# Killifish



## greg

Many of gtaaquaria's most experienced members keep killifish. Several have 50+ tanks, not including numerous smaller containers of fry. SwimmyD and I are very new to the world of killifish and our knowledge of this vast group of fish is very limited. Nevertheless we are starting this thread to share pictures of our killifish and to invite you to show off your killifish. We also look forward to some expert advice from some of the more experienced killifish breeders of the GTA.

*'How-to' guides in the thread - just click on the title below*

*Breeding annual killifish using peat*

*Breeding non-annual killifish in long fibre sphagnum moss*

*Breeding non-annual killifish using acrylic yarn mops*

*Buying killifish eggs online*

*Glass lids for killifish tanks*

And now on to our collection!





































Above are SwimmyD's pair of Blue Gularis - more officially known as Fundulopanchax sjoestedti. We got these from gtaaquaria member peterd, who specializes in breeding of many types of killifish. The blue gularis are located in our kitchen in a 10g starfire tank we picked up at AquaInspiration. Equipment is simply a sponge filter and a light which we put on for four hours per day, as the tank gets tons of indirect light. Heaters are not typically necessary for killifish!

SwimmyD will post more detailed information on their care, particularly with respect to breeding.

Also please check out the following for a great opportunity to learn more about killifish *SOKS Annual Killfish Show and Barbeque*


----------



## greg

Up next are our Fundulopanchax nigerianus Innidere. Did I mention many species of killifish are relatively unafraid of their keepers!!!

While many types of male killifish are intolerant of rivals, this species can be kept in larger numbers.

This tank is a 25g planted tank with pressurized CO2 injection and is part of my 145g planted tank overflow system.


----------



## greg

[/url]




























These are our Aphyosemion sp. Lobaye. The second picture appears to be the dominant male while the third picture shows the other male with slightly tattered fins. They are in a 5g tank with a lot of floating hornwort to help break up sight lines.


----------



## greg

Nothobranchius foerschi - two females and one male in a 5g tank. It's a bare bottom tank, no heater with a lot of floating hornwort and a sponge filter for aeration and filtration. They spawn in a small plastic container of peat.


----------



## greg

More pics on the way.

Be sure to check out SwimmyD's post on the Southern Ontario Killifish Society Annual Killifish Show and Barbeque *here*


----------



## tom g

*killifish*

awesome pics love the tanks and fish are beautiful...are killies best off in only a killi tank or can u put them in a community tank ....
where is the best place to view or see killies if I was thinking of purchasing .
cheers and thank u 
tom


----------



## greg

tom g said:


> awesome pics love the tanks and fish are beautiful...are killies best off in only a killi tank or can u put them in a community tank ....
> where is the best place to view or see killies if I was thinking of purchasing .
> cheers and thank u
> tom


Thanks for the compliment Tom!

The *SOKS Annual Killfish Show and Barbeque* is taking place at a killifish breeder's house and honestly I think you could visit a dozen or more lfs and still not see the variety and quality of his collection.

I've forwarded your question about compatibility on to three of gtaaquaria's resident experts on killifish and hopefully one of them will provide a response that's much more informative than I could hope to give you


----------



## Kmm

*my Killis-so far!*


----------



## greg

*Wow!*

Stunning pictures Kmm! Thanks so much for sharing.

You're in a part of the province with much harder water so I'm curious as to whether you are softening your water by adding in some RO, or are you using straight tap water?


----------



## Kmm

I know! My water is so hard. I'm not currently adding RO. I discussed it with the breeder and he said it wasn't necessary because he doesn't use it. The one exception would be for the eggs, when separating them, he thought it might be a good idea to put some RO in the water so the shell doesn't get too hard. 
I did acclimate them slowly...

Thats my info so far.


----------



## peterd

*Killies in community tanks*

Tom G,
Killies are happier in species tanks but some species would be fine in planted tanks with non aggressive fish. Fundulopanchax gardneri or nigerianus would probably be the best bet to try out in a community tank.


----------



## peterd

*Adult male Fundulopanchx sjoestedti*

This is a one year old male Blue gularis. Not really a beginner killie but with a species tank and frequent water changes they can grow large and live two years or more.


----------



## SwimmyD

*More of PeterD's awesome Killifish!*

PeterD is a killifish breeder who has spent many years perfecting the finnage, colour and beauty of these fish, all while keeping the species in their pure and natural form (not cross breeding with other killies).

Typically killifish are known by their latin names, but there are a few that have common names too! Gardneri are the old name for a group of Fundulopanchax species, like my Nigerianus strain. Many killi keepers still call them Gardneri, so you will often see this name interchanged. I call mine Gardneri just because I can't say Fundulopanchax Nigerianus without my tongue getting all tied up 

Killifish names often change as they are reclassified using new and emerging research into the species. Furthermore, killifish are often further classified into sub-species by their location. For instance, the Fundulopanchax Nigerianus strain could be from several locations in Nigeria, for example Innidere or Jos Plateau.

I really like my Gardneri. They are gregarious fish, swimming all over the tank, and exploring everything. The males are a little aggressive towards each other, but not crazy aggressive. A killifish display is similar to a betta's - with flaring gill covers and flashing of fins. Very interesting to watch. The fish reproduce freely in my tank (substrate/plant egg layers), and the fry hide in the water lettuce and plants until they get bigger. The fish love to nibble my fingers and swim through my fingers when my hands are in the tank. Peter told me they can live 3 or more years, so I can see that I will have this group of fishes for a long time!! 

Okay, so on to Peter's prize winning fish!

Here is PeterD's majestic Blue Gularis (or Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti). It is Peter who has selected for this most awesome tri-lobe caudal fin!









Here is PeterD's show male Fundulopanchax Nigerianus Innidere (or Gardneri)









Here is Peter's beautiful Fundulopanchax Nigerianus GOLD form!! Wow! In my tank of Gardneri, one of the fry turned out to be golden! So exciting!









And here is his most awesome Aphysemion sp. Lobaye (they are shy, but so beautiful!)









Here is a fish that shows my complete inexperience. I dont know if it is an Aphyosemion, or if it is a Fundulopanchax. It sure is pretty though!!









Thanks for looking! Tomorrow, I'm going to post some pictures of Nothobranchius, and tell you a bit about them!!

Dont forget to check out the SOKS Annual Killifish Show and Barbeque on July 14th! 
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?p=332833#post332833


----------



## SwimmyD

*Nothobranchius Killies - Instant Fish!!!*

Nothobranchius Killifish or Nothos are known as "seasonal" or "annual" killifish, and are regarded as some of the prettiest fresh water fish in the world. What they lack in size (they are small), they more than make up for in personality and colour.

Nothos come from Africa, and have adapted to an incredibly harsh climate. They live in the shallow ponds and puddles of the African bush and savannah, and spawn on a daily basis during the rainy season. Competition for food and mates is fierce, so the males are intolerant of each other. Like all killies, they are prolific jumpers adapted to jump from puddle to puddle looking for a new mate. Once the dry season sets in, the killies die as their ponds evaporate into dry baked earth. But the eggs are protected by hard shells deep in the mud. After a dry period of 4 to 6 months, the rains come again, and the fish hatch within minutes to hours! Instant FISH!

In an aquarium, you can expect your Notho to live about one year. They like to spawn in containers of peat, and will spend a good portion of their day in there. If you want to breed them, you will need to keep the tank bottom bare, or they will spawn in the substrate, making it difficult to harvest the eggs. After a month or so, you can remove the peat, gently squeeze out the water, and put the whole thing in a ziplock bag. Let it sit in your closet for 4 to 6 months, and then add water after the appropriate amount of time has lapsed (depends on type of Notho). As long as you are willing to do without your Nothos for several months, you can always count on a steady supply of these fish!

I have a trio of Notho Foerschi. They are great little fish, and fun to watch! Greg posted some picture of these earlier in the thread. I plan to pick up some more of these great fish at the SOKS Annual Killifish Show and Barbecue! The great thing about Nothos is that they dont need alot of room! You could keep a pair in a 2.5g!!

Here are some pictures of PeterD's Nothos:

This one is a Notho Kafuensis Nega Nega! Wow!









This one is a Notho Krysanovi - Just gorgeous! I want one!









This two are Notho Rachovii Beira. They look similar to the one above, except the tail seems to have more stripes and blue in it. 









Stay tuned for more awesome pics of killifish!


----------



## SwimmyD

*More Killifish from SOKS*

Hi, here are a couple of fish from Al Ridley's collection of Killifish. He is a SOKS member, and is also the president of the Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society (KWAS). He also manages the Facebook page of SOKS - easy to find if you do a search on Facebook for "Southern Ontario Killifish Society". Many killifish enthusiasts follow several killifish sites on Facebook, especially the American Killifish Association. That is how you can get into the dangerous practice of making wish lists!! Next thing you know, you are adding more tanks to your collection!!

Here is a fine specimen of an Aphyosemion Australe Orange. They also come in a "chocolate" form with darker finnage - which is the natural colour form for the Australe. 









Here is an Aphyosemion striatum Lambarene. The striatum aphyosemions all seem to have these pretty red lines that follow along the body of the fish. Guess what?? I have a new fish on my wish list!!










Thanks for looking!!!


----------



## altcharacter

This almost makes me want to get into freshwater again!


----------



## Bwhiskered

There are hard water killifish like the Aphanias mentoes.


----------



## SwimmyD

*Kmm's Killifish is smiling!!*

Look! Kmm's killifish is smiling because he knows that he will get some new killifish friends when his owner goes to the SOKS Annual BBQ and Killi Show!!!!

Greg Niedzielski from Buffalo will be speaking about Fundulopanchax. There is also a list of fish for sale (so far.....) 
Check out the GTA Clubs posting for the Killifish Show!


----------



## Spicoli

That last little guy is amazing, only ever had golden wonder killi mostly because i've never really seen any other varieties in stores.


----------



## peterd

You will rarely see killies in stores. Best bet is to buy from breeders.
That way you are sure to get locally bred fish that do well in our water.


----------



## Scotmando

peterd said:


> You will rarely see killies in stores. Best bet is to buy from breeders.
> That way you are sure to get locally bred fish that do well in our water.


Amazing fish, the killis. I would like to try he Blue Gularis


----------



## Kmm

*Normans Lampeye*

I just saw some Normans Lampeyes at BA in Kitchener. At first I thought they were small and a little boring, but with a group of them in the tank, all you see are these huge blue eyes! On the plus side they are also a active and personable community fish! They might add some sparkle to a community tank without tipping the bioload too much&#8230;Hmm.

This is what they look like tho pictures don't do them justice-that eye is huge and really sparkles!


----------



## peterd

*Blue Gularis*

Scotmando,
There will be a least three pairs of Blue Gularis available at the show as well as some colourful Dwarf red gularis (slightly smaller with more red and less caudal extensions). From what I have seen on the fish sale list there is a good selection of colourful beginner species as well some of the more challenging species. Hope to see you there!


