Keeping and breeding of simpsonichthys papilliferous

[cdawson]

Hey guys,
I decided to finally try something new other than spawning angels and apistos , so I picked up a pair of simpsonichthys papilliferous.
What kind of parameters should I aim for and how long should I incubate the eggs for before flooding them?

[stormhawk]

Hi cdawson (what's your name by the way ),

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your stay here.

About Simp. papilliferus, they are almost like Simp. whitei, except for some differences in colour and something about papilla on the sides of the body. A little lazy to pore through the description paper but this is how Costa differentiates them from whitei.

They will be able to handle slightly alkaline pH and moderately hard water if you acclimatise them normally. However, if the previous breeder you got them from raised his in acidic water, it is best for you to do the same. Consult him if possible.

The eggs should be incubated for 6 to 8 weeks if the incubation temperature is about 27 degrees Celsius. At lower temperatures, it should take a longer time frame, probably 12 to 16 weeks. Let me check my references and I'll post again later today with regards to the incubation period.

[timebomb]

Hi, cdawson,

We would appreciate it very much if you sign off with a real name. This forum is different from those you know. Here, almost everyone uses his or her real name.

As to your question, I've not kept Simp. papilliferous before but the Simp. fulminantis in my tanks do not seem to mind if the water is acidic or alkaline. I have some in a tank with ADA gravel where the Ph is about 5.5 and others in water where the Ph is 7.2. It does seem to make any difference.

As for incubation, we keep the eggs the same way we do with other annual eggs. We store them in peat moss at temperatures of about 29 C. It takes about 2 months for the eggs to develop but if your temperature is lower, it should take longer. When we wet the eggs, we add ice and oxygen tablets to the hatching trays. There's some argument on which works better, whether it's the ice that cools the water or the oxygen tablets that provide more oxygen. I don't know but heck, I know I have better success if I add both.

Loh K L

[cdawson]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I'm farily new to killies, and I haven't been able to find much info on these guys. My only concern is that my fishroom is not heated and being winter it can get pretty cold in here, the temperature right now 16F!
I have to heat all my tanks individually until the entire basement of my home gets finished (about another year due to time). Will the eggs be ok? Or should I wrap them in a blanket?

[stormhawk]

Chris, you could rig up a DIY egg incubator box. I found this website by a Portuguese killifish hobbyist named Ricardo Santos.

http://killies.no.sapo.pt/EN/index_EN.html

Click on DIY Projects and scroll down the page. The second project is his DIY egg incubator box. You can do a similarl version using a plain ol' styrofoam box with a hole on the cover to place the light bulb fixture in and a smaller hole to fit in the thermometer.

Or, you can always place the bag of eggs in an insulated container above your tank lights. That should keep 'em warm. Do check on the temperature though because it might get a little hot.

Hope it helps.

Side Note:

KL, Simp. fulminantis inhabits ponds that have an alkaline pH with a high TDS value.