Killifish - can these be found in SG

[SCOPE]

Hey, bro,
i saw some of the wild caught killifish in R.O.C wild list
i am getting interested on their colors and may buy some.
Before buying, i would like to check with Killifish experts here
specie as below:
Epiplatys dageti monroviae
Fundulopanchax gularis
Fundulopanchax sjoestedti
Aphyosemion australe Hjersseni Orange
Aphyosemion striatum


are these commonly found in LFS here or able to buy in SG?

Thanks in advance,
Joe

[exotic_idiot]

Hi bro joe, how are you? I don't see any much killies breeder locally or maybe there are.. Seems that killies been very limited, you can only find males for sale but no females even if have also mix up don't know which is which species. I saw few weeks ago at c328 both males and females but they don't label names, if you ask them they also don't know???

Does the wild caught killies costs very expensive at ROC?
If possible why don't you bring them in? Not very expensive and within my budget I might get a few pairs from you.

Let's start the fever going and hopefully can poison more people into killies hobby.
Try get those easier to breed ones, because I'm a newbie in them.
Thanks

[RonWill]

Joe, I regret to say that with the exception of the few local killie-keepers, you'd be hard pressed to find them at LFS. Jian Yang, aka Stormhawk, used to maintain our SG Killifish Census 05 and although it's outdated, it's still acceptable for reference... yes, we used to have that many species amongst ourselves in the little red dot.

For now, I believe that fellow-forumer, Kai (Bybloz), has Fundulopanchax nigerianus Innidere and possibly a few more.

My backup is still trying his darnedest to maintain a few Chromaphyosemion splendopleure / bitaeniatum populations like the Ijebu Ode, Ekondo Titi and Tiko Green (orange pheno).

Another friend might have the Aphyosemion australe Orange but I'd need to check.

Of the killies you're interested in,
Fundulopanchax gularis & sjoestedti is the same fish. It's probably the largest of the killies you listed but also very majestic. This bugger gets my vote!!

Aphyosemion australe Hjersseni Orange.
Possibly another orange variant and easy to breed. Well conditioned Chocolate AUS, in their full dress of finnage extensions, is also a sight to behold.

(dug up this old Angelfire link of my 'photo tank').

Aphyosemion striatum
I maintained the Lambaréné population for a while. Beautiful killies but will do better in lower temps.

I know I'm not much help now but if you were active during the 2nd killie gathering, things might have been better. Even with egg orders, be warned though... it's addictive!!

BTW, I still wished that AQ admins/mods can provide the index to my old gallery at Killies.com, which holds pictures of every killifish I've kept. It will really make reference to killie species so much easier instead of searching for image links in the archive!!

EDIT: Knowing where the parent directory will be a great start... eg;
http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/SPL_Moliwe/ ... the main index @ http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/ doesn't work!!

[Zeth]

beutifull pic

[exotic_idiot]

Aphyosemion australe Hjersseni Orange.
Possibly another orange variant and easy to breed. Well conditioned Chocolate AUS, in their full dress of finnage extensions, is also a sight to behold.

Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale at near my place... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males. Why do killifish attracts so little interests in breeding them?
I can't see the reason why anyone won't be attracted by their beauty..

[SCOPE]

Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale at near my place... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males. Why do killifish attracts so little interests in breeding them?
I can't see the reason why anyone won't be attracted by their beauty..

i was very attracted by them many years ago when i first saw them in ECO CULTURE - AZMI shop....
i guess there are always "stock" issue to spur the market. When people cannot find the fishes, how to start the "fire" of their passion for these?
i got to buy eggs from Aquabid....i guess that is only source. Not all the eggs will hatch too

[RonWill]

Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males

Exotic, you might be referring to these? (BTW, what's your name? I really hate to call you an idiot... don't blame me... look at your nick!! )

Aphyosemion australe Orange


Aphyosemion australe Gold


Note: Sometimes Angelfire messes around with hotlinks and if images doesn't show, go directly to the Photo Tank page.

As to why only males are sold, we have ourselves to blame. Imagine a tank in the LFS, filled with killies of both sexes. Males are colorful, females are drab by comparison. For non-breeders who want to brighten up their planted tanks, chances are only the males are sell-able. Let's be honest here... how many breeders are there amongst us and who else will buy the females?