----------



## TonyT

I'd be interested in purchasing some killies but can't find any anywhere. If some of you killie lovers can PM me with whats available, I'd appreciate it.


----------



## fishead

Fp.scheeli
Aphyo. primigenium GEB 94-21
Aphyo. celiae celiae
Aphyo. rectogoense PEG 95-16 
Fp. sjoestedti-blue gularis
Fp. filamentosus Ijebu Ode
Fp. nigerianus Misaje
Fp. nigerianus Innidere 
Fp. garnderi CI08
Aphy. australe gold
Nothobranchius guentheri Zansibar
Cynodonichthys chucunaque chucunaque 2006-31
Riv. derhami tingo maria 
A. elberti sambolobo 
Lacust. pumilus burundi CI 2008 
Epiplatys lamottei 
"biv" poliaki mile 29
Aph. marginatum benguii
Fund. scheeli
Ep. dageti
Aph. Lamberti
Ep. Chaperi Angola
Notho. Foerschi
Riv. Hildebrandi pan 2004-2
Lucania parva
Fundulus Chrysotus
Fundulus cingulatus
leptolucania ommata
Fp. deltaensis, 
N. kafuensis Kayuni State Farm 
Dwarf Red Gularis 
Fp. spoorenbergi
N. malassei forgot the location

Hello Tony T here is a partial list of the fish that will be there for the box sale. The price for most of the fish on the list will be 15.00 a pair that the club brought in for the meeting. As for the fish brought in by members they are free to charge what they want. We are doing a box sale instead of a auction as we want to ensure the meeting is done before midnight. lol 
There will be more fish coming from other members I am sure. This is a great chance to see a great speaker, meet lots of killifish breeders and get great tips and of course get some fish that you only see in books.


----------



## TonyT

fishead said:


> Fp.scheeli
> Aphyo. primigenium GEB 94-21
> Aphyo. celiae celiae
> Aphyo. rectogoense PEG 95-16
> Fp. sjoestedti-blue gularis
> Fp. filamentosus Ijebu Ode
> Fp. nigerianus Misaje
> Fp. nigerianus Innidere
> Fp. garnderi CI08
> Aphy. australe gold
> Nothobranchius guentheri Zansibar
> Cynodonichthys chucunaque chucunaque 2006-31
> Riv. derhami tingo maria
> A. elberti sambolobo
> Lacust. pumilus burundi CI 2008
> Epiplatys lamottei
> "biv" poliaki mile 29
> Aph. marginatum benguii
> Fund. scheeli
> Ep. dageti
> Aph. Lamberti
> Ep. Chaperi Angola
> Notho. Foerschi
> Riv. Hildebrandi pan 2004-2
> Lucania parva
> Fundulus Chrysotus
> Fundulus cingulatus
> leptolucania ommata
> Fp. deltaensis,
> N. kafuensis Kayuni State Farm
> Dwarf Red Gularis
> Fp. spoorenbergi
> N. malassei forgot the location
> 
> Hello Tony T here is a partial list of the fish that will be there for the box sale. The price for most of the fish on the list will be 15.00 a pair that the club brought in for the meeting. As for the fish brought in by members they are free to charge what they want. We are doing a box sale instead of a auction as we want to ensure the meeting is done before midnight. lol
> There will be more fish coming from other members I am sure. This is a great chance to see a great speaker, meet lots of killifish breeders and get great tips and of course get some fish that you only see in books.


When and where will the "Box Sale" take place?


----------



## SwimmyD

*SOKS Annual Killifish Show and BBQ*

Hi Tony,
The killi show details and flyers (including box sale information) are all located on the GTA Clubs section of this GTAA forum under "SOKS Annual Killifish Show and BBQ". Since this is the "freshwater pictures" section, I have not posted show details here. However, for ease of others looking for this information, here is the flyer. We would like people to RSVP fishead to attend, so that we have enough food for everyone. 
Thanks, Dominique


----------



## igor.kanshyn

Very nice!


----------



## Scotmando

*VIDEO of Fundulopanchax sjoestedti Blue Gularis*

Here is a video of this lovely trio of Fundulopanchax sjoestedti a.k.a. Blue Gularis I shot it at the Shrimpsters meet while I went in for dessert. Although Karen's chocolate cheesecake was my ultimate goal, I couldn't pass up taking this video. Good memories! The cheesecake was "To Die For".

*Video of Blue Gularis Killifish (Fundulopanchax sjoestedti)*



greg said:


> Many of gtaaquaria's most experienced members keep killifish. Several have 50+ tanks, not including numerous smaller containers of fry. SwimmyD and I are very new to the world of killifish and our knowledge of this vast group of fish is very limited. Nevertheless we are starting this thread to share pictures of our killifish and to invite you to show off your killifish. We also look forward to some expert advice from some of the more experienced killifish breeders of the GTA.
> 
> So on to our collection!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Above are SwimmyD's pair of Blue Gularis - more officially known as Fundulopanchax sjoestedti. We got these from gtaaquaria member peterd, who specializes in breeding of many types of killifish. The blue gularis are located in our kitchen in a 10g starfire tank we picked up at AquaInspiration. Equipment is simply a sponge filter and a light which we put on for four hours per day, as the tank gets tons of indirect light. Heaters are not typically necessary for killifish!
> 
> SwimmyD will post more detailed information on their care, particularly with respect to breeding.
> 
> Also please check out the following for a great opportunity to learn more about killifish *SOKS Annual Killfish Show and Barbeque*


----------



## greg

*Killifish bought at SOKS meet*

Dominique and I picked up many new additions at the SOKS BBQ/Meet/Show/Sale

Here's our Nothobranchius kafuensis Kayuni State Farm male


----------



## Bwhiskered

A very pretty fish.


----------



## Kmm

*Killifish show purchase...*

Here is one that I got! 
Anyone else posting pictures of their killifish show purchases?


----------



## SwimmyD

I totally love that dwarf red gularis! I wish I had got me a pair of those! The red and orange on him just glows! Even the female is quite pretty! Karen you have gorgeous tanks!


----------



## John_C

*Oh wow*

Those are some stunning captures of absolutely stunning species! I need more tanks, I definitely have to get on the Killi bandwagon now too ! Lol

http://lushaquatics.wordpress.com/


----------



## SwimmyD

*Swimmy D's community killi tank!*









Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to share my most awesome killi experiment. Greg (my always better-half) set up a 40g on his new fish rack, and let me go to town on it. I planted it a few months back, and waited until the SOKS barbeque to get some new killies that I wanted. My plans were to mix species of killies, and hopefully come up with a variety that would live fairly peacefully together. As I am new to killifish, I am not that well versed in killi behaviour - thus the "great experiment". Most killifish keepers seem to keep species only tanks, or tanks with pairs for breeding. However, I wanted a planted tank with fish that I could enjoy just watching. I figured if I wanted to breed any particular ones, I could always take them out and pair them off.

So I went to the SOKS barbeque with a wish list in hand, and soon was overcome with confusion and anxiety when there were way too many fish to pick from (some on my list were there - some not - and there were plenty of ones that had not been originally listed for sale!). So I did my best. I bought a pair of Epiplatys chaperi angona (a very pretty pike-faced looking top swimming fish), 4 Pachypanchax sakurami (extinct in the wild - only live in aquariums now , a pair of Primigenium GEB 94-21 (the prettiest purple/red/blue things you've ever seen!), 2 pair of Aphyosemion australe (gold and regular), and a pair of teeny tiny Aphyosemion lamberti (pretty blue and red spots). I moved my foursome of Aphyosemion Lobaye (red and yellow spots) into the same tank, and I had this instant amazing tank!

The australes were such a brilliant orange, their colour just popped against the green and black of their surroundings. The Lobaye loved the big tank and went crazy with displays and swimming furiously around the tank. The epiplayts I soon realized was a little bugger shark like thing- and was chasing anything at the top 1/4 of the tank. Then one day I saw a chunk out of his pretty orange tail. I realized soon that the Lobaye were not taking any cr*p from him, and the pecking order was being decided. And I see that the pecking order changes from day to day!

I soon got myself 2 more australe pairs (orange spotless), as well as two more lobaye males. I most recently added a little Nothobranchius guentheri (just a little juvie- so brightly coloured blue and red and yellow!). And the fun just never ends. These fish are hiding, displaying, sparring, hunting for food, showing off for the girls, and defending territories. It is now my favourite tank! The chaperi pike thing chases some fish - but not all. He defends his space at the top. The little notho is not bothered by anybody (!!), and swims beside any and all fish. I have to admit that the infighting between the australes and the lobaye has caused the long extensions on their caudal fins to get nipped off. So they are not as splendid as they would be if they were all alone. However, to watch these guys display and spar and swim furiously around the tank has been well worth it. It is truly an interesting tank.

Here you can see the chaperi sitting at the top. You cant see the blush red on his tummy, or the bright orange of his pectorals. He is very pretty. But rather aggressive. Below him is a pair of Lobaye, and just peeking into the photo is the head and eye of my little notho. Not the best picture of him.







[/url]

Here is a close up of a lobaye









Soon Greg is going to get his macro lens back (it's broke and in the shop for repair!) and I will post some photos of the spectacular prims, the notho, the lamberti and my little golden and spotless australes (the girls look like blue-eyed blondes!). I would highly recommend folks to start thinking about killifish. They are really not hard to keep!! And I swear they are some of the prettiest and most interesting fish you will ever see!!


----------



## Rainbowric

A very nice community tank of Killi fish .... In fact I have to say the nicest community of Killi I have ever seen! Funny that a lot of bow keepers also keep the Killi fish. I have been tempted so many times as I have seen some really nice ones and have been offered many in trade for bows. Never thought of a community of them. I just might!


----------



## Scotmando

This is a really great idea, an all Kiilfish community tank. The tank looks even better in person. It's quite interesting to watch the killis interact with each other. 

Nice job SwimmyD


----------



## SwimmyD

*Thanks!*

Thanks for the compliments Ric and Scott! You made my day!
Funny enough it is actually Scottmando who is entirely responsible for my killifish addiction! If I had not seen his beautiful little Australe and gardneri, I never would have remembered that I used to have a killifish when I was a kid! I hadn't seen any in the LFS, so didn't even think about them! But I noticed in the last few months they are getting more common. I've seen them in Finnatics, and also at BA's! And what I didn't say is that I went and bought 21 clown killies from BA's last week because I saw and fell in love with KMM's clowns! She had a whole giant school in her community tank! (She has a picture of one on this thread). They are in quarantine at present, and will need to grow a bit before I put them in the community tank...otherwise they will become a lobaye lunch! I may have to put the chaperi pike/shark thing somewhere else too. I'm don't think he will tolerate the clowns.

