I bought n.rachovii biera 98 from LFS. They died in 2 months-of old age. Anybody knows which strain can live longest? thanks
Just being curious :
You bought them as two months old fish or you had them for two months?
How can you be sure they died of old age?
The problem with annuals like Nothos, is that .. to get the best price at a LFS, the fish should have the best colours and a good size, which is already a third or a quarter of their lifespan.
Benny (?),
Nothobranchius species can start breeding as early as 2.5 months and at 6 months, I would consider them "past prime". They look pathetic at 9 months and while some can live up to 16 months (because the tank don't experience dry spells) but by then, they are really really old.
Sadly, most of the time, that's what you're getting at LFS. Consider yourself lucky if female nothos are available. BTW, I'm curious... how long would you want a rachovii to live? If they die early, it might be a Velvet outbreak.
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Think my Rachovii died of old age because it developed a hump at the back and looked like old man, also my n. foerschi died. Other non annuals still ok. maybe I overfeed them-the two months they lived in my tank. seen from an article:Median lifespan is 16 weeks for N. rachovii MZM- 3 and 23 for N. rachovii MOZ-04/10 (both living in wild, i supposed) http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?...8&DISPLAY=DESC
(think different species rachovii different lifespan)
I love to keep Rachovii in their youth as long as possible because they are attractive. So i found this interesting comment:
"The wild caught Beira fish live at least 18
months. I have seen it! tanks of wild fish in 96L tanks. These fish
were fed mainly grated beef heart and blood worm. They were also not
fed at least two or three days every other week. They were kept at
temperatures of about 24°C and the tank was stuffed with java moss."
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/mo.../msg00091.html
Think is time I starve my rachovii. ha. Also female killifish can order from seaview aquarium at seletar. I ordered 1 female rachovii, the next week they asked me to collect. Now I am breeding to see if rachovii fry can live 18 month...ha....
Hello,
I did some of the research you quote above.
The survival of those rachovii that lived to be 18 months were wild caught. This long life of wild caught fish is an artifact of the collection it seems. Wild fish live longer in captivity that tank bred fish. Why this is is difficult to say. On average, you can expect rachovii Beira to live about 9 to 10 months maximum. They should look healthy until about 23 weeks (5 months, median survial), there after they begin to deterioate fast. Most nothos peak in healthy and appearance at around 3 months to begin to wane from about 5 months. At this point they will develop the "hump back" and begin to lose weight.
Reducing the feeding from 3 months of age to every second day may get them to live longer. This is only speculative. Cooling the water to about 22 degrees also works.
Ont he whole, the rachovii Beira 98 are a robust strain and age slowly. What you report seems abberant to my recollections of these fish. What is your tank setup like? Any strong currents? Nothos do best with gentle filtration.
The short lifespan of the black rachovii MZM-3 is probably not accurate. As I ponder that data more and more, it seems to me aggression was the real problem. Alas, that experiment was never repeated.
Kind regards
Benny, those you bought are way past their prime, I seen them being on display in Serangoon North.Originally Posted by bennyong19
I tried to post a new message but was not allowed in the forum. However, I am just wondering if it is normal that my N. guentheri gold has lived for almost 2 years. I received if from a friend in april-may 2007 and he is still alive although he has a big hump. he still eats like crazy and lives in my planted tank with other killis (C. bivittatum Funge and A. striatum). When I got it (together with a couple of females) he was already an adult so I am not sure how old he was. I feed him mostly live food but he eats any type of food I give him (staple, pellets, etc).
Any comments?
Regards,
Tony
Hello,
2 years is not unusual for some guentheri strains, particularly if the sexes are kept apart. Research by Markofsky and others showed that guentheri have at least a 18 month lifespan. Oddly enough, my guentheri strain doesn't live more than about 9 months. Would it be possible for you to send me some eggs from your strain? I'm curious whether there is a genetic difference behind the longer life of your fish.
Kind regards
Tyrone, thank you for your response. You are right about keeping sexes apart. My two females died about a year ago and I could not get any eggs from them. Apparently they were laying eggs but I could not get any fry. However, I will try to check with my friend to see if he has any eggs from this strain and let you know.
Regards,
Tony
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks