My balcony tanks

[timebomb]

Hi, folks,

I thought I would show them to you later but since Ronnie asked, I might as well show them to you now. Killifish hobbyists in other countries speak of their Killie rooms but here in Singapore where most of us live in tiny flats, hardly anyone has the luxury of space for such rooms. I belong to the luckier group though. My flat has a balcony which I use to house most of my fish tanks.

Here are some pictures:
The first 2 pictures were taken just at about noon, before the sun shines directly into my balcony. It can get pretty hot but the play of the sun's rays in the tanks is a pretty sight. I never get tired of seeing it. Unlike most Killifish breeders who use bare tanks, I like my tanks to have aquatic plants. A fish in a bare tank never looks very nice, no matter how beautiful the fish is - that's what I believe.



This is my Nothobranchius guentheri Zanzibar tank. I have a breeding bowl inside and I collect the peat once a month. The N. guentheri was my first Killifish and they will always have a special place in my heart. But it's time to move on and I'll be replacing them all with Nothobranchius rachovii which I think is the most beautiful of all Nothos. One bit of information which may be of interest to you all - In this tank where I'm using Lonestar gravel, the Nothos never get velvet. In my other tanks where ADA soil is used, the Notho's invariably get infected with the parasite.


This used to be my Aphyosemion australe tank. The fish were happy although they were of mixed parentage. But something killed them a few weeks ago.

So now I keep my Simpsonichthys fulminantis Guanambi in this tank. It has ADA soil as a substrate so the Ph is rather low, about 5. The temperature can get quite high in the afternoons but the tank is still cooler than an indoor one. You can see some males checking out the special breeding bowl that my wife made. I have many pairs but I use only one bowl so as to have a bit of "natural selection". In other words, I hope that only the genes of the strongest male are passed on.


This used to be my Simpsonichthys magnificus tank. I had a few males and one lone female. But the female died after a while. Kee Hoe gave me a female last week but then, the lone surviving male died not long after she arrived. Shucks. So I thought I might as well give up on this species. I'll probably keep only the S. fulminantis. One species of any genus, remember? But then again, I've ordered the eggs of the S. reticulatus which is even more beautiful. I'll probably have to give up on the fulminantis if I can breed the reticulatus successfully. Life is full of tough decisions, don't you think?


In the meantime, the tank is occupied by a few A. australes, the survivors from the mass die-off. Here's a picture of one of the survivors. He's a tough cookie. I think he's at least 2 years old, which is quite an old age for a Killie. He and his mates will be consigned to Eco-Culture fish shop soon. The tank will then be used to house a species of Rivulus, if I can get my hands on a pair. If not, I'll be happy to have a species of Fundulopanchax but no more gardneri's. I'm tired of breeding them.


I'm embarrassed to report on my next tank. This is because I have no idea what Killies are these. A friend gave them to me but he didn't know what they were either. I let them breed naturally and so far, I've seen a few fry. These fish will also be consigned to Eco-Culture and the tank will be used to house the Chromaphyosemion Ronnie promised.


Here's a picture of a young male. If you think you know what Killie it is, please tell me.


This is my Maratecoara lacortei Formoso do Araguaia B2003 tank. Sorry, no pics of the fish as I hardly ever see them myself. But they're beautiful and I really hope to get this species well-established in Singapore,


Bobby Ellermann gave us some important information on M. lacortei breeding habits. He said they don't like breeding bowls but so far, I have collected 2 bags of peat, each with at least one egg. Here's a pic of the breeding bowl. Picture taken from above.


My last tank has only one plant, Hygrophila difformis. I let it take over the whole tank as this tank gets the most sunlight. Without this plant, the tank will be overgrown with algae. I keep my pair of Sturisoma panamense, some Boraras sp and Nothobranchius rachovii in this tank.


I have a breeding bowl inside but one of the S. panamense likes to take a siesta on top of the bowl


So there you have it, folks. I also have 2 bigger tanks in my living room, both rigged up to chillers. One houses the Austrolebias nigripinnis and the other does not have any Killies now. There's also a tank outside my house where I keep the Aplochielus sp that Madan brought from India. Show you all the pics some other time. Thanks for taking the tour.