As for rainbow/killi keepers there are definitely some similarities with these hobbiests. We seem to like uncommon and "different" fish. And most "specialist" keepers of these types of fish are very particular about location and strain. And they also trade/sell eggs on aquabid! When Greg and I started with the rainbows we didn't know any of this though. We just went for the prettiest bows we saw available! But Ric- you have some awesome killi people in Calgary! You could very easily set yourself up with a very pretty tank. And no heater needed! They have similar behaviours to rainbows in many ways- which is why I think you would like them too!


----------



## Scotmando

*Fundulopanchax deltaensis killifish*

So... My Fundulopanchax deltaensis also came out of hiding!

Their new home is a 5g tank with a cryptocoryne pontederiifolia plant in a terracotta pot, a big handfull of subwassertang, a mop & an air stone, no filter.

I was advise by Greg Niedzielski to keep an eye on the male because he can get quite aggressive. I'm experiencing exactly the opposite. He a real gentleman, which I like. But for heavens sake, make a move guy! I wanna see some action! And some eggs!

I'm also feeding fruit flies & some earthworms, which they devour.

*I was the last number, #26 at the SOKS BBQ, but I still got the only pair of fundulopanchax deltaensis!*

*The Lovely Pair of Fundulopanchax deltaensis *









*Male Fundulopanchax deltaensis*


----------



## Scotmando

Goto the SOKS BBQ thread to see My Fundulopanchax avichang geml 00-16


----------



## Kmm

I love these guys!
They were on my list, but like SwimmyD I quickly became 'verklempt' upon actually getting my reds and just couldn't think after that. Plus I left my 'list' at home…


----------



## SwimmyD

Yes those deltaensis are really pretty. I really like them. Glad to hear the male is not tearing up the female. I hope you get eggs soon!


----------



## greg

*Epiplatys chaperi "Angona"*



















Here's a picture of SwimmyD's chaperi pair which are in our community killifish tank. The male is a bit of a fin nipper although the australes will nip right back if he tries it on them.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion australe*

Aphyosemion australe "spotless"









Aphyosemion australe "gold"









Sizing each other up









These two australe battle for the front centre of our killifish community tank. Currently the "spotless" is dominant.


----------



## Scotmando

I love that spotless!!!


----------



## RevoBuda

Are there any members currently selling Killifish? I am looking to get into them since I have had to dismantle my discus tank


----------



## peterd

What types of killies interest you?


----------



## RevoBuda

Fundulopanchax sjoestedti
Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus
Nothobranchius rachovii Beira 

Thx 8)


----------



## characinfan

BBC just put out an article about killies from Mozambique -- the vertebrates with the shortest generation time in the world.


----------



## Jelly

RevoBuda said:


> Fundulopanchax sjoestedti
> Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus
> Nothobranchius rachovii Beira
> 
> Thx 8)


I picked up 4 Fundulopanchax gardneri "nigerianum killi" (2 M - 2 F) from finatics aquarium in Mississauga today.


----------



## Jelly

I managed to grab a quick pic


----------



## Jelly

Here's another pic


----------



## SwimmyD

Very nice Jelly! Now these two killies are different- is the top one a gardneri lakoja? And the second a nigerianus? They both look lovely. Are these your first killies? Or do you have more? I love gardneri! They are still my favourite killi in terms of personality! And their colours are so vibrant!


----------



## Jelly

These are my first killifish. I picked up 4 from finatics in Mississauga. 

They were all supposed to be nigerianus, but two look different. I will try and snap so more pics.


----------



## SwimmyD

Did you get 4 males or 2 pairs? I think both these types are killies are nigerianus (ie from Nigeria) but they are different locations. I am pretty sure the one with blue spots on his anal fin and the white line on his lower caudal fin is a lakoja. He is very pretty. He looks like this right? 
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/month.200805/jpg00005.jpg

And the other one also looks like a nigerianus - with his yellow and red anal and caudal fin stripe on the bottom. There are a quite a few other locations that look like this- the jos plateau, the innidere, and more.

At any rate I'm betting you are going to love them. They get more and more beautiful as they mature. My biggest male has become quite a sight - he has long yellow fin extensions on his tail now. What kind of tank do you have them in? Do you have them with other fish? Or alone?


----------



## Jelly

I have two pairs. I wasn't looking to breed them so I put them in my planted 47g community tank. They now room with a Pleco, some albino corys, a couple of real SAE and a handful of baby guppies.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion ogoense*

Received a beautiful pair of Aphyosemion ogoesne GHP 80-24 from a fellow SOKS member this past weekend. They are still a little shy in their new surroundings but I managed to snap a few pictures.




























I also have one fry and 5 or 6 eyed up eggs in tupperware containers so hopefully will have good colony of these beautiful fish soon. The adults are currently in a 20g heavily planted tank so I am hoping additional fry will start appearing in a few weeks. One concern is that the hardness in the planted tank is 300ppm which is a little high although a good portion of that would be due to the fertilizers I add, as KH is only 4. Hopefully it will be suitable for breeding.

P.S. The next SOKS (Southern Ontario Kllifish Society) meeting is at my place on November 10th.


----------



## fishead

The Fp. gardneri labelled as nigerianus is a commercial Aquarium strain from Asia. It throws all different colours. Very pretty for community tanks but do not attach a location to it. It is definately not Fp. Nigerianus Lokoja. The only other Fp. Gardneri in Finatics right now is Fp. gardneri Innidere. 

This weekend Finatics will be getting more killis 

Aphyosemion Australe Chocolate
Fp. sjoestedi (Blue Gularis)
Fp. Gardneri Nigerianus Lokoja ( the real ones)
Notho. foerschi 

Maybe others from the breeder buut nothing confirmed right now.


----------



## SwimmyD

Thanks for clarifying that fishead! And thanks for the fabulous talk on chromaphyosemions on Sunday at the SOKS meeting! It was GREAT!


----------



## SwimmyD

Jelly said:


> I have two pairs. I wasn't looking to breed them so I put them in my planted 47g community tank. They now room with a Pleco, some albino corys, a couple of real SAE and a handful of baby guppies.


Sound great Jelly- but some of your baby guppies might go missing!


----------



## Scotmando

SwimmyD said:


> Thanks for clarifying that fishead! And thanks for the fabulous talk on chromaphyosemions on Sunday at the SOKS meeting! It was GREAT!


How often do you have SOKS meetings? Do you have a website or a Facebook page?


----------



## Jelly

SwimmyD said:


> Sound great Jelly- but some of your baby guppies might go missing!


I figured they would. My killifish are small guys at this point, so I will have to transfer those guppies soon.


----------



## greg

Scotmando said:


> How often do you have SOKS meetings? Do you have a website or a Facebook page?


Hi Scott. The meetings take place the second sunday of every second month - so the next meeting is November 10th.

At this past meeting everyone present agreed to put in place a $10.00 membership fee, although anyone interested can check out two meetings for free, before being asked to join and pay a membership fee. The membership fee is to help pay costs associated with activities such as bringing in boxes of fish from Quebec or the U.S. for sale to members. Previously individual members were fronting the costs associated with these sorts of activities.

A typical meeting includes lots of informal talk about killifish, a presentation on a related topic and an auction. Checking out the hosts tanks/fish is also a fun part of each meeting.

D and I use the SOKS facebook group to keep up with club news. There is also a SOKS YAhoo group.


----------



## greg

*Michigan Killifish Association Show & Auction*

D and I just got back from the MKA show, box sale and auction held this past weekend in Troy Michigan. The Michigan members were great hosts and we learned a ton this weekend from their members as well as other attending killifish enthusiasts.

Here's a couple of phone pics that turned out alright.

Scriptaphyosemion geryi Manferyia - we were successful bidding for this pair in the auction 









Nothobranchius hassoni Bukeya DRCH 08-10









Aphyiosemion australe Gold - a little fuzzy but I want to show you the great extensions on this fish!


----------



## Scotmando

Very Nice Scriptaphyosemion geryi Manferyia.

Anybody else from GTA attended this event?


----------



## greg

Scotmando said:


> Very Nice Scriptaphyosemion geryi Manferyia.
> 
> Anybody else from GTA attended this event?


bluegularis, fishead, peterd, swimmyd and myself attended so gtaaquaria was well represented.

Here's a photo I took earlier tonight with my phone of the male Aphyosemion ogoense I got a few weeks ago from one of our local killifish breeders.


----------



## Bwhiskered

Sounds like it was a great event.


----------



## Scotmando

greg said:


> bluegularis, fishead, peterd, swimmyd and myself attended so gtaaquaria was well represented.


Well represented indeed!


greg said:


> Here's a photo I took earlier tonight with my phone of the male Aphyosemion ogoense I got a few weeks ago from one of our local killifish breeders.


What a graceful looking beauty, your Aphyosemion ogoense.

So many wonderful events in our fish world.

I would have loved to gone as well, but I was in attendance at the London Show & Auction in Dorchester, Ontario, Sunday Sept 29, 2013

One of my 7 entries, a male Fundulopanchax Gardneri innidere won  1ST PLACE  in the Class 11 Killifish category.

And... not only 1ST, he took home  BEST EGG LAYER AWARD  too. Woot! Woot!

*1st place*
Killifish - Fundulopanchax gardneri innidere









*Best Egg Layer - (same guy)*
Killifish - Fundulopanchax gardneri innidere









He was champion on show day, all coloured up & fins flared. I an very proud of him.

I also took home another 1st Place for my 'Lemon Jake' Peacock and three 2nd Place finishes. You can view the others on The Auction & Show Thread #176

6 wins on a total of 7 entries at London. I was in shock!

Enjoy.


----------



## peterd

Congratulations on your best egg layer win! It's great to see killies doing well in shows. Good looking fish!


----------



## bettaforu

Wow those are very nice fish. 

Does the gov allow killifish to be imported from the US and Asia? What about eggs, can we get them sent in the mail? I see lots advertised but would like to know other members opinions on going this route?

My male Killi, a Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus Misaje is constantly 
chasing the female, never leaves her alone, so I think I might need another female to give her a break, anyone have one for sale?

He lays on top of her and wiggles, is this courtship or what, not sure if they are laying eggs or not while doing this. I put a mop in the tank (its got some plants already in it) but they just ignored it.

I would be interested in attending the next meeting too, please post the time address etc.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Greg - sent you a PM


----------



## Bwhiskered

ksimdjembe said:


> Greg - sent you a PM


I don't see a PM.


----------



## greg

Scotmando said:


> 6 wins on a total of 7 entries at London. I was in shock!


Wow, what a great showing!



bettaforu said:


> Does the gov allow killifish to be imported from the US and Asia? What about eggs, can we get them sent in the mail? I see lots advertised but would like to know other members opinions on going this route?
> 
> I would be interested in attending the next meeting too, please post the time address etc.