I had the same issues when I consigned young pairs or trios to EcoCulture and I did insist on them being priced as such; pairs or trios. If you want only a male, you still pay for a pair or a trio. My main intention was to minimize that species being lost to the hobby. At least there was a chance that somehow, somewhere, someone still have killie fry in their tanks!

In my early days of killie keeping, there were no such options and I often pass on a species when I don't see any females. Sadly, those females that were 'bundled' with the colorful males were often of another species. Heck, I was a newbie then and could only trust the LFS. No surprises that I didn't manage to breed any of my store-bought killies.

As to why nobody wanted to breed these jewels... many reasons.
Unlike bettas, cichlids or guppies which are very prolific throughout the year, killifishes are not and for non-annuals, they breed best during the monsoon season; ie. low temps.

Some don't like the idea of collecting and incubating eggs. Too troublesome going through the effort and waiting just to get fry. Unfortunately, for annual-species's eggs to develop properly, incubation in peat is mandatory.

Lastly, nobody wants to breed them because nobody wants any!! Heck, to encourage local hobbyists to start killie-keeping from eggs/fry, I tried selling groups of fry at very affordable prices... pathetic response.

Even when I initiated species maintenance programs, it attracted more free-loaders via PMs than the genuinely interested. For those that did try, Lady Luck wasn't on their side. Heh...what more can I say??
Species maintenance - Chrom. BIT 'Ijebu Ode'

Species maintenance - Riv cylindraceus 'Al Castro strain'

Species maintenance - Chrom. splendopleure 'Moliwe'

Species maintenance - Aphyosemion striatum Lambaréné

Species maintenance - Chrom. BIV 'Funge'

[RonWill]

Joe, there were usually no less than 3 species consigned to Azmi and I did work very closely with him because he's one of those who actually bothered to have proper names to proper fishes.

When people cannot find the fishes, how to start the "fire" of their passion for these?

No offense, but this is a lame reasoning especially when there are online sources. It's limited by the extent to which individual hobbyists are willing to take in acquiring the species.

Aquabid is a good source but do get from the reputable sellers. Pillet (from France) is one of them if you're into annual species but what were the problems you encountered? I'm willing to help you along with your next lot of eggs. Just let me know.

[SCOPE]

Joe, there were usually no less than 3 species consigned to Azmi and I did work very closely with him because he's one of those who actually bothered to have proper names to proper fishes.

No offense, but this is a lame reasoning especially when there are online sources. It's limited by the extent to which individual hobbyists are willing to take in acquiring the species.

Aquabid is a good source but do get from the reputable sellers. Pillet (from France) is one of them if you're into annual species but what were the problems you encountered? I'm willing to help you along with your next lot of eggs. Just let me know.

no worry. What i really means is that at that time, beside Azmi shop which you people name the Killifishes right to the location (which is quite quite useful to serious hobby people), other source is just annual species we sometimes found from C328. i means quality killisfish source in sg is really limited.

Yes, i got a lots of eggs from Pillet before and his egg hatch rate is one of the best.

[RonWill]

Joe, what species did you get from Pillet? Hope you didn't miss the Simpsonicthys magnificus. One of my first annuals when I started the hobby and IMHO, still one of the prettiest!!


The Simpsonicthys fulminantis is another stunning eye popper!


but... if you spot any Terranatos dolichopterus eggs for sale, gimme a holler!! I might want to try this one again. My previous attempt yielded all boys but a very very interesting looking killie and the incubation period alone is about 4 months in our climate!!!

[SCOPE]

woah! swee! this really poison me back to killies. i will check on his list again for these.

[RonWill]

ok good... I've done my job. Joe, now go and get more eggs!!

For those still asking "where can I buy killies", I humbly suggest you guys pool your resources together, write to the seller directly and do a group order, like what we did in old Killies.com to save on consolidated shipping. Spreading out the species will help form a safety net lest some bags fail.

There will always be unpredictable hatch rate, mysterious fry death and whatnots but that's part of the journey. Along the way, you'll find camaraderie and friendship, and that's the beauty of killie-keeping.

I'll be here to help where I can but you folks need to get ya butts off the fence and do something about it.

[vinz]

...

BTW, I still wished that AQ admins/mods can provide the index to my old gallery at Killies.com, which holds pictures of every killifish I've kept. It will really make reference to killie species so much easier instead of searching for image links in the archive!!