Loh K L

[hwchoy]

I'd say you are more than just lucky to have a balcony. you are darn lucky to have a supportive wife. how many woman would allow their pretty balcony to be turned into "The Row"?

Three cheers for Mrs. Loh

[RonWill]

... I have no idea what Killies are these... and the tank will be used to house the Chromaphyosemion Ronnie promised.

That is a bitaeniatum, probably 'Lagos' but of the same genus Chromaphyosemion as the 'Moliwe' population. I would suggest choosing another tank for the new fellas in case the previous occupants left some eggs.

Not insisting that there will be eggs but since we're getting off on a clean slate, why risk population corruption?

I practice a simple thumb of rule; if I need to vacate a tank to accommodate another species, a different genus must be considered. No exceptions.

Plan ahead and make labels showing previous and present species, so one need not lose sleep guessing which is which.

If extra tanks is not an option, all plants will be removed and quarantined in takeaway containers and bleach the tank. I'll then use a fresh set of previously quarantined plants.

For planted setups, life will be much easier switching genus instead.

This rule, common sense really, applies to hobbyists who don't quarantine plants or lack the luxury of tank space (me!)

If there is only one representative from each genus, I guess tank covers is of lesser significance and may be omitted but do remind the killies not to jump.

I have some pre-cut styrene covers for 2-feet setups, so it's not too late if you should change your mind.

[hl0107]

Nice tanks Loh. I keep some of my tanks in the balcony too and the fish and plants love it. I got a trio of the same killie that you got but I don’t know the name either .

Hector.

[hl0107]

Thanks Ron, it looks like the Aphyosemion bitaeniatum Lagos.

Hector.

[whuntley]

It certainly looks like BIT Lagos. That pretty strain was started here in CA by Richard Sexton and/or Oleg Kiselev. It may have been a contamination in an importers tanks, or a box left on the airport tarmac by accident. Anyway, it is a pretty one. Size and colors have been enhanced a bit by selection, along the way. I think we eventually added a collection code of CI-91. [Or was it 90?] Lagos is meaningless, for that was just the export airport.

We no longer have it, and I, for one, would really like to see it back in the hobby, here. I shipped them all over in the early '90s, to Convention, European Shows, etc. I don't know why they disappeared from the BAKA scene. I guess they were too easy to challenge the best breeders, and everyone else had been-there-done-that.

If you guys have them going in SG, try to avoid losing them, for they are a great first Chromaphyo for new breeders, and a great-looking fish. Good one for hooking new members.

Caution: Ron mentions not keeping members of the same genus to avoid hybridization. That is a very, very rough rule, and cross-genus hybrids are quite common. See ROTOW and apply modern names, to see what I mean.

Chromaphyos will cross with Fp. and other Aphyos. Paludopanchax and Fundulasomas readily hybridize and offspring are semi fertile. Modern taxonomy isn't precise enough to give us any real assurance that different genera will not hybridize. Killies share too many common genes, it seems. Watch plants and nets to avoid accidents. Cover jumpers. In a dense rack, they often end up several tanks away.

I like to dry nets between uses (means owning extra nets) and to isolate dense plants for a couple of weeks if they may contain eggs. Putting them in a tank with MTS is a sure way to get rid of the eggs. Now, how the heck do you get rid of the MTS?

[Reminds me of my old chief engineer. He advised me to always cut it too short. "If you cut it too short, you can always weld it, but what the hell are you going to do if you cut it too long?"]

Wright

[erikthur]

I had to remove my Megalebias elongatus male today from my "balcony" today since he might freeze his "whatever" off the upcoming days.
He had suffered 4 Celcius (plus) but the temperature is predicted to drop further next week.
Now he is comfortable in an isolated room with 15 Celcius together with some other Austrolebias species...
However, I think they enjoy those temperatures.
Edit: in separate tanks that is...
(right thread)