My understanding is that an "Importers Declaration of Ownership for Pet Aquatic Animals Form" must be completed only for susceptible species, such as guppies, dwarf gouramis etc. Ie. you can bring them in but must sign that they are going into your own aquarium etc. Killifish are not on this list so there are no restrictions as far as I know if you are bringing them in for personal use. I brought in 20+ this past weekend, no problems. The other attendees also brought back fish - one had no issues, the other had to show them to the border agency but a quick look and he was through as well.

The next meeting of SOKS is at my place, November 10th at 1:00 p.m.


----------



## SwimmyD

bettaforu said:


> Wow those are very nice fish.
> 
> Does the gov allow killifish to be imported from the US and Asia? What about eggs, can we get them sent in the mail? I see lots advertised but would like to know other members opinions on going this route?
> 
> My male Killi, a Fundulopanchax Gardneri Nigerianus Misaje is constantly
> chasing the female, never leaves her alone, so I think I might need another female to give her a break, anyone have one for sale?
> 
> He lays on top of her and wiggles, is this courtship or what, not sure if they are laying eggs or not while doing this. I put a mop in the tank (its got some plants already in it) but they just ignored it.
> 
> I would be interested in attending the next meeting too, please post the time address etc.


Hi there, Most of our fish come directly from breeders at SOKS meetings, and shows. We had no problems bringing our new fish across the border. They guy asked about them, we told him the history of killifish. He let us go through.

As for your Misaje, yes, they are spawning, and yes they are laying eggs in that mop. Killies are very interesting when they spawn. The male wraps his dorsal fins around the female, and they wiggle out one egg at a time. If you don't remove the mops, then they will happily have caviar for lunch. You need to pick those eggs out of the mop every day.

There are MANY methods for rearing the eggs into fry. Many people put them in margarine tubs with water and an aldercone or a drop of methalyne blue to prevent fungusing. You need to watch the eggs daily and remove the cloudy white ones that are not fertilized. As the fry grow you see the eggs eye up and usually they hatch in 2 weeks or so. Depends on the species - you need to look that up. You may also need to partially change that water the eggs are in every few days. Once your fry hatch they need to be put in small containers with some hornwort and a small snail, and fed bbs, micro worms or vinegar eels if they are really small. Again - depends on the species. Most fundolopanchax are bigger though, and can eat bbs right away. You need to keep on top of regular water changes for your fry in that little shoebox-sized container. Feed enough so that they eat several times a day - but not enough to pollute the water - thats where the snails help. You keep on moving them to bigger containers until they finally can get a tank of their own. Its TONS OF FUN watching babies grow!!

You most likely can get lots of fry from your one pair. The possibility exists by having a trio that the female not involved in spawning will be waiting for an early lunch. So you can get more eggs from a pair. Just make sure there are plenty of hiding spots for that female. But be aware that killies do a lot of breeding!!

As the SOKS meeting nears, we will post our address info by PM. 
D


----------



## SwimmyD

*Two fish in one!!*

Congrats Scottmando! Great news!!! Killifish RULE! LOL!

Okay folks, I have something COOL to share. My awesome powder blue gularis loves TWO things: Wednesdays (water change day) and SUNLIGHT. Now that the seasons have changed, the sunlight streams into his tank for about an hour every morning. He takes on a completely different hue, and becomes this awesome rusty red colour. He swims from one end of the tank to the other, posturing for his girl, and feeling really good! Here are the pictures to prove!

Regular overhead lights:



























Sunlight:



























SEE!!! I HAVE 2 FISH IN ONE!


----------



## Kmm

That is so cool for you Scotmando and isn't your Gularis quite the magician Dominique!
I have a cool killi picture here too&#8230;

This is why killis always have a smile on their faces&#8230;they always get their girl.


----------



## bettaforu

My Misaje totally ignored the mop I put in, they didn't even go near it. 

They seem to like a spot right under the filter area where there is an indentation in the soil from the flow. They constantly are in this pit and he's wrapping her like a betta male does.

Ive seen them doing this in the back corner of the tank too, so maybe one of these days I will have little baby fish swimming around my tank 

Im already hatching ram fry right now in the same method...they are just at the freeswimming stage today.

Great I hope to attend the next meet. Love your Blue Gularis.


----------



## ksimdjembe

those are beautiful blue gularis! wow!


----------



## greg

*Callopanchax occidentalis Mangata GM 97-3*

Here's a another species of killifish we picked up at the Michigan show. There are two pairs located in a 15g tank with a glass partition separating each pair. The tank contains java moss, hornwort, almond leaves and spawning mops.


----------



## Kmm

*My litter of puppies*

Or better known as Fundupolanchax Gardneri Jos Plateau
Not a great photo but they hover there staring at me all day while I am on my computer - until finally I cave and play or feed them.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion primigenium GEB 94-21*

We have three pairs of these A. primigeniums. One from the SOKS BBQ draw in the summer and two we were just sent from the breeder, in Quebec.

One pair is in our community killifish tank and the other two pairs share a 10g tank, hence the tattered anal fin of the one male. We will be putting a divider in the tank soon and are hoping to breed them.


----------



## Scotmando

*Fundulopanchax avichang GEML 00/16*

 I lost my female Fundulopanchax avichang GEML 00/16 the other day. I don't know what happened. I did get a few eggs, but none hatched.

If anyone has a female or know of one, please let me know. Thanks

Here's a photo of the pair.










All my other Killifish are doing great.


----------



## greg

*Killifish 40g Community Tank Update*










Currently home to:

Aphyosemion australe 'gold'
Aphyosemion australe 'orange'
Aphyosemion australe 'orange spotless'
Aphyosemion lamberti
Aphyosemion sp. Lobaye
Aphyosemion primigenium GEB 94-21
Aphyosemion campomaaense ABK 07-181
Aphyosemion ottogartneri Luetete
Aphyosemion elberti N'tui
Epiplatys annulatus
Funulopanchax avichang Nguba GEML 00-16

Generally the tank inhabitants seem to get along fairly well. The most tension occurs between the four male Lobaye who spar frequently, flaring their gills and racing back and forth across the front. The Lobaye do cause some damage to one anothers fins, although nothing too serious.


----------



## SwimmyD

Scotmando said:


> I lost my female Fundulopanchax avichang GEML 00/16 the other day. I don't know what happened. I did get a few eggs, but none hatched.
> 
> If anyone has a female or know of one, please let me know. Thanks
> 
> All my other Killifish are doing great.


Sorry to hear that Scottmando! Sadly, our female avachang died the day after arrival. She didn't look good in the bag, and I didn't think she'd make it. They were a really hot commodity down at the michigan show. I wanted 2 pairs, but could only get my hands on one. Now my poor guy is a bachelor like yours! They are such pretty fish too!


----------



## ksimdjembe

What a great thread! Killies look awesome!

Anyone want to sell me some Fundulopanchax gardneri eggs or fish (preferably fish)?

If anyone has some they are willing to part with, shoot me a PM.


----------



## greg

*Scriptahyosemion geryi Manferyia*

The male is bright red under the lower lip. The red gets darker and darker gradually towards the tail.




























The pair are currently in a 5g tank although I hope to move them to a 20g heavily planted tank soon.

I'm trying to determine how to drip around 5g a day of RO water into my 5 connected planted tanks to soften the water a bit so that it's more ideal for hatching out the fry in a species tank. Currently I am dripping about 15g a day of filtered tap water into the system and I will reduce this to 10g a day if I can figure out how to drip 5gpd of RO. I have no experience with RO and am uncertain whether or not I can simply choke back the output on a 40gpd RO system with an air valve to 5gpd. This is what I do with the filtered water and its been working well for a year. RO seems more compliated because of the two output lines - RO water and waste water. Would love to hear advice on this from someone with experience on RO systems.


----------



## bettaforu

Here's a pic of my new guys.










I know its a Northobranchius, I believe its called Cardinalis?

This pic was taken with the flash, but without it, he is a dark red all over with blue dorsal and caudal fin trimmed in white. The flash makes him look green but he's more red with blue. Tiny little guy but really cool 

this is more what he looks like without the flash.


----------



## SwimmyD

bettaforu said:


> Here's a pic of my new guys.
> I know its a Northobranchius, I believe its called Cardinalis?
> 
> This pic was taken with the flash, but without it, he is a dark red all over with blue dorsal and caudal fin trimmed in white. The flash makes him look green but he's more red with blue. Tiny little guy but really cool


He's very pretty! Nothos are fun! They are very bold - and not afraid of much! Do you have a pair?


----------



## bettaforu

SwimmyD I got 2 pairs. The 2 males were challenging each other a lot. Its a bare bottom 10 gallon, so I added some moss and a couple pieces of driftwood in places and floating plants on top. So far the males are both in different areas and the 2 females are just swimming around.

I will move one pair out to another tank. I heard these are peat spawners, so how do I set up a tank with peat (won't it float?)

Never done this before so any advice on how to set one up would be much appreciated.

IF they are OK in a regular soil tank maybe I can make a peat dish or something to add in the tank for them.


----------



## SwimmyD

*How to breed Nothos*



bettaforu said:


> SwimmyD I got 2 pairs. The 2 males were challenging each other a lot. Its a bare bottom 10 gallon, so I added some moss and a couple pieces of driftwood in places and floating plants on top. So far the males are both in different areas and the 2 females are just swimming around.
> 
> I will move one pair out to another tank. I heard these are peat spawners, so how do I set up a tank with peat (won't it float?)
> 
> Never done this before so any advice on how to set one up would be much appreciated.
> 
> IF they are OK in a regular soil tank maybe I can make a peat dish or something to add in the tank for them.


Hi! Great you got two pairs! Yes, I would separate them. Male nothos dont like each other much. And they get worse as they get older too. Sometimes male nothos are just as mean to females - again they get worse as they get older. All they think about is breeding and eating. They dont have long to live - maybe a year or so - sometimes a little more if conditions are perfect - so the males are busy trying to breed as much as possible - whether the female wants to or not. My male state farm nearly killed my female...he was relentless - but then he died quickly after - so I think he was old!!!

Anyways, my foerschi are much tamer. The male is not very aggressive, and my females are always in good shape- no torn fins and ripped scales. But they are only middle aged. Plus - my male has two females to choose from! I put in hornwort for them to escape if needed. Keep the tank bare bottom. If there is any substrate - your killies will spawn in it. You want to provide them with a place to breed so you can collect the eggs.

Get yourself some peat pellets with no added fertilizer. Let one soak in water in a small plastic container you get from the grocery store, and it will puff up in its fibrous bag. Tear the bag and take it out the next day, and let the peat settle in the water for another day or so. 
I use jiffy peat pellets I get from Walmart.









Then, to help stop some of the floating peat, pour it into a fine mesh net and squeeze it out with your hands. I used aged or distilled water. Put the blob of peat back in the container and add a couple of small stones to weigh it down. Cut a hole in the lid so that the fish can swim in and out of the container and breed, but the edges of the lid keep most of the peat in the dish. Add some water to fill up the container almost to the brim.










