Stupid newbie question (or question from stupid newbie)

[gacp]

Hi all!

New to the forum. I'm almost a total newbie regarding killies (although I'm no newbie aquarist---I forgot more about aquaria and cichlids that most people ever learn :P ).

I just moved back home, and are starting with aquaria all over again, and staying small. So I was presented with a gourgeous young F0 pair of Austrolebias nigripinnis "Punta Lara" KCA 02/06, which I keep in a 12 liter planted tank, no filter no aireation. The fishes often stay close to the surface. For most fish, this would make me think of low oxygen or too much CO2, but I know many killies are surface-associated fishes, yet I am a little worried, since Austrolebias doesn't look very much like such a surface-loving fish. The breathing rate seems normal, and the plants are pearling, even the Taxiphyllum sp..

Second, I am feeding tubifex only, and I think they could use some hard-shelled food, since the feces are often stringy. Am I right? In a pinch, what other kind of live food, most likely some crustacean, can I add? I may be able to get some daphnia later, but supply is not reliable, and myself culturing them is out of the question. So, will artemia nauplii do? Are they too small?

Third: the fishes often enjoy some frolicking and peat-diving, but I can't see the female getting any slimmer, so I wonder whether eggs are being laid. Aside from visual examination of the peat, can you tell when these fishes lay eggs, or is the change too subtle to notice?

Fourth and last: I've been doing quite a lot of RTFM, but I just can't fint this info: how many eggs will a female of this species lay? Tens? Hundreds? Thousands? Fishes vary a lot in this regard, even similar ones (e.g. a female Claustroheros nigrofasciatus will lay less than half the number of eggs a female Herotilapia multispinosa would, even when the 2 species are rather closely related cichlids of similar body size laying eggs of similar sizE).

Thanks!

[KillieOrCory]

Hola Gustavo,

First of all, the only stupid question is the one that is not asked!

Hopefully someone with a bit more experience with nigripinnis will answer your questions.

As far as feeding goes, if you are feeding tubifex exclusively follow a two weekly feeding regimen:

1st week - Feed 6 days 1 day no food
2nd week- Feed 5 days 2 days no food

Obviously monitor your fish and feed more or less as required.

I find my adult annuals still go for newly hatched brine shrimp so I would try that as well.

You lucky duck I hope to visit BA in a year or two, seeing the land of Gardel, Pugliese, De Angelis, Troilo, Canaro, D'Arienzo, Biagi, Fresedo and the rest.

[timebomb]

Hi, Gustavo,

Welcome. Neither you nor your question are stupid. Like Serkan, I don't think there's such a thing as a stupid question. However, a question can be asked stupidly. You asked your questions intelligently though and I'll try to reply to some of them.

Although I've kept the A. nigripinnis for a while and was successful in breeding them for a few generations, I don't know how many eggs the female can lay in her lifetime. I've never counted. But I would suppose this would depend on various factors, like how healthy is the fish, how varied is the diet and so on.

I once counted the eggs laid by 2 Nothobranchius rachovii females though. I left them in a tank with a male for a week and counted the eggs when I collected the peat. One N. rachovii female, I discovered, can lay up to 36 eggs in a day. If we assume the female matures at 2 months and live for a year, that would be 10,800 eggs in a lifetime. I never collected that many fry though. I suspect as the fish gets older, the number of eggs she can produce drops.

With the A. nigripinnis, diet is far more important with this Killie than others. If you feed only one type of food, chances are the fish will suffer from "bloat" and die. I lost many of them before I understood this.

I don't recall my A. nigripinnis ever swimming on the surface. In fact, if I recall correctly, they often swim near to the bottom of the tank. My advice would be to check the bubbling rate of your CO2. It could be tuned too high.

I don't think you can tell just by observing the size of her body, if the female has already laid eggs. The surest way is to check the peat and the best time to do so is immediately after collecting it. When the eggs are still wet, they glisten and are easier to spot. When the peat is dry, it's much harder to find the eggs.

You come from the land of the Austrolebias. Are those in your tank wild fish? If you ever go collecting Killies, please take some pictures and show them to us. I would love to see the natural habitats.

Loh K L

[gacp]

I once counted the eggs laid by 2 Nothobranchius rachovii...

But Nothobranchius rachovii are quite a bit bigger, arent they? Anyway, I guess the number will be tens to hundreds per month per female, so I'll make ready to handle 100 fry per batch.

With the A. nigripinnis, diet is far more important with this Killie than others. If you feed only one type of food, chances are the fish will suffer from "bloat" and die. I lost many of them before I understood this.

That's why I'm concerned. What can I feed them, besides artemia nauplii? Blast, I'm already missing cichlids :P

I don't recall my A. nigripinnis ever swimming on the surface. In fact, if I recall correctly, they often swim near to the bottom of the tank. My advice would be to check the bubbling rate of your CO2. It could be tuned too high.

I am using no CO2 injection at all, and the plants are pearling. Mmmm...
I probably will add some aireation.

