# "Annual" fish?



## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

I've been reading around on killifish and some say annual some say non-annual depending on whatever the species is that they're discussing.

Does annual mean they complete their life cycle in a year and die?


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## penpal (Feb 20, 2009)

Ya they lay there eggs before the dry season, and die when their habitat dries out every year. Eggs lay dormant until their habitat is flooded again and the cycle is repeated. In aquariums annual fish don't die after a year, fish like neon tetras are annual fish but they can live up to a long time.


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

Fascinating! Thanks for the response.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

WateraDrop said:


> I've been reading around on killifish and some say annual some say non-annual depending on whatever the species is that they're discussing.
> 
> Does annual mean they complete their life cycle in a year and die?


Most annuals don't live much longer than a year and a half even under the best conditions, and usually less. They grow and mature extremely fast -- some spp can start breeding at 6 weeks after hatching! Depending on the area, there may only be a few months per year during which water is present. In east Africa there are many (possibly dozens -- new ones described all the time) Nothobranchius spp, and in South America there are several annual genera. Most used to be in Cynolebias, but this genus has been split up into Nematolebias, Simpsonichthys and others.

In west Africa there are 'semi-annual' spp. Many Fundulopanchax spp can either incubate for about two weeks in water, or go dormant in moist peat, and then are ready to hatch after 6-8 weeks. This is especially convenient for the breeder, since you can accumulate eggs for a time, then hatch them all at once. Killie fry grow fast and have big mouths, and the big ones will eat the smaller ones, so even if they all hatch at the same time, you sometimes have to sort them by size. If you let them hatch in water as they are laid, you'd end up with a lot of containers for fry of different ages -- even a few days can make a difference. These fish live the normal several years of a small tropical.

One really handy thing about annuals and semi-annuals is that the eggs can be mailed all over the world for minimal postage costs. Non-annuals can be shipped this way too, but since the incubation time is usually 10-14 days, it's a little riskier. One place to find eggs for sale is aquabid.com, but it's really too cold now to mail eggs without risk of them being killed by cool temperatures. Buying eggs of easy species is an inexpensive way of getting some fish to work with, so you can decide how deeply you want to get into this area.


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

I'm looking for longer lived varieties. Which killifish would you suggest? I also have a preference towards ones that lay eggs in mud / peat moss.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Very interesting. Handy to know as I have some friends that do move around about every year or two. They can still have an aquapet but worry less about the moving time if the aquapet is about a year and a bit to live.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Killifish are really unique.. I can feel a new fad coming back.


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## SteveButcher (Oct 8, 2010)

Who wouldn't want killies


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I totally want to get into Killies.


W


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

WateraDrop said:


> I'm looking for longer lived varieties. Which killifish would you suggest? I also have a preference towards ones that lay eggs in mud / peat moss.


The ones that lay eggs in peat (divers) tend to be the annuals, while the longer lived types, are usually mop spawners. Killies are represented by some of the most colourful fishes in the hobby. If you want to keep peat spawners, any of the Nothobranchius species are a good start. They are very easy to keep and spawn.


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## Twiggles (Jun 6, 2010)

Has anyone had any experience with this killiefish; Lamprichthys tanganicanus, otherwise known as Tanganyikan killiefish?


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

SteveButcher said:


> Who wouldn't want killies


Wow that looks like a certian Betta type I've seen. I think it was a dragon scale Betta IIRC but I could be wrong. Nice looking fish but how much is the cost tho?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Twiggles said:


> Has anyone had any experience with this killiefish; Lamprichthys tanganicanus, otherwise known as Tanganyikan killiefish?


I don't have any personal experience with them, but I looked into them at one point.

These beautiful fish are in the lamp-eye group, but at 4-6" are much larger than other lamp-eyes. They are very active fish that require a large tank. The reason you don't see them around is that they are quite delicate and difficult to ship successfully. Even the eggs don't ship well. From what I've read, if you can get a group established in a large tank with excellent water quality and chemistry similar to Lake Tanganyika, they will produce a lot of eggs, which they deposit in crevices in rocks. In nature, their spawning behaviour attracts swarms of cichlids which gobble most of the eggs as they are laid, so they have to lay a lot of them.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Wow those are really pretty fish


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## Twiggles (Jun 6, 2010)

bae said:


> I don't have any personal experience with them, but I looked into them at one point.
> 
> These beautiful fish are in the lamp-eye group, but at 4-6" are much larger than other lamp-eyes. They are very active fish that require a large tank. The reason you don't see them around is that they are quite delicate and difficult to ship successfully. Even the eggs don't ship well. From what I've read, if you can get a group established in a large tank with excellent water quality and chemistry similar to Lake Tanganyika, they will produce a lot of eggs, which they deposit in crevices in rocks. In nature, their spawning behaviour attracts swarms of cichlids which gobble most of the eggs as they are laid, so they have to lay a lot of them.


Thanks a lot, that's some great info! they sound like a challenge but If I could find them I would definitely want to give them a try. Thanks again


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