VERY SSSLLLOOOOWWLLYYYYY put the peat dish into the tank. The slower you go, the less peat goes everywhere. But it will.... See???










In a day or so it all settles, and the fish can see in and out, swim in and out and it looks more like this:










After 2 or 3 or 4 weeks (I'm lazy - only every 4 weeks) you dump the peat from the container into a fine mesh net. I like to rinse with aged or distilled water. Squeeze the net with your hand, then with a paper towel or towel. The peat will be moist. Some killi breeders use newspapers to dry out the peat to the right moisture level.










Once you have squeezed it you should see some eggs hopefully. But some nothos have extremely tiny eggs, so you might see nothing! Here you can see an egg at the tip of my finger.










Put the peat in a ziplock bag (or fish bag), date it, and roll it up to get most of the air out. Put it in a dark closet for 4 to 6 months - depends on the species - and you have to look that up, or ask a successful breeder. Every type of notho is different. And breeders all have slightly different methods too.










Once the required amount of time has passed, you wet the peat slowly. Greg ordered some Simpsonicthys santanae from France, and we wetted the peat only a couple of weeks ago. The fish hatched within 2 hours. You can literally watch these annual type species hatch in front of your eyes. It is pretty amazing. Depending upon the species, they may need infusoria for a few days. We have been feeding our fry vinegar eels and bbs. If the fry dont hatch, then you squeeze the peat again, and store it for another few weeks or month. Then you repeat the process. The fish are completely developed within the eggs, but they have the ability to go into "diapause". They will hatch when the right conditions are met (in the wild- the rainy season).

I have a bag of notho kafuensis kayuni state farm eggs that a nice killi enthusiast gave me at the Michigan show. I will be able to wet the peat on December 25th. I cant wait! The state farm was a gorgeous fish. I'm hoping I will have them longer than the last time. By the way - you can tell a notho is getting old when the male is fairly big and has a hump on his head. I will only buy tiny nothos or eggs from now on, although breeders often buy the show specimens they want, and just start collecting eggs immediately....

And - by the way - I am no means a killi specialist. So if any of you expert killi breeders want to add something or correct something - Please share!!!
Thanks!! D


----------



## Scotmando

Very informative SwimmyD. Thank you!

I have a notho foerschi pair & they are breeding. I have been using a mini mop with little success, so I'll try the 'peat in a tub' deal & see what comes of it.


----------



## peterd

SwimmyD, great job with the peat spawner information and with pictures too!


----------



## bettaforu

Hi SwimmyD, that made excellent sense to me. I will go tomorrow and get some peat pellets.

No bumps on heads, they are still very small looking to me about the size of a male guppy.

Unfortunately after looking them up it appears I have 4 males...all happily sharing my 10 gallon tank with lots of hidey spots in the driftwood/moss 

Anyone got a girl? I will happily trade a male for a female with someone.


----------



## SwimmyD

bettaforu said:


> Hi SwimmyD, that made excellent sense to me. I will go tomorrow and get some peat pellets.
> 
> No bumps on heads, they are still very small looking to me about the size of a male guppy.
> 
> Unfortunately after looking them up it appears I have 4 males...all happily sharing my 10 gallon tank with lots of hidey spots in the driftwood/moss
> 
> Anyone got a girl? I will happily trade a male for a female with someone.


Sorry to hear that you have all males B4U. Did you get them from the LFS? If so, that may explain it. I've heard that a lot of the Asian exporters do not ship females. I've also heard that some overseas breeders add hormones to the water to turn them all into males! Any female nothos that I've seen so far are completely devoid of colour, but I'm no expert..

I personally don't know anyone with N. cardinalis, but that doesn't mean much. Maybe at the next SOKS meet there might be someone? If you have all boys and no girls they might behave themselves a bit better (with enough hiding spots).

Apparently it's the sight of females that drive them into aggressive little competitors. But who knows? My little lone male guentheri was a good little fishy in my community tank and then I did some change ups 2 weeks ago and he turned from a cute little puppy into a pit-bull. I had to pull him out and he now resides with the big fish (my nigerianus innidere gardneri). Now he's trying to impress the smaller female gardneri! Silly fish! He's turned back into the tank's puppy dog!

Swimmin' with the big boyz now!!









He's a puppy to me because he has HUGE pectorals and swims like a clown fish!!







[/url]


----------



## SwimmyD

peterd said:


> SwimmyD, great job with the peat spawner information and with pictures too!


Thanks peterd! I learned from the best!



Scotmando said:


> Very informative SwimmyD. Thank you!
> 
> I have a notho foerschi pair & they are breeding. I have been using a mini mop with little success, so I'll try the 'peat in a tub' deal & see what comes of it.


Thanks! Good luck! We can compare notes!!


----------



## greg

*Fry Nursery*










This idea came about for a few reasons. First I was worried about overfeeding my killifish fry in the usual tupperware containers leading to mass casualties due to poor water conditions - or alternatively underfeeding leading to poor growth. Secondly, while at the Michigan Killifish event I overhead someone talking about their grow out containers which had been rigged to drip from one to next and then into a larger vat of water and finally via a pump back to the beginning. The vat of water offered a buffer to the water conditions. So this got me thinking about how to set up an ideal system for raising lots of fry while having a larger buffer of water and perhaps filtration and aeration as well.

The above (pictured) accomplishes my goals. I can put up to 6 large Marina hang on the side breeder boxes on the 15g tank. The 15g tank offers huge buffering capacity as well as the ability to have filtration and great aeration - both from the filter and the drips into the breeder boxes. It will also allow easy water changes without disturbing the fry.

Currently I have A. garderni in the front left box from two different hatch dates with a plastic divider between them. In the front right box are A. ogoense from two different hatch dates. Due to the small size of the fry on the right I have substituted a foam divider for their safety as well as foam in front of the overflow to prevent them from being washed into the 15g tank. The box on the right contains S. santanae fry.

I have noticed a big increase in growth rates since starting this system as I can now feed them frequently and good quantities without fear of contaminating the water.

For a killifish newbie like me this setup offers peace of mind!


----------



## bettaforu

great idea Greg....that's how I raise my Taiwan shrimp babies too....feed them up with good protein food and when they are 3 weeks old, into the main tank they go. I feel that you are giving the babies/fish/shrimps alike a
better start to their lives and in my opinion it makes them more stronger and healthier all round.

My Ram fry are done virtually the same way, hatched in a big container with airstone and fungus medicine and then transferred into a 2.5 gallon at a week old then into a bigger tank as they grow. I have been told my rams are much bigger than other people's at the same age.

I will hopefully be getting some eggs to try to hatch soon, so this has been very informative for me. Please keep us posted on how your babies do.


----------



## Scotmando

Awesome idea with the Marina breeder boxes. I also use these but have one per tank. I love the fact you can fit 6 on a 15g. There is an overflow slot in the middle & I've had to put a screen in front due to my larger guppy fry tying to escape back into the main tank. You should check it out, 'cause if you've got different Killies in all those breeder boxes, they could jump back through the slot & get mixed up in the main tank.

Did you get your Marina hang on breeder boxes at Angelfins?

They've got the best price on them.

Cheers


----------



## greg

Scotmando said:


> Awesome idea with the Marina breeder boxes. I also use these but have one per tank. I love the fact you can fit 6 on a 15g. There is an overflow slot in the middle & I've had to put a screen in front due to my larger guppy fry tying to escape back into the main tank. You should check it out, 'cause if you've got different Killies in all those breeder boxes, they could jump back through the slot & get mixed up in the main tank.
> 
> Did you get your Marina hang on breeder boxes at Angelfins?
> 
> They've got the best price on them.
> 
> Cheers


I had used one one of the Marina breeder boxes on the adult A. ogoense tanks, however ran into a few problems. Killifish, of course, are prolific jumpers, so the lid needs to be tight fitting and it's difficult to do this with a breeder box hanging on the side.

The breeder boxes most definitely came from *AngelFins* - I buy everything possible from them. Just saw them and their lovely new daughter last week 

Thanks for the tip on the center emergency overflow. I had not noticed it before. The water in all my boxes is about 6-7 mm below this overflow so I think I'm safe while the fry are young. If some make it over once they are older shouldn't be a problem since there are no predators in the 15g.

Here's a few pics of the fry in the breeder boxes

Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus Innidere (1cm fry in first two pics, 2cm in third)



























Aphyosemion ogoense ogoense GHP 80-24 (1cm fry)









Simpsonicthys santanae Santana Creek NP-07 (0.5cm fry - bottom right  )


----------



## greg

*Moody Blue*

Our Blue Gularis is a bit on the lazy side. The female typically gets 90% of the food we feed them. Unless it falls in front of his mouth he usually cannot be bothered going after it. We caught him lazing in this strange pose a few nights ago and he stayed like that for over an hour.

Fundulopanchax sjoestedi


----------



## Kmm

The Chroma Volcanum from the show. Very small but starting to colour up. She is very shy but he is out most of the time.

And this is the A. Ogoense Ottogartneri - they are a nice trio.


----------



## Kmm

*You May now call me MR Blue*










Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get a pair of Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti from peterd. They have been a really nice fish to own. While every fish is a favorite he is quite special. So I hesitated to take him to the show - I didn't want to stress him. But as you can see, he is no wallflower. He stayed bright all day and wowed the crowd.
He is quite proud of himself.


----------



## bettaforu

That had to be the Most impressive fish I have ever seen....I was hoping someone would forget about him and I could take him home, but sadly he was rescued by his owner and I lost out.....darn....maybe next time 

I WANT one of those!!!!


----------



## Scotmando

Kmm said:


> Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get a pair of Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti from peterd. They have been a really nice fish to own. While every fish is a favorite he is quite special. So I hesitated to take him to the show - I didn't want to stress him. But as you can see, he is no wallflower. He stayed bright all day and wowed the crowd.
> He is quite proud of himself.


He is a handsome Killifish!

Tropical fish are very resilient and can take a day off to make their owners proud at a Fish Show. I have never lost a fish in a show or travelling to & from.

Congrats.


----------



## greg

🏆 Congratulations to Kmm and Mr. Blue 🏆 

Killifish were well represented at Oktoberfish with 18 entries.


----------



## SwimmyD

*Excitement in Milwaukee*

Hi Everyone! Greg and I are here at the Wisconsin Area Killifish Organization (WAKO) show and auction! Our son is home from university this weekend and promised to feed our fish fry so we could go away! Lucky us! It took us quite a while to get here, but was well worth the trip.

This show has got to be the most amazing fish show we've ever seen. We were told by several out of towners that this is "the show" to be at in the US! It draws some if the best breeders of killifish out there. There are literally hundreds of entries and and 15 classes of Killies. Today there were 3 great presentations, a "box sale" and the show. As Greg and I walked up and down the aisles of fish, we realized that we need more tanks!! Our list of "wants" is growing!

