Could you provide more details or how it looks like? It would be difficult to help when we don't have the information!

[timebomb]

Alan,

I'm not quite sure which plant you are referring to but I think you meant the Java Ferns. They are available in many aquatic plant farms and are often sold tied to driftwoods. There's a Narrow Leaf version but what I had in that tank were mostly the normal ones.

As for the Killies that were left in Karin's shop after the gathering, there were more than 1 species. I think the Nothobranchius rachovii and Aphyosemion australes were among them. If you can remember how the fish look like, you can check them out against the pictures in my gallery at:

http://www.killies.com/gallery.htm

Loh K L

[hot]

Thats exactly what i'm looking for too. Same as Gomer! But i have another question to post. You see i travel alot, maybe i'm around 4-5 days at most and then i'm off again. The thing is, my other half will only feed the fish with dried foods or granular type that comes out of a shaker. The previous killis tend to hide alot and don't actually come out when it's feeding time. And the last time when i got home 3 died. I guess i must be out of starvation. When you say "can be trained to accept dried food" how do you actually do that? Any suggestions ?

[stormhawk]

I recalled seeing the following species left at the shop after the gathering.

Simpsonichthys fulminantis 'Guanambi' BHS 95/12
Simpsonichthys magnificus 'Itacarambi' B7
Nothobranchius rachovii 'Beira 98'
Aphyosemion australe 'Orange'
Nothobranchius sp. (not sure which species)

Recently I paid the shop a visit to hopefully get another fulminantis pair and to my delight she still had a pair left. The male was a stunning sight at 5.5cm or so. The female had a slight bent to her back but nonetheless she was fat too. Worth every dollar I paid. :wink: Karin said she lost quite a few species. However, the following species are still available there. They had no labels on the tank though.

Aphyosemion australe 'Orange' - 1 pair left (the male doesn't have alot of spots though)
Nothobranchius sp. - There's a whole lot of them there. I think there's about 7 females plus 2 or 3 males with one having a caved-in mouth.

I'm not sure if they're still there cos the last time I went was in mid-february. For those interested you can try your luck. Give them a call in advance to see if they still have the fish.

Far East Aquatic - Tel No. 63833733

[BeyondGomer]

Just got my first killies a pair of Aphyosemion australe Chocolate ...for only $5US for the pair! nice looking ones too. now I just need to see if I can breed them. Any hints?

[killifishdavid]

Here are some considerations:
Want a killie that likes current over still water (plenty of water flow in the current tank)
Want a killie that stays in the upper 1/2 of the water or atleast isn't shy
Must get along with my other fish (and visa versa): Dwarf gourami, Neon Tetra, Otociclus, Siamese Algae Eater, Dario Dario, All sorts of shrimp
____________________________________________________________

Well the first killifish that come to my mind are "Lampeyes" they like bright light, open water with good current and stay in the upper half of the tank, they are not shy and do very well in small schools of 6 to 12 fish.
Procatopus, Poropanchax and Platoplochielus species would be the first choice. Second choice would be Epiplatys such as dageti, sexfasciatus, chaperi, infrafasciatus or the most colorful of ALL Lampeyes Ep. fasciolatus zimiensis 'Faimah' SL 89 !!!

[timebomb]

Just got my first killies now I just need to see if I can breed them. Any hints?

Gomer, the australes are good beginner Killies; you made a good choice. To get them to lay eggs is easy but very often, the eggs are attacked by fungus. There are many ways you can incubate the eggs; one of which is to use a shrimp to help keep fungus at bay.

IME, young australes produce many more fertile eggs than older ones. So it's best to put in the spawning mop as early as possible.

Loh K L

[BeyondGomer]

thanks for the advice I'll get on it. is 20L the largest or smallest size container to get them to breed in? How small can I go?

How many eggs typically get laid? I have some cherry shrimp that I can use for the shrimp spawning method. what is the survival rate?

...time to go buy some brine shrimp eggs!

[timebomb]

Gomer,

You can go smaller but I would say a 20 litre tank would be perfect. Although Killies can take well to small tanks, I've always believe its better to give them more space. With a healthy pair, you can collect anything between 15-20 eggs a day. Many factors affect egg production, foremost of which must be the feeding regime. If you want more eggs, feed live food. As for survival rate, its hard to say. Many hobbyists have reported that quite often, all the eggs turn bad. I have experienced this on many occasions too. We think its got something to do with the weather but we are not too sure. We tend to blame the weather when things go wrong . If the eggs hatch, chances of the fry surviving are very high. I think you can even get zero casualties if there's enough food in the raising containers. 2 important things to remember when raising fry. First is they don't take well to water changes and second is they need small food. Baby brine shrimp is good but infusoria is more important in the first few days of hatching.

Loh K L

[bobalston]

Timebomb - a couple of questions:

1) What other Aphyosemions besides australe are good beginner killifish and would do well in hard water and pH of about 7.6?

2) Does the "ghost shrimp cleaning" method in your earlier post work for other non-annual eggs? If so which ones?

3) Ever heard of anyone using ghost shrimp for cleaning of eggs from chiclids? I am having a rough time with angel eggs. When the parents raise, no problem. Whe I handle the eggs, poor hatch/viability rates.

I LOVE the picture of your A australe planted tank!!!!

Thank you.

Bob

[timebomb]

1) What other Aphyosemions besides australe are good beginner killifish and would do well in hard water and pH of about 7.6?

Bob, as far as Aphyosemions are concerned, I think the number of species runs into the hundreds. But I've kept only a few so I can't tell you much. I would say though that the A. bitaeniatum and A bivittatum are hardy fish and should be good beginner killies. They are however, very shy fish. Unlike the australes which swim all over the place, these 2 species tend to hide most of the time.

2) Does the "ghost shrimp cleaning" method in your earlier post work for other non-annual eggs? If so which ones?

If it works for the Aphyosemions, I believe the method should work for other non-annuals too. The key is not the fish but the shrimp itself. I'm not sure if I got the Ghost name wrong but the shrimps featured in this thread should be good "egg cleaning" machines too. As long as you're not using those "long-arm" shrimps which are predators, any scavenger shrimp shouldn't eat the eggs.

3) Ever heard of anyone using ghost shrimp for cleaning of eggs from chiclids? I am having a rough time with angel eggs. When the parents raise, no problem. Whe I handle the eggs, poor hatch/viability rates.

Chiclids are care-givers so you shouldn't remove the eggs from the parents. The eggs of Chiclids will fungus if the parents are not there to take care of them. Angelfish parents guard and keep the eggs clean by blowing water at the eggs. They also peck at the eggs to keep them free from fungus. It's actually quite easy to breed Angelfish. The only problem is that quite frequently, the parents eat up the eggs just before they are about to hatch. I believe this happens because the fish owner (you) is so excited to see the fish spawn they keep peeping at the tank all the time. The parents get worried seeing your face so close to the tank so they eat the eggs. In nature, if parent fish feel that their young/eggs are in danger, they would rather eat them than let them get eaten by a predator. Eggs and fry are highly nutritious food so its nature's way of ensuring the nutrition does not go wasted.

I LOVE the picture of your A australe planted tank!!!!

Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you like the tank.

Loh K L