Good news!!!

[AquaManCanada]

I managed to pick up a trio of A. splendopleure from one of the guys at the local club today, one male and two females. I am excited to get these guys breeding. I know Aphyosemions usually don't like to be bothered much and kind of like their privacy but I am also wondering what other tips any of you guys have for these beauties. Let me know.

[mk_ultra]

Nice fish. I have the Tiko Green flavor. I have a quad 1M/3F. Very easy to care for. I have a clump of java mosss and a floating mop in low lighting. I feed Hikari Micropellets and black worms with an occasional freeze dried brine shrimp.. Very prolific breeders. Very small fry. I feed liquifry and microworms.

[SQUEAK]

I had a rather disasterous pair of A. splendopleure's (it was a downwards spiral from the start). In retrospect, I think the biggest mistake was an inadequate tank. My 5.5 gallon tank was not densely planted enough, and the female just got abused. I'm still having this problem with my 10 gallon tank - growing plants is not a talent of mine (they do not prosper very well).

I'd recommend having a very densely planted tank. Having a trio should help spread the mating aggression though.

[RonWill]

oooh... did someone mentioned splendopleure?? My favorite, since they're reasonably easy to care for and to breed. Joe, would you happen to know which population your SPL belongs to? [try asking the club guys]

I have my SPL "Tiko" (Orange phenotype), possibly 8 remaining adult pairs, in the setup I mentioned here and I'm still getting eggs from their mop. [BTW, the Tiko is my only prolific population while ziltch from others]

They're not particular about water parameters; just keep it clean and temp between 24~25degC. Mine are fed only crushed tablets, daphnia pellets and goldfish flakes... [no live foods since I didn't really intend to breed them]

Keep us updated!!

[gacp]

Wow! Nice looking fishies! I envy you. I've never kept aphyos yet, and probably will start with the australe, but this one is beautiful. I feel tempted to cheat on my azulejos (cynolebiatines). I know very little about this species---will do som RTFM on them.

I can understand your feelings, since just today I myself got half a dozen juveniles of Austrolebias juanlangi, a newly described species, males blue with white vertical bars---not as colorfus as yours, but quite striking little fellows, too

So, best of luck, for both of us!

[RonWill]

Hey Gustavo,
Cynolebias, Simpsonichthys and even Astrolebias, each have their own subtle beauty and the only reason why I'm not maintaining these anymore is my lack of time, an erratic work schedule and I feel kinda guilty when I don't make an effort to collect their eggs. I recall having a pretty large group of Austrolebias nigripinnis "Villa Soriano" and frankly, it's quite a sight with all those sparkles against dark bodies.

I'm sure you'll get a chance with Aphyosemion species but meanwhile, keep the juanlangi going and post some pics of the adults. Don't be surprised if you get a email request for their eggs

When you're done RTFM, give us a holler!

[gacp]

I have A. nigripinnis myself, too, my all-time fav killie, in fact. Truly breathtaking sights they are. Mine are from Punta Lara (KCA-2), terra typica---or close enough for government work

Although I am a confessed Neotropical chauvinist (and not just for killies, I did research on heroine cichlids) I think I'll be getting into african killies sooner than expected. Probably some aphyos, those cute rivulus-wannabes

[AquaManCanada]

Thanks Ronnie but I am not sure what locale these guys are from. I know they are beautiful and I can't wait to get a colony of them going. Should be fun. What temperature is ideal you said around 25 C?

[RonWill]

I know they are beautiful and I can't wait to get a colony of them going

Joe, that alone is reason enough to want to keep them. Locale is not a priority unless you intend to distribute them at a later time and in which case, just tag them as Aphyosemion (Chromaphyosemion) splendopleure. Append the population code only if you are absolutely certain.

As for the temp, I find SPP (that's the TLA or 3-Letter-Abbreviation for splendopleure, not SPL, a mistake I keep repeating), does best under 26C. It doesn't mean they'll die at higher temps but they just aren't prolific or usually, the eggs will just fungicize.

I cleared out the remaining adults in the setup I mentioned earlier, to find 8 males and 5 females. These is a mature breeding group and I often find eggs in their mop.

The nicest pair is going to Choy since he has much better camera gear than I and confident he can do them justice. Just wait for him to upload the pics! The rest of the breeding group, plus another lot of young adults, will be consigned to the LFS so others will have a chance to keep killies.

You'll probably need a heater in Canada but just give us a holler if you've got more questions.

[AquaManCanada]

I don't use heaters in my tanks but rather my fish room is usually kept around 23 degrees Celsius. It only fluctuates a few degrees between night and day because it's a small enclosed room. A few of my tanks have heaters but only those that require much higher temperatures. I know in Canada it seems alot of killifish breeders use bare bottom tanks and I had been doing this for a while but had no success. Can anyone comment on the success rate of bare bottom vs. some type of substrate for harvesting eggs?

[mk_ultra]

I have a bare-bottom tank with a lot of success.
WHen I am very busy I feed a lot of prepared foods. But when I have the time I include live blackworms and this increases my egg production.