You come from the land of the Austrolebias. Are those in your tank wild fish? If you ever go collecting Killies, please take some pictures and show them to us. I would love to see the natural habitats.

Yes, they are F0, from type locality (or close enough for government work :P ). I did collect some killies every now and then years ago, but not recently. I will though! I have always been a serious hobbyst, and I have a MS in systematic biology (I got fed up with the way science has become a religion, it's revolting ---so I bailed out ).

As for photos, I have no camera, and can't afford one until I get a good job. But the guys at the KCA (Argentine Killie Club) are already doing that, check the web. Oh, the natural habitats are flooded savannas. usually extremely modified due to agriculture. Nothing much too see. And cool, remember this is the subtropics.

Thanks for the help.


Oh, have you seen these?


Austrolebias toba, male

http://elacuarista.com/killiclub/novedades/a_toba.htm

I have, beautiful little jewels. Yet I love the A. nigripinnis better somehow (I mean this). I can only wonder what's the relation with A. nigripinnis... I guess I am a systematic ichthyologist at heart!

[gacp]

Update: I couldn't get daphnias or copepods. I gave the artemia nauplii; for what I've seen, the azulejos ignored it royally. The Cnesterodon decemmaculatus had a feast.

I added a small sponge filter. The azulejos still occasionally lay still just below the surface; must be part of their behaviour.

[mk_ultra]

With my SA Annuals I alternate with Hikari Microbites and Freeze-dried Brine. In the evenings I feed blackworms. Cant say I have had a problem. But then my are all dometicated.

I came across someone on ebay/aquabid who sells micor sponges. Perfect for small tanks. Cant remeber his name but a search for microsponges should put you in the ballpark.

[stormhawk]

Gustavo,

Is that a new species of Austrolebias? I have never heard of Austrolebias toba before.

[gacp]

Gustavo,

Is that a new species of Austrolebias? I have never heard of Austrolebias toba before.

Yes, that it is. Sorry, but the papers are not truly published (=made public=available on the web) so I cannot say much because I cannot learn about this. I believe it is (believed to be) related to A. nigripinnis. There was a revision, that I cannot access, so I can't form an opinon on the merits of the work (altough I am fully qualified since I am a phylogeneticist).

Oh, btw: Tobas are an American people from the Chaco region. I don't know if that's the real ethymology since the description is not published, but it seems likely.

This is not to tease and mock you, since you can't get paper, but this is the ref.:

Calviño, P. 2006. Austrolebias toba (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), una especie nueva de pez anual de la Argentina. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales n.s. 7 (2): 183--190.


Once again, this way of doing things, to do things is a way that obsctucts, is why I left Science, Inc. This, and to be able to do real research, which you cannot do if your livelihood depends on you never discovering anything that make your bosses look like the Luftmenschen they are

Funny of funniest, I truly belive we'll have to start all over again in the effort to classify life. Crazy? Sure, bu I am serious, and I do know what I am talking about---that's the terrible part. But for now, A. toba Calviño 2006 it is.

Anyway, the critter is beautiful, and it is not its fault. They are smallish & dark but greener, and the dorsal bar of reflective color is not at the border of the dorsal fin like it is in A. nigripinnis, but lower in the fin.
It comes from the Chaco. Pretty as it a killie can get---but I still like the A. nigripinnis better. As soon as I have the money I'm probably going to get some A. toba to keep the species's aquarium population.

[gacp]

Gustavo,

Is that a new species of Austrolebias? I have never heard of Austrolebias toba before.

Yes, that it is. Sorry, but the papers are not truly published (=made public=available on the web) so I cannot say much because I cannot learn about this. I believe it is (believed to be) related to A. nigripinnis. There was a revision, that I cannot access, so I can't form an opinon on the merits of the work (altough I am fully qualified since I am a phylogeneticist).

Oh, btw: Tobas are an American people from the Chaco region. I don't know if that's the real ethymology since the description is not published, but it seems likely.

This is not to tease and mock you, since you can't get paper, but this is the ref.:

Calviño, P. 2006. Austrolebias toba (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), una especie nueva de pez anual de la Argentina. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales n.s. 7 (2): 183--190.


Once again, this way of doing things, to do things is a way that obsctucts, is why I left Science, Inc. This, and to be able to do real research, which you cannot do if your livelihood depends on you never discovering anything that make your bosses look like the Luftmenschen they are

Funny of funniest, I truly belive we'll have to start all over again in the effort to classify life. Crazy? Sure, bu I am serious, and I do know what I am talking about---that's the terrible part. But for now, A. toba Calviño 2006 it is.

Anyway, the critter is beautiful, and it is not its fault. They are smallish & dark but greener, and the dorsal bar of reflective color is not at the border of the dorsal fin like it is in A. nigripinnis, but lower in the fin.
It comes from the Chaco. Pretty as it a killie can get---but I still like the A. nigripinnis better. As soon as I have the money I'm probably going to get some A. toba to keep the species's aquarium population.