The folks here are so friendly, and have gone out of their way to make us feel at home. It's truly a great place to be!. At the end of the day they provided us with dinner and lots of beer! I'm posting some pictures here to give you a small sample of what we've seen. Tomorrow is the auction, and we are hoping to pick up a few more fish to round out our collection. 
Amazing show!









A. Diapteron Fulgens









F. Nigerianus innidere 1st place









F. Nigerianus Jos plateau 2nd place









A. celiae celiae 1st place









N. Rachovii Beira 98 2nd place









Scriptaphyosemion schmitti jurazon


----------



## ksimdjembe

*filtration*

What do you killifish lovers like to use for filtration? Or do you use any at all?
I have seen some photos with aquaclear 20s, but I would imagine it would depend on species kept and size of tank?


----------



## Bwhiskered

A sponge filter is all that is needed for most killies as many of them come from still pools.


----------



## Scotmando

So, so, so! Whadya get at da Auction in Milwaukee?


----------



## greg

Above is the haul from Milwaukee. The first place ribbon top left is a pair we picked up for peterd. We also got a few items for Kmm. For ourselves we picked up A. celiae celiae Mambanda, FP. nigerianus garderni Innidere to expand our gene pool, A. elberti Diang yellow, A. amoenum Sakebayeme among others.

Next SOKS meet is at our house November 17th 1:00 pm, so you can check them out in person. Attendees should pm me for an address. You can attend two meetings for free, after which there is a $10 membership fee.


----------



## SwimmyD

*SOKS meeting Nov 17th*

Do you have a killifish? Do you wish you had one? Do you want to meet people who keep and breed killifish? Do you want to buy one? Would you like to learn more? Here is your chance GTAA members!

Come out to a Southern Ontario Killifish Society meeting this Sunday November 17th at 1:00 pm in Mississauga. Meetings are every 2 months on average. First two meetings are free, then a nominal fee to join (used to import new fish for the club).

Meeting at Greg and SwimmyD's home. PM SwimmyD or Greg for address!!


----------



## vip3r87

Poor picture, but picked this guy and his girlfriend up from Anna (bettaforu) a week ago. Was going to have them in their own 5gal tank but it wasn't ready at the time. Threw them both in my 35g planted tank and they seem to be doing fine! They always stay close together, its kind of cute actually.

The male is always swirling around the female and they are hanging low behind my plants near the substrate at times...is this a sign they are spawning?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## vip3r87

click pic for vid of the 2


----------



## SwimmyD

Your gardneri killifish looks very handsome! And yes- I agree its really cute the way they follow each other around. A lot of my killies do that. Especially the ones in pairs. Add in a few more killifish though, and then they start to spar a bit. Which is fine for the mildly aggressive ones like these- but a few species like gularis - you would never want to add more males.

Yes, they are probably breeding. You may want to put a yarn mop down for them to breed in. Lots of mine like to sit under the mop to sleep or rest anyways. However, they may not use the mop at all - either to breed or sleep in. Depends on the fish, and the tank. Mops are useful if you wish to pick out the eggs and have them hatch in a safe place away from predators. Or, you could just enjoy the adults swimming around your tank! Fry usually get eaten by other fish, unless you have dense plants throughout the tank.

Here is a picture of my most recent addition. He is a F. Nigerianus Innidere male. He won first place in his category at the WAKO show in Milwaukee. I got this pair because I want the gene pool to be diversified in my innidere population, and he was a stunner! So I have him in the "love shack" with his mate. Once I get some fry out of these two, I will start crossing with the best of my present strain. So far so good! I'm getting lots of eggs! They are sitting in a little tub of water with an alder cone to prevent fungus.


----------



## PPulcher

Wow, nice fish SwimmyD. I'm just getting back into the hobby after a bit of a hiatus. Let me know when you've got some of that location of gardneri for sale! I've kept garner 'Lafia' and 'Nsukka' in the past.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion primigenium GEB 94-21*



















We have two pairs of the primigenium - they are in a single 10 gallon tank with a glass divider separating each pair. So this allows for some great displays but no fighting between the males.

We are getting some egg production, although the females are eating most of the eggs immediately. We are raising daphnia in the hopes of distracting them from the eggs. Fishead suggested trying white mops so that they cannot find the eggs so easily - we've bought the yarn, just need to make the mops...


----------



## mistersprinkles

GORGEOUS Killis!!


----------



## greg

*Callonpanchax occidentalis Mangata GM97-3*

My two pairs are showing a lot more colour these days. They are in a 15g tank, each pair separated by a glass divider. I've just added a jar with peat to one compartment, for them to spawn in. The first picture shows a male displaying to the female, while in the second he's in the jar, hoping the female will follow.



















Just a reminder the SOKS killifish meeting is tomorrow at my place, 1:00 to 5:00. Send a pm to SwimmyD or myself if you are attending and need the address.

Greg


----------



## Kmm

Those Callonpanchax are so unique Greg. I really enjoyed the SOKS meeting this month. Everyone there was in good spirits and not only did the auction have some exceptional specimens (check SOKS Facebook for the list posted by John) but SwimmyD provided excellent commentary, adding info and enthusiasm for each bag of fish! Move over Vanna White! 
Here are the two species I got.

Nothobranchius Guentheri Zanzibar & Fundulopanchax Filamentosum Ijebu Ode. Can't wait to see the F.F. pair grow!


----------



## greg

Very nice pics Kmm - I want to see a full tank shot of one of your tanks with oak leaves


----------



## greg

*Update on New Racks*

Picked up tanks from Miracles for the new racks! The first picture is my new fry tank. Eight breeder boxes on a 47" x 10" x 11" aquarium, which serves to buffer the water parameters for the fry. Current fry in the boxes includes A. ogoense, A. primigenium, A. celiae, Fp. gardneri, S. geryi and S. santanae









(SwimmyD's in the background feeding our fish)

Trying out some diy 6500k LED strip lights that I picked up for $13 per 5 metre strip.


----------



## Jackson

Looking good Greg 

WOW you two have really added lots since the summer. Fish tanks are taking over 

If you don't mind where did you grab the LED strips from?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kmm

Looks great! The cubes look great too. It's all coming together nicely.


----------



## greg

Jackson said:


> If you don't mind where did you grab the LED strips from?
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks, the tanks are slowly taking over our basement...

The LED strips came from Amazon.com. They are *Leder 3528 LED Strips* . They are indicated as waterproof. Colour indication is 6000-6500k. My initial impression is that one 5 meter strip can replace a single 36" T5HO. Haven't actually tested this....figured for $12.88 a strip it's worth a try. You also need a 12v transformer to run the strip.


----------



## greg

*Update on lighting for killifish tanks*










Just a quick update on the LED lights. Another killifish enthusiast, tijuanatoad asked me why I didn't choose the 5050 lights, (such as Leder 5050 LED Strips). I responded that I thought they might be too bright. An additional problem is that I cannot seem to find 5050 LED strips that are waterproof.

I decided to check the par value of the 3528 lights after he got me thinking about it and was surprised it was only 10 par, nine inches below the lights. I guess a combination of the weaker light plus the waterproof layer of silicone, leads to very low par values. I don't need a lot of light for killies, just enough to grow some floating hornwort and java moss, however 10 is a little low!

So I've switched the bottom tank to 5050 and it comes out at 40 par nine inches below the lights, which is a much more reasonable level. By way of comparison my T5HO single bulb fixtures are around 90, nine inches below the surface.

One drawback is the 5050 LED lights don't have a silicone layer for protection against moisture. The tanks have tight fitting lids though, so hopefully moisture/humidity won't be a problem...

Edit:
Update on the 3528. I removed the silicone from some cutoffs and wired it up. Par value without the silicone just rose by 4, so the waterproofing membrane does not significantly reduce the light being transmitted.


----------



## Kmm

Wow Greg - that is looking good! Very slick as usual! I covet my 'neighbours' fishroom!o
Can you post a close up of the glass lids you've made.
Also, have you checked eBay for the waterproof 5050's 
Here is what I have : 
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/5050-Waterpr...pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item19d185bd95&_uhb=1

I've never used a light meter on them and I feel they are not as bright as I would like, but they also don't throw heat like the fluorescent ! So that a bonus.

This is a photo of the paludarium when I first set it up (I think swimmyd has a photo from last week....
They look a little brighter in this photo than they actually are..


----------



## greg

Hey Kmm. SwimmyD loved the paludarium. Showed me the picture as soon as she got home.

On the topic of lights, I forgot to mention my criteria was also that they be around 6500k. I found some waterproof 5050 LEDs, but nothing close to that range. I think the closest I found were 8000k.

Can't wait to see all your new setup in person - hopefully soon.


----------



## Kmm

You made me think about that so I had to go back and check! Mine are 6700k - I was pretty sure but felt the need to confirm it! whew! Always keeping me on my toes Greg! 
I know you are busy but the updates are great. These kind of posts and details are very informative and inspirational. Thanks!


----------



## tijuanatoad

Hi Greg, I believe the LED strips come either unprotected, some protection with a thin epoxy coating and water resistant (not waterproof) with a silicone sleeve/tube. Was your 3528 enclosed in a silicone sleeve? If it did, than maybe that silicone layer decreased the Par value. 
Also, make sure your using a sufficient power adapter. From watching a youtube video it recommended 12V DC at 1 amp per metre of LED strip used eg 2 m strip needs 12V at 2 amps.


----------



## greg

*Killifish Tank Lids*

I've gotten a request on the thread for a closeup of the tank lids and I'm also getting quite a few pm's asking for details on them, so here's a few pics and a brief explanation.

My tank lids are by no means my invention - many in the hobby use something similar. The materials are simply glass and 'E' profile plastic extrusion which I bought from Miracles Aquariums (too bad no retailers carry it...).

Here's a picture of the two pieces of glass making up the tank lid along with the 'E' profile. Note the notches in one corner for the airline tubing.









Ready to be placed on tank









Front view of lid on tank. Front glass goes on upper rail of 'E' channel and easily glides back so you can feed or maintain the tank from the front opening. The assembly simply sits on the top lip of the tank, so of course accurate sizing is important to ensure it cannot slide sideways and into tank.









Closeup of back of tank with notch for heater (rainbow tank) and airline tubing.









