Killifish

Hi All,
Looking for abit of info on Killifish, Ive looked up a few sites etc however would like to hear members view of these colourful fish (well the males). Any of you keep them and secondly what type of tank (size,water parameters etc.). I dont really want them breeding and have been told that too many males together can be aggressive so perhaps a killifish in a community setting would work?
All advise accepted,also Im located in Cork so difficult to locate them also Im afraid.
Ps: Anyone able to recommend a filter for a 160 L tank.
Gavin

hi gav
Xeon on the forum breads and sales killifish so send him a pm he'll be able to give you more info about them

Setting up a community of killifish can be quite tricky. Most will be hell bent on killing each other even if they are smaller and weaker than the other fish. I've even seen a 4cm Nothobranchius take on a 20cm Goby. Avoid the annuals if you want to mix with other fish including killis.
The first thing you will need to do is set up a tank to suit. You don't mention what size tank so i will base this on a 60L tank.
You will need a tight fitting lid since killis are jumpers and will get out of the smallest spaces. Tape over any gaps in the hood.
The light need to be low for them to be comfortable and show there best colours. 11-18 watts would be fine.
The substrate should be dark. I use black. Again this will show them at there best. I also black out the sides and the back of the tank.
A plain empty tank wont work if you want to mix killis so plenty of plants and bog wood. You will need to break the line of sight and give them plenty of hiding places. Even some very small caves will be used for hiding in.
Java moss, Anubias, java fern, and Vallis all work well for me in low light with a floating plant on the surface. Try get some of the plants to reach the surface. When killis are resting it is normally on the bottom or the surface. If the come across each other at the surface trouble may erupt.
Note; if i don't have bottom dwellers in the tank i don't syphon the substrate. After a year or two the bottom will be covered in mulm which adds to the natural look of the tank.
For filtration i use sponge filters. Air driven box filters will work just as well. Power filter may cause to much flow and make the fish uneasy. Although i have noticed some Aphy. gardneri appreciate some flow.
Try set the tank up some where that it will get some natural sun light. You get the best colours shown from early morning sun.
A pH of 6 - 7.5 gH 2 - 10 and temp. 22 - 24 C. Don't be tempted to increase the temp. IMO they will fade in colour and can become aggressive.
Although you might read about adding salt for killis i find it unnecessary. The only time salt seems necessary is when the fish show signs of old age. They tend to get fungus on the bottom of the mouth.

Now to the fish. All the fish i mention here i have mixed together at some stage or another but not all at the same time so it may be a bit of trial and error for you but i will explain what to watch out for so you know if you need to remove a fish.
Killis will challenge each other by flairing up with fins fully extended and gill plates pushed forward making their heads look bigger. They will also shimmy beside each other flicking each other with their tails. This is all harmless and the worst you may experience is some fin extensions removed.
If they start to go at each other head to tail or biting the sides you may have to make a judgement call and remove one. Do you remove the one doing the damage? Well he might just go and attack another fish. Do you remove the weaker possibly damaged fish? Any open wounds could get infected. You would have to decide if this problem ever arises.
There is another problem that could arise since you only want males in the tank. Killis like humans have a natural urge to reproduce. Without a female to breed with they seem to get sexually frustrated. This frustration is taken out on tank mates.
Without females they don't always show their best colours. They need someone to show off to. But if you add females they will hybridize. If you do add females DO NOT pass on the young to anyone. The last thing we need in the hobby is more hybrids.

The fish list;
2 epiplatys dageti or 2 epiplatys grahmi or 1 Aplocheilus lineatus
4 Aphyosemion striatum
2-3 Aphyosemion bivittatum or 2-3 Aphy. volcanum
A pair of pseudepiplatys annulatus. I know you only want males but i never had any luck keeping only males of these. The few young that are produced wont last in this tank.
A pair of Oryzias latipes ( gold medaka/ golden rice fish). A plain coloured killi. You need a pair of these to witness the females display to attract a male. truly amazing and unique.
A group of about 8 Aplocheilichthys Normani (lampeye killifish). These will distract the other killis and prevent some fighting. They also need clean water so keep up the 10% weekly water changes.

this combination should work well but there is even more to consider. There diet in the wild would consist of insects or insect larva. If they are not fed some live food they lose some of that spark in character and colour. Even if you feed live food twice a week will do. High protein food is a must to get the best out of them.

Hope this helps, Darren

Here is a picture of one of my killi tanks. You wouldn't think there was about 20 Aphyosemion bivittatum in here. very camera shy.

Thanks Darren,
Thats alot of good advise there,thanks for taking the time to detail it.You wont like the next sentence though when I tell you Ive decided against Killifish after all!
Again alot of the reasons you have in there and also its hit and miss to an extend isnt it really,particularly when Im not overly experienced yet.
Im getting close to setting up my 160 litre tank and Im still torn as to what to put in there! Ive been looking at tangs but not sure yet as the 160 litre tank limits me to an extend. Angels are an idