Looking for some basic information.

[BOTR]

Hello,

I am new to this type of fish, and was wondering how to best hatch and rear my A.nigripinnis MSL 91-2. I have ordered eggs from Ebay, and they should be arriving shortly.

How do I treat my eggs to have the best hatching ratio? I have done a bit of reading though these forums and have purchased a few containers, but would appreciate more specific info.

When the eggs have hatched, how do I best rear them? I have read that liquidfry is a good fry food, but find it to be unavailable to me here. Are there any websites that I can purchase some good fry foods from?

After they have matured enough to be brought into my main tank what specifications do they prefer as far as the water is concerned? Temp? Ph? Hardness? Also what foods do adult Killie enjoy?

I currently keep Discus, and SPS reef tanks for 10+ years. I feel like this is another beautiful fish to add to my home and wish to keep it as best as possible.

Thanks,
Chris

[whuntley]

Welcome to the nutty world of killifish keepers.

For a very good start, I would suggest you go to the AKA site at www.aka.org and look for the on-line sections of the Beginners Guide. It may be a bit rudimentary for you in places, but it has lots of specific information on killifish husbandry. There are many articles and galleries on different species, there.

Join the AKA to get the full Guide, which is worth more than the first years dues. That will also get you the Journal of the AKA (bimonthly) and the Business News Letter (monthly) with Fish and Egg listings. This is the cheapest source of killifish for someone living in the USA.

Be aware that there are some 800 species of killies, and they are even more varied in husbandry needs and source habitats than Cichlids or Anabantoids. For this reason, there are special study groups for certain types, like South American Annuals, Lampeyes, Diapterons, etc. A little Google searching will get you more contacts than you will want to follow up on.

Good luck, and please don't hesitate to get back to us as your questions become more specific. This forum and the mail lists and forums of several national organizations, such as the killietalk list of the AKA, are where the best info on killifish hides. Good luck with your "A.nigripinnis MSL 91-2."

BTW, the senior genus of a family gets the single-letter abbreviation. and A. is reserved for Aphyosemion The South American Annuals are undergoing big revisions, right now, so we are often guilty of using slightly out-of-date nomenclature. That said, I'll risk it and suggest that your fish should be labelled Austro. nigripinnis MSL 92-1. The currently-accepted shortening of Austrolebias is Austro.

Also note that, in this forum where non-ASCII is available, we try to always use the italics for the scientific name, but not the location or collection code. While many killies belong to a sub-genus, such as Chromaphyosemion or Paludopanchax we avoid using that as a prime identifier as it can get confusing, fast. It should go in parentheses, right after the generic name, if it is used at all. The name thing seems awfully fussy, at first, but keeping 700 or 800 species straight calls for more rigor from the hobbyist than most are accustomed to.

As I said above. Welcome to our nutty world.

Aright