Lid can be adapted to go side to side for long tanks. Here's a four piece lid for a 46" long tank. The middle two pieces of glass are on the top rail and the end pieces on the bottom rail. I can access any section of tank by sliding the pieces in the appropriate direction. For the side-to-side lids I silicone the back 'E' channel to the tank lip, so that when I want to remove the glass to clean it, it will stay in place and make the process easier









Tools I use are pictured below. The only items really needed are the glass cutter, cutting oil, sand paper and some sort of utility knife for cutting and notching the 'E' channel.
- the 'E' profile is cut with the hacksaw although a utility knife works
- sandpaper is used to take the edge off the glass to avoid cuts when handling the lids
- glass cutter is lubricated with the cutting oil and then used to score the glass
- the running pliers are used to start the break on smaller pieces if desired. For larges pieces I align the score with the edge of the work table, lift it up and snap it down quickly, which cleanly breaks the glass along the score line
- the green pliers are glass groziers for breaking of small bits if desired
- I also have a glass grinder because I do stained glass as a hobby. It's great for notching the corners. You can also just score the glass and break off a straight notch on the corners









I've been doing stained glass for 30 years so cutting glass is pretty straightforward for me. However, glass is dangerous to handle and severe injuries can easily result if mishandled. I buy 32 square foot sheets which are cut in three so each piece is 10+ square feet and this is difficult to handle properly if you are inexperienced. Also scoring and breaking the glass cleanly requires some practice so you will ruin some pieces if you try to cut glass for the first time for a tank lid. Personally I don't think it's the kind of skill you can easily develop by waching a youtube video. This is fine for drilling glass holes, but not so much for handling and cutting sheets of glass. You really need to have proper techniques demonstrated to you and get some sort of hands on instruction.

An alternative is to have your local glass and mirror shop cut the pieces for you and then buy the 'E' profile and finish the rest yourself. The cost of having them cut it for you is usually less than double the cost of doing the whole thing from scratch, so we are not looking at huge savings doing it yourself.

One other question I received was regarding grinding glass with a dremel style tool The grinder I use has a basin for water and the grinding head is impregnated with industrial diamonds. Similarly glass hole cutters have diamonds bonded to the surface and require water to lubricate and cool the glass. I have never used a dremel tip for glass so don't have any insight into the limitations or requirements of that technique. If you do decide to grind glass, safety glass are a must.

Hope this answers all the questions.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Hey killifish keepers, what are your thoughts on the usefulness of 2.5 gal and 3.5 gal tanks?


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion celiae celiae Mambanda 69*

This pair was also picked up at the Milwaukee WAKO show


















They seem to be prolific spawners. However, they are currently spawning on top of the foam filter and she's eating the eggs.

We had started to raise fry from the pair and then they were decimated by hydra. We actually saw 6-7mm long fry paralyzed within the tentacles of the hydra. So we've learned a valuable lesson and have adapted our technique slightly. I've mentioned using breeder boxes attached to a larger tank, which after a few months of use seem to have many advantages such as stable water parameters, ease of feeding fry sufficient food without affecting water quality, ease of water changes. The disadvantage of course is that I can't simply nuke the container the fry are in to eliminate hydra. I can treat the whole setup of course for hydra with flubendazole, but this seems to be a less than ideal option. So I've been using only almond leaves within the breeder boxes and no plants, although I have plants in the main tank to help with water quality. The hydra don't attach to to the almond leaves and when they attach to the side of the breeder box they are easily spotted and removed with a syringe. The leaf pieces provide hiding spots for the fry, so they seem comfortable without plant cover.



ksimdjembe said:


> Hey killifish keepers, what are your thoughts on the usefulness of 2.5 gal and 3.5 gal tanks?


We use a minimum tank size of 5 gallons. I can just say it reflects are current thoughts on what a minimum size should be having visited quite a few fish rooms and having spoken with quite a few killifish breeders. Im still a novice of course, so I can't really concretely state why smaller tanks are worse other than the obvious factors such as water quality being more difficult to manage.


----------



## ksimdjembe

It must be a water quality thing then. Less drastic swings with parameters. I've heard the ol timer killifish breeders used to go the small tank route, but maybe that's more for egg incubation, and early grow out. Also, maybe it was for nothos, vs aphyosemion sp. Annual vs non-annual ?


----------



## Bwhiskered

Hydra seems to show up when feeding live baby brine shrimp. Copper will kill hydra the same as it does snails but it can also kill fry. After fighting hydra for many years I have found the best solution is a natural one. Spixi Snails and Mystery snails will make short work of clearing a tank of hydra. I now throw a few Mystery snails into every fry tank as soon as I start to feed baby brine shrimp. That seems to stop them from getting a foot hold.


----------



## BillD

I have found that decapsulating the brine shrimp cysts eliminates any chance of hydra (as well as eliminating any bacteria that may be on the cysts). Since I started this I have never had hydra, and the hatch water is reusable. As well there are other advantages such as no hulls, knowing the actual hatch rate, and having the unhatched cysts available as food.


----------



## greg

BillD said:


> I have found that decapsulating the brine shrimp cysts eliminates any chance of hydra (as well as eliminating any bacteria that may be on the cysts). Since I started this I have never had hydra, and the hatch water is reusable. As well there are other advantages such as no hulls, knowing the actual hatch rate, and having the unhatched cysts available as food.


Thanks for the information. Just curious - do you buy decapsulated brine shrimp, which I have been told have a much shorter shelf life...or do you decapsulate your own and if so what method do you use? The method I've seen online using bleach and vinegar looks to be fairly time intensive.


----------



## Guppymen

*The method of using bleach and vinegar to decapsulate Brine Shrimp*

Hey there,
I'm interested in trying this for feeding my fry . Anybody have tried it and find this worthwhile ?


----------



## BillD

I decapsulate my own. The decaps you buy will not hatch. I am guessing they decap cysts that they know won't hatch rather than tossing them. 
It isn't difficult or time consuming to decap your own. I use a small clear fish food container, and fill 1/3 with water. The cysts go in and rehydrate for about 2 hours or so. you can stir them occasionally or leave an airline in the container to keep them moving. When the time comes, you add an equal amount of bleach and stir for 5 mins. Then, you pour contents into a brine shrimp net or other suitable filter, rinse well, dip in a container of water with a few drops of dechlor or vinegar and add to hatching container.
Not a lot of effort and well worth it in my opinion. Usually I do somewhere between a 1/4 tsp and 1 tsp at a time.
You may find that the new brine shrimp nets are too coarse to catch the cysts. I still have an old one that works fine.


----------



## Guppymen

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to give it a try.


----------



## greg

*Ordering Eggs Online*



























































































The fish in the pictures is Simpsonicthys santanae Santana River. Everything went smoothly with a good hatch and 100% survival of all 20+ fry. Only issue is that it appears all are male!?!?!? Can this be true - please chime in killifish experts and tell me that I'm wrong hopefully...

Markings vary dramatically from fish to fish and the fish pictured bottom row-middle is much lighter than all the others as well.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion amoenum Sakebayeme*

I have not had a chance to formally introduce our amoenum and seeing as he's now part of my signature, I better get on with it. We picked them up at the MKA show in September - they were one of SwimmyD's purchases. We have a trio - two females and one male and some fry that are about 1cm in length as well.




























The trio are in a 15g bare bottom tank with hornwort and java moss. SwimmyD is picking the eggs from an acrylic yarn mop. We incubate them in about 8 oz. of water with an elder cone to help prevent fungus, changing most of the water every few days or so. When they hatch, they are transferred to a breeder box where they will stay until they are ready to transition from live baby brine shrimp and small grindal worms, to frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms along with some dried food, at which point they will move into a larger tank.

Next SOKS killifish meeting January 19th - check out the gtaaquaria thread at this link *SOKS Meeting*


----------



## greg

*Simpsonicthys santanae Santana River update*










Here's the status on the skewed sex ratio of my santanae. Yes they are all males - all 25 of them. The breeder I got them from in Europe took a look at the photos on this thread and confirmed they were all male. Apparently it's an issue with South American annuals. The sex is determined largely by environmental factors in the first few days after hatching, so the solution is to divide up the hatching and change up the environmental factors for the first week. For example, I could put some at a slightly higher temperature and/or add a bit of RO water to a container with some of the fry. Changing up the environment helps ensure a more even distribution of the sexes. Lesson learned 

Next SOKS killifish meeting January 19th - check out the gtaaquaria thread at this link *SOKS Meeting*


----------



## greg

*Snowing on santanae*

Looks like snow on the S. santanae - similar to the view out my window today







[


----------



## Scotmando

greg said:


> Looks like snow on the S. santanae - similar to the view out my window today.


Lovely shot.

Is the Gold looking S. santanae really gold or is it just the lighting in the aquarium?

Very nice fish. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## greg

Scotmando said:


> Is the Gold looking S. santanae really gold or is it just the lighting in the aquarium?


Yes out of 25 males, I have the one that is gold with only a bit of the dark colouring - very unusual.



















The above shots, one of the gold and one of a 'normal' santanae, were both taken with the same lighting and camera settings and accurately reflects the difference in colouring. You'll get a chance to see it them the next SOKS meeting at my place hopefully.


----------



## igor.kanshyn

*Video of Greg's Blue Gularis killi*

I have found some old video files. I recorded Greg's fish on the last shrimps meeting on June, 2013.

These fish is gorgeous: 

Video: Fundulopanchax sjoestedti killifish


----------



## keltera

you guys are REALLY making me want some of these fish! i thought bettas were pretty.. but these.. they are GORGEOUS!

i was reading erlier in the thread that Fundulopanchax gardneri are the best kind fo a planted community tank? i have a 20 gal tank with 6 tetras 3 forest half beak and two lizard loaches. would a killifish be suitable for my tank? and if so, should i just stick to one?


----------



## greg

*Sphagnum moss breeding technique*

Below is our Aphyosemion coeleste Mounana male, one of the prettiest Aphyosemions in my opinion. So to ensure my future supply of them, it's time to try to breed them.










The Mounana like soft and acidic water for breeding, so the sphagnum moss technique is ideal. It's a technique used by some of the top U.S. breeders for their killifish, particularly Aphyosemions.

The moss used is long fibre sphagnum moss which is available at nurseries, as it's used in flower pots etc. You either boil the moss, or just scald it with boiling water to help kill any pests that might be lurking in it. Then fill you tank with enough so that when it settles your tank is about 1/2 full. Typically breeders use a 2.5g or 5g tank for this technique.










I wait a few days for any loose debris to settle.. Add the fish you are breeding, either one or two pairs, and let them do their thing. After 1-2 months you should be able to find fry swimming through the sphagnum moss. Remove the adults and let the fry continue to develop. Once the fibre starts to break down, in 3-4 months, carefully remove the sphagnum moss fibres, and continue to raise the fry in the same tank, or move them to another grow out tank.

Many recommend only feeding live foods in this type of setup to help prevent buildup up waste food. Despite that general guideline, we have used frozen foods for the parents, if they are good eaters, as we just slowly drop in the food to ensure they get every bit of it. As with most aquarium setups, you should do regular water changes. Just push the sphagnum moss aside and proceed as normal.

