Incubating Non-Annual eggs using Peat Moss

[timebomb]

Hi, folks,

Esther visited me the other day. She brought with her 2 containers of Aphyosemion australe eggs which were incubated on peat moss. All hail Esther; I think we have found a Master Killifish breeder . Esther is so successful with the australes she has almost a hundred fry from a trio of adults I gave her. And all this in such a short time, barely 2 weeks.

Esther uses peat moss to incubate the eggs. Her peat moss is rather dry, just slightly moist. The peat moss she uses was brought from a fish shop. The brand is Azoo. It costs a lot more than the peat moss we buy from nurseries but the peat moss is clean and doesn't have to be boiled. Perhaps, Esther has found a good medium to incubate non-annual eggs. Here's a pic of the eggs on the peat moss:


Here's a pic of the container:


Esther makes it all look so easy. Joanne's father who was at my house too during Esther's visit asked, "If it's that easy, why isn't Killifish more common?" Good question. The only answer I can think of is this, "It was never that easy but maybe what we lacked all along was a woman's touch".
Loh K L

[TyroneGenade]

I have never got peat incubation to work for non-annuals. My hat goes off to you. Alas there is no "hat off to you" emoticon so you will have to be happy with a round of applause =D>

Seriosuly, I am very impressed and would love to know your secret.

[RonWill]

Seriosuly, I am very impressed and would love to know your secret.

Tyrone, isn't it ironic that old hands like you get nowhere near what a newbie can do? Frankly, I'd like to know too

Ester, good work with the australes. Keep it up.

hmm... now I'm wondering if my pair of AUS 'Port Gentil' BSWG 97/24 will do just as well in your hands [any spare tanks?... <wink wink>]

[Kiccoro]

:wink: Haha hi guys thanks for all the compliments! I was telling Kwek Leong maybe I have Beginners' Luck, that's all. I did not think I am successful or anything until Kwek Leong called me regarding my 'smooth' collection of the eggs. But I can't think of any secret. I know next to nothing about Killies and everything was done according to the information given in killies.com (Boy! I am so thankful! It's an awesome website!). I really have no idea what I did to be so 'successful'. *thinking very hard* Hmm I thought maybe the secret lies in the peat moss but I suppose this cannot account for why there are so many eggs laid everyday. I can provide some pictures of my setup etc and you guys will agree with me how basic my method is. Okay I will go dig out the pictures I took and will show them to you all. Search me what I did. Haha.....

Ronwill, I have no spare tank at the moment but I can always get one.. but you have to ask my mom for a 'parking space' in my house. She is beginning to get giddy with all the tanks and tupperware strewn all over the place! But do let me know what I can do to contribute.... I will be most honored... But I am just a small fry... heehee

[timebomb]

But I am just a small fry... heehee

Speaking of fry , Esther, 2 days ago I dunked all the eggs you gave me into a container of aged water. I also added some Java Moss. You said the eggs always hatch within an hour or 2. I did as you instructed but after 24 hours, there were still no fry. This afternoon, I found 2 fry but they were both dead

You must be hiding something from us . What's in your water? Better tell us the secret or else........

Loh K L

[Kiccoro]

OH NO!!!! how come?
Okie this is what I always do:
1) put overnight water into a container
2) transfer all eggs and peat into the container
3) Just wait and fry appear in an hour or 2.

I dun add java moss at this point though.

did you poke at the fry? they are always resting on the peat feigning death.... hmm... dun throw the eggs away.... wait one or 2 more days and try taking out the java moss.... you still have the eggs right, I hope?

oh dear......

[Kiccoro]

Hey Jo has some success! Please look under the topic 'Killifish eggs hatched (eggs from Esther)' I gave her about 22-23 eggs... and so far she has collected about 17 fry, I think. Kwek Leong, this proves I did not add anything special to my water.

[keehoe]

That further confirm Loh's theory: women's touch. Hail Mother of Killies.

[timebomb]

Sorry for the slow response, guys but I've got some good news. All is not lost; there's hope for us men I have some fry from the eggs Esther gave me. It's hard to do an accurate headcount as there's too much peat moss in the container but I think I have something like 10 fry. Here's a pic of 2 of them:



This is the container I use to hatch the eggs:



On hindsight, I don't think it's a good idea to simply dunk the eggs with the peat moss into water. It's hard to spot the fry when they hatch. It would be better to separate the eggs from the peat moss first.

Loh K L