[AquaManCanada]

Thanks David I appreciate the response. I still have yet to get a worm culture going but I should have one started up and innoculated this weekend.

[timebomb]

Joe,

I don't see how a tank with substrate can affect egg production, unless of course you're picking the eggs off the bottom of the tank. I use spawning mops and all my tanks have substrate and are fully planted tanks. I do believe my Killies sometimes will lay their eggs on the leaves of the plants but I think they prefer the mops.

Loh K L

[AquaManCanada]

What I mean Loh is that it seems some people have told me that substrate makes the fish feel more secure and comfortable and thus they spawn better. I am just trying to verify whether or not this is true. Thank you kindly for the responses.

[Scott_sg]

Hi Joe,

I think it depends very much on the fish involved. Some of the more shy fish seem to be happier with the whole substrate being peat. Obviously in general the happier the fish then the better they will breed.

I have some Epiplatys that were very jumpy until i put a thin layer of peat on the tank bottom. Its only function is really to darken the tank bottom. So now they seem much happier. I tried black paper under the tank, which didnt really help, and i wasnt prepared to start painting things, so peat was an easy solution.

On the other hand, dealing with a lot of peat can be a messy hassle, and i have had some fish that could not care less. For small tanks like i mostly use it is easier to just put a layer of peat on the bottom. Although if i can avoid it i will, and on the whole prefer a bare bottom - because i am lazy

In the end it just comes down to what makes the fish happy, and what makes the owner happy. Sometimes it is a matter of trying out new things and seeing how it works out. So for example my Rivulus were originally in a peat bottom tank but are now in a traditional bare bottom with just the spawning mops and seem just as happy. (Part of my effort to get good eggs from them). It never hurts to try new things out within reason.

Just some ideas.

Scott

[AquaManCanada]

Thanks Scott for the ideas I will give some of them a try and I will try all different methods and find one that works best. I just want to try and get more production going because locally alot of the species are dying off due to lack of good breeding in the city.

[Scott_sg]

Here is one of my tanks to give the idea. In this case I have a thin layer of old peat on the bottom. I keep a small bucket with old peat scraps, so this stuff wont leach much into the water. If I wanted to make more blackwater then i would use more new peat. The stuff in this tank has been soaked and dried from egg collecting I dont know how many times.

Anyway it adds a nice dark soft and natural looking bottom to the tank. The other thing I am doing is experimenting with my own style of bio filtration. Hence I have water Hyacinth in the tank, even though it is quite dark inside the tanks are under 80W of light. Including one of those fancy pinkish plant tubes. Other than that there is only a loose airline to move the water surface a little.

My tanks I prefer the "au naturel" look anyway, but I know my tangled and messy moss would bring tears to KL's eyes

Oh and the dark substrate does make the fish look nice IMO, but i am not much use with the camera.



And here are some Epiplatys sexfasciatus CI (Or whatever they are, the whole sexfasciatus group is cryptic)





Scott

[Scott_sg]

Forgot to add, all the little dots in the pictures are Daphia. Again in my weird way, i try and keep some in each tank .. the paramecia eat the bacteria, the daphnia eat the paramecia and whatever other protists are there.. and the fish eat the daphnia.

Scott.

[stormhawk]

Hi Scott,

If those Epiplatys came from Ron from a previous shipment we received ages ago from the pet stores, then it's Epiplatys togolensis. If the males show some beautiful blue edging to the anal and caudal fin, then they're probably togolensis.

But I have another question. Are they breeding well in that setup?

[Scott_sg]

Hi JY,
These guys are a commercial import from Nigeria i picked up a few weeks ago over at Clementi. To be honest in the shop they looked crap, but well they were not expensive and I have plenty of empty tanks. So some of them are mine now..

Anyway it is hard enough shipping eggs over so I figured I didnt have much to lose and it would give me something to play with. I bought two trios and now they are colouring up nicely.

I also roughly tried to confirm what they were when I got them home, without chopping them up I am 95% certain these are plain vanilla E.sexfasciatus. The easiest difference to see from E. togolensis is that E. togolensis has a ray count of 16-17 on the anal fin, whereas E. sexfasciatus has 14-19. In my opinion the anal fin is probably a better guide for the genus. The ones I counted came out at 14. Although at best that is a rough guide, still I think it is a better way to go than the Dorsal fin which seems to me very variable in the genus.

However as I said, I still think the whole genus is cryptic, and like most of the West African's still needs a lot of work. Hence one of the reasons for me bringing them home. Anyway the Epiplatys are cool fish, I just wish I could get some more going. I have some eggs on the way, but that is always a lottery. I will also when I get more time check all of the fish. As it is quite likely there could be a mix of species there. Assuming these are ex Nigeria like I was told and seems likely then it does help narrow down what the possibilities are. For now they can just be E. sexfasciatus until or when I get further info on them.

Actually I was hoping there might be some Epiplatys longiventralis mixed up in there, but so far I dont think so.

Oh as to breeding at this stage I have no idea but they are really colouring up and chasing each other about when i peak in on them. So i will look in a week or two, although i think they are still youngish fish but a couple of females have really fattened up, so who knows.

Scott.