There are many advantages of using this technique:
helps soften the water and lower ph
plentiful infusoria among the sphagnum moss
hands off technique - don't need to constantly pull mops and pick eggs


----------



## greg

*Breeding killifish with mops*

Another method of breeding non-annual killifish which typically spawn on plants, is to use mops made with acrylic yarn. These mops can be left to sink to the tank bottom or a cork can be attached to allow them to float. The type used depends on the spawning habits of the species you are breeding.

Here are the tools and supplies you need for mop making.









The yarn is tied around a book to start it off and then you start winding. I usually do around 50 round trips resulting in a mop with 100 strands.









Tie the yarn off once you finished winding and then cut one end. A cork can be attached as per the photo to create a floating mop. This style is also used for rainbowfish. 









My Aphyosemion fulgens are checking out the mop, shortly after eating some grindal worms. This is the sinking style of mop with no cork. Notice the loop 1-2" below the top to create a section of tightly compressed yarn. A number of the killies, including the fulgens, prefer to spawn in this tightly woven portion of the mop.








Here they are a minute later spawning in the tightly woven top of the mop.









Here's an egg ready to be picked from my Aphyosemion primgenium mop. The females an egg eater, so we mixed in white yarn with the green to help camouflage the eggs.









The eggs are then placed in a container with water to incubate. I add an alder cone which helps prevent fungus from forming on the eggs. Others use a drop of methylene blue or acriflavine. As the fry hatch they are transferred to a grow out container, tank or in my case, a breeder box.


----------



## Kmm

Awesome Greg. Great guide files!


----------



## greg

*Fishroom update*

I think my fish room is now complete 



















I've divided some of my 15g tanks in half, so that one half is a display and the other half can be for raising juveniles or different breeding setups.









Fry are starting to show up in some of the larger planted tanks - here's the Aphyosemion ogoense tank, where we've been seeing fry/juvies for the past month or two.









Click the SOKS logo to find out more information about our next killifish meeting on April 13th, posted in the gtaaquaria 'GTA CLUBS' section.


----------



## daworldisblack

greg said:


> I think my fish room is now complete


Wow great job Greg!! That is quite the spectacle! Pretty darned jealous! One day!!!


----------



## Dee2010

Sweet setup!! So clean and organized. Some LFS dont even look half that decent, jealous as well.


----------



## greg

Thanks for the compliments. Sometimes I think setting up new systems is more fun than the fish 

Finally got around to automating soft water collection and storage. Here's my 10g vat of aged 90 TDS water with 1/2 tsp/g salt in the mix.


----------



## bettaforu

Wow Greg/Dominique that some fish room...

I am going to try to attend the meeting on Sunday, but will depend on how tired I am from travelling back from vacation.

I have a gorgeous adult pair of Blue Gularis that I want to try to breed, so will need some info on that  and Im sure I can get all the info I need at the meeting....hope to see you all there.


----------



## greg

*Aphyosemion (Diapteron) Fulgens LEC 93-7*

Here's a picture of our A. fulgens which we picked up in the fall. They prefer cooler soft water, so it's on our bottom rack and gets water changes from my aged vat with 50% RO and alder cones and a dash of salt 










*Southern Ontario Killifish Association 2014 BBQ*


----------



## greg

*Update on Fp. gardneri nigerianus Innidere*

Here's the father we picked up in Milwaukee at the 2013 WAKO show.










... and here's some of the 100 or so offspring we have





































We have about 50 of the larger ones in a 15g tank. They are pretty peaceful with no torn fins and very little aggression. They swarm the front of the tank whenever we are around. Lots of hornwort, bare bottom tank, regular water changes, rams horn snails and two poret filters make it work.

*Southern Ontario Killifish Association 2014 BBQ*


----------



## greg

A little jewel we picked up at the American Killifish Association national convention in Syracuse this past weekend.

*Aphanius mento Zengen*









*Southern Ontario Killifish Association 2014 BBQ*


----------



## Erratic-Fish-Finatic

greg said:


> A little jewel we picked up at the American Killifish Association national convention in Syracuse this past weekend.
> 
> *Aphanius mento Zengen*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Southern Ontario Killifish Association 2014 BBQ*


Nice! I got about 20 Zengen fry, growing quite well on bbs and microworms so far. I'm thinking about getting some of the Kirk Goz strain as well, interested in the difference between the two strains (colour/pattern/behavior)


----------



## greg

Erratic-Fish-Finatic said:


> Nice! I got about 20 Zengen fry, growing quite well on bbs and microworms so far. I'm thinking about getting some of the Kirk Goz strain as well, interested in the difference between the two strains (colour/pattern/behavior)


Hopefully we can swap a pair or two of the Zengen in the future to strengthen our lines.


----------



## Erratic-Fish-Finatic

greg said:


> Hopefully we can swap a pair or two of the Zengen in the future to strengthen our lines.


Definitely, waiting until these fry develop their blue iridescence, so I can sex them apart 
I also been told; that adding more salt to their water, will help males improve their colour (or atleast helps the males get darker).


----------



## greg

I've got mine set up in a 15g tank. Slate bottom on right. Mix of coarse black sand (CaribSea Super Naturals Voodoo River Sand from AngelFins) and aragonite substrate (CaribSea Aragamax Select also from AngelFins) - this has raised the ph to 8.0. I've added 1/2 tsp per gallon of salt. Got the lights blasting to get a good growth of hair algae as this helps replicate their natural environment. They eat a lot of algae in the wild and lay their eggs in it.


----------



## greg

Here's the current list of killifish available at next Sunday's SOKS BBQ. Check out the link for details *Southern Ontario Killifish Association 2014 BBQ*


----------



## Bercey

Forgiveness if it's already been asked, but does anyone know if I can buy killifish eggs online and have them shipped into Canada?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## greg

Local breeders frequently buy/trade eggs with breeders from around the world. I've not heard of any issues regarding the mailing aspect of the process. Eggs on the other hand, can often be damaged by conditions occurring during transport. The best months for having eggs sent to Canada are generally considered to be May and September, with respect to temperatures.


----------



## Bercey

greg said:


> Local breeders frequently buy/trade eggs with breeders from around the world. I've not heard of any issues regarding the mailing aspect of the process. Eggs on the other hand, can often be damaged by conditions occurring during transport. The best months for having eggs sent to Canada are generally considered to be May and September, with respect to temperatures.


Thanks for the info!
I was wanting to make sure I wouldn't run into any customs issues if I went ahead and ordered some.

I live in London and don't drive...have a hell of a time finding anything fish-related in this city. lol

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## Erratic-Fish-Finatic

Bercey said:


> Forgiveness if it's already been asked, but does anyone know if I can buy killifish eggs online and have them shipped into Canada?
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


I get my eggs from Aquabid and Ebay, if you like I could give you the names/usernames of who I buy from. Send me a PM.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Greg, any new killifish related updates?


----------



## John_C

*OH..*

Oh WOW.... I'd say it looks complete.. .I'm jealous 1:O lol

What species are you keeping? Is it all Killies?


----------



## greg

*Update*










As you can see I've redone my fish room. The emphasis is still on killifish - the species are:










*Important details:*
Tank size 45" x 12" x 13.5"

Glass thickness 10mm

DIY sliding glass lids of 3mm glass and 'E' track

No heaters with exception of saulosi tank

Continuous drip from carbon block filter into all tanks - approx 1-2 gallons per day

Additional continous drip from RO filter into ogoense, avichang and coeleste tank approximately 1 gallon per day

Tanks drilled near top for overflow = no manual water changes

CO2 in Endler tank (3-4 bubbles per second) and ogoense tank (1.5 bubbles per second)

Two 4" poret filters in each tank, exception saulosi and endler tanks which have an Aquaclear 50 at one end

Lighting - Marineland Single Bright 48" LED for all tanks, on 11 hours per day. Endler tank gets a blast from a Hagen Glo 36" dual T5 HO for two hours a day and ogoense tank gets a two hour blast from a CFL 6000k bulb

Weekly maintenance - 1-1.5 hours to vacuum and clean front glass for the entire set up

Macro and micro fertilizer gets added once a week following weekly maintenance

3/4 tsp of aquarium salt added to ogoense, avichang and coeleste tank each day - just an add-on to the feeding routine


----------



## arapaimag

Greg, your tanks look awesome.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Wow. Elegant. Clean lines. I'm impressed.


----------



## greg

arapaimag said:


> Greg, your tanks look awesome.


Thanks. Hope the A. celiae and S. geryi are still doing well for you.



ksimdjembe said:


> Wow. Elegant. Clean lines. I'm impressed.


Still have the A. celiae in another tank, including a pair or two for you. Thanks for the compliments.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Thanks for those celiae. 
Greg, do you know if anyone that has Fp marmoratus ? 
See you in February!


----------



## greg

Not sure if anyone is keeping them in the GTA - can inquire at next SOKS meeting. May have to wait until spring and try to get some eggs online ✉


----------



## arapaimag

greg said:


> Thanks. Hope the A. celiae and S. geryi are still doing well for you.


They are doing well.


----------



## ksimdjembe

Sounds like a plan.


----------



## John_C

*Envy..*

I'll say it again .. I'm jealous ! 

I see you added some Saulosi too, excellent choice as they're my fave Malawi...


----------



## bettaforu

Got some Hornwort from Greg recently and there were babies that hatched
out in my tank. Aphyosemion primigenium GEB 94/21

They are happily sharing the tank with my Black Moscow guppy fry and all are doing just fine. Thanks Greg


----------



## Fishlover02

A couple photos of my new Fundulopanchax amieti 'Edea Yaound' male. Not even out of the bag yet and he's already stunning. Yes I got a female as well . Not to revive the thread or anything....


----------



## Kmm

He looks good! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## daworldisblack

Fishlover02 said:


> A couple photos of my new Fundulopanchax amieti 'Edea Yaound' male. Not even out of the bag yet and he's already stunning. Yes I got a female as well . Not to revive the thread or anything....


Good looking fish!

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


----------



## Fishlover02

daworldisblack said:


> Good looking fish!
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


Thanks! Even better out of the bag lol. It's funny... he is shy, but his girl is out and about regardless of what is going on


----------



## daworldisblack

Haha.. Where did u get 'em? 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


----------



## Fishlover02

daworldisblack said:


> Haha.. Where did u get 'em?
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


From a keeper in Southern Ontario.... pretty sure her username on here is Kmm........ just a guess.


----------



## daworldisblack

Fishlover02 said:


> From a keeper in Southern Ontario.... pretty sure her username on here is Kmm........ just a guess.


Plenty of killi fun in that region! Checks out SOKS on fb!

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


----------



## Kmm

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## fender72

do you sell killifish


----------



## Kmm

If you are in the Kitchener area I currently have gardneri Jos Plateau available.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## greg

You can join SOKS (Southern Ontario Killifish Society) on Facebook and post your query there. There are quite a few species available at the SOKS meetings. Local aquarium club auctions usually have killifish for sale as well.


----------

