Aphyosemion australes - Are they really that hard to find?

[bsplenden]

My... This is a very long search. I thought most websites says they are common fishes... Am I wrong to think that it is a common fish?

Anyone anyone?

Iat Fai, if you have followed my other thread on australes, please go down to Eco-Culture. There's some australe PAIRS waiting to go into good homes. These are not from me however.

[whuntley]

Singapore is at the extreme edge of killifish habitat, so everything has to be imported. Since the system is oriented for the opposite direction, most of what you can get will be among the local hobbyists. They buy eggs from Europe and the US and represent most of your local market (both supply and demand sides). Fish from local shops are probably OK for ornaments, but breeding stock should come from a known source if you would avoid cross-breeds and hybrids.

AUS are common in Europe and the US, but can still bring quite high prices at auctions. The last time I went to the AKA Convention, several pairs went for over US$50. $20 isn't that uncommon at local club auctions.

The demand tends to exceed the supply because they can be very easy for some, but difficult for most others. You can make a contribution to the hobby if you can figure out why.

Wright

[TyroneGenade]

This should probably be moved to the Killies Arena (hint hint)

The demand tends to exceed the supply because they can be very easy for some, but difficult for most others. You can make a contribution to the hobby if you can figure out why.

This has a lot to do with inbreeding and poor selection and a misunderstanding of basic genetics. What I am about to say is also the basis for why different wild strain should not be mixed...

Each organism comes with a genetic history. This genetic history enables it to cope with its environment in an acceptable way (if it was unacceptable it would be extinct). Some genetics histories allow the organisms (in out case fish) to survive the rigors of captivity.

Let us for example look at Chromaphyosemion riggenbachi. This fish has been introduced to the trade many many times. Some introductions by the same people have done better than others under the same level of care. Why is this so? The genetic baggage of some collections from certain collections do not have genetics to survive in captivity.

When we import wild fish we import a mixed bag of genetics. Some genes are good, some are bad some are neutral in respect to whether this fish will thrive in captivity or not. If we select out pairs to breed we minimize passing down bad genes because we instantly select for good breeders.

But some good breeders (P) may harbour recessive bad genes that will only be visible in the 3rd generation (f_3) as in the 2nd generation (f_1) all the fish are geneticly homogenous. This is also the reason why crossing a weak strain with a strong strain can create a strain that is stronger than the strong strain. This is hybrid vigour and it is great for the f_1 generation but in the f_2 some fish are going to be worse off than other and so you have to select!!!

As fertility and fitness in the aquarium is multifactorial (controled by many many genes) there will certainly be some fish in the f_1 that perform better than others and this is why selection has to occur at every generation.

Some AUS strains are poor quality because there is poor selection. People breed the fish and farm them out willy-nilly without knowing the fitness of their fish. Some good breeders get bumb fish and some beginners get super fish. Dumb luck and the genetic lottery make for some really odd twists of fate.

If you have a good strain (and it seems Esther has one) it is important that you select for the best stock in terms of over all quality, aquarium fitness and most NB fertility.

The stock I sent to SG (and from what I understand are a part of the founding stock) were of good quality. Their parents were productive (2 generations up the family tree) and their sisters were just as productive. Somewhere in SG there are some damn good genes!

tt4n

[timebomb]

Somewhere in SG there are some damn good genes!

Either that or we have some really talented Killifish breeders around .

The trio of Aphyosmenion australes I gave to Esther were from fish given to me earlier by a fellow-hobbyist, Steven Hum. Many months ago, I gave Steven a trio and although he didn't have the same kind of success Esther had, Steven managed to raise a brood of australe fry. A couple of months ago, Steven moved house and decided to give up the hobby. He gave me all his fry; there were about 30 of them.

Generally, the australes that are swimming around in Singapore come from either Au S L, Gwee Sia Meng or I. I got mine as eggs from Karl Walters of Canada. He sent 3 bags of eggs, orange, chocolate and spotless orange and they all hatched in good numbers. I managed to breed all 3 strains and distributed them around. I couldn't managed to keep the strains pure though as it was practically impossible to tell the females of the orange and spotless orange apart.

Loh K L