EDIT: Knowing where the parent directory will be a great start... eg;
http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/SPL_Moliwe/ ... the main index @ http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/ doesn't work!!

Sorry Ron. Got busy.

I'll go look at into it again.

[exotic_idiot]

Exotic, you might be referring to these? (BTW, what's your name? I really hate to call you an idiot... don't blame me... look at your nick!! )

Hi ronnie, I did remember teling you my name before? Pm you before regarding "grindalworms" i'm that same guy don't think anyone else will want to misuse my nick(Exotic_ixxxx) HAha My name is always on the signature maybe a lot of pattern here & there can't see clearly.
Anyway you can call me Ben. Hello Ronnie...

As to why only males are sold, we have ourselves to blame. Imagine a tank in the LFS, filled with killies of both sexes. Males are colorful, females are drab by comparison. For non-breeders who want to brighten up their planted tanks, chances are only the males are sell-able. Let's be honest here... how many breeders are there amongst us and who else will buy the females?

I had the same issues when I consigned young pairs or trios to EcoCulture and I did insist on them being priced as such; pairs or trios. If you want only a male, you still pay for a pair or a trio. My main intention was to minimize that species being lost to the hobby. At least there was a chance that somehow, somewhere, someone still have killie fry in their tanks!

In my early days of killie keeping, there were no such options and I often pass on a species when I don't see any females. Sadly, those females that were 'bundled' with the colorful males were often of another species. Heck, I was a newbie then and could only trust the LFS. No surprises that I didn't manage to breed any of my store-bought killies.

As to why nobody wanted to breed these jewels... many reasons.
Unlike bettas, cichlids or guppies which are very prolific throughout the year, killifishes are not and for non-annuals, they breed best during the monsoon season; ie. low temps.

Some don't like the idea of collecting and incubating eggs. Too troublesome going through the effort and waiting just to get fry. Unfortunately, for annual-species's eggs to develop properly, incubation in peat is mandatory.

Lastly, nobody wants to breed them because nobody wants any!! Heck, to encourage local hobbyists to start killie-keeping from eggs/fry, I tried selling groups of fry at very affordable prices... pathetic response.

Even when I initiated species maintenance programs, it attracted more free-loaders via PMs than the genuinely interested. For those that did try, Lady Luck wasn't on their side. Heh...what more can I say??

Very well written BRAVO... To be a breeder is not easy. Time, effort & $$$ and most importantly passion. No point talking to someone who don't understand or don't even care right? I readed a bit of your links(As too much need more time) mostly the forumers are inactive and some didn't even update the statics...
Waste your goodwill in the end.

[RonWill]

Heelllloooo Ben (I need new bifocals!!),
Goodwill is never lost and passion is not difficult when you have these in your tanks!!

Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum "Majitam"


Time and effort I could spare but when one gets chin-deep, you can feel the $$$ pinch. For anyone going into it, be selective... be very selective! (my hindsight is 20/20... it's my foresight that's screwed! )

Vinz, thanks for looking into it. PM me once the 'parent directory' links are sorted out. Much appreciated!!

[RonWill]

oh... and before I forget, American Killifish Association (AKA) used to have a mailing list before their forum was up but there are tons of information in the list's archive.
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/

...and for those who're not aware of AKA...
http://www.aka.org/

[SCOPE]

Heelllloooo Ben (I need new bifocals!!),
Goodwill is never lost and passion is not difficult when you have these in your tanks!!

Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum "Majitam"


Time and effort I could spare but when one gets chin-deep, you can feel the $$$ pinch. For anyone going into it, be selective... be very selective! (my hindsight is 20/20... it's my foresight that's screwed! )

Vinz, thanks for looking into it. PM me once the 'parent directory' links are sorted out. Much appreciated!!

woah!...these are real beauties! What i great sight!

[exotic_idiot]

Wah ronnie, i can't see... Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum "Majitam"..
My company block the pics... Sad[Got to wait till i got home]
I guess not everybody's foresight is good?

[SCOPE]

Wah ronnie, i can't see... Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum "Majitam"..
My company block the pics... Sad[Got to wait till i got home]
I guess not everybody's foresight is good?

too bad....bro, you got to wait till you are back home.
Years ago, i was very excited over this specie when i first saw them at Azmi shop. You can describe them as super stunning

[exotic_idiot]

Is this really freshwater fish??? Amazing colours and finnage..!
Wow really an eye opener for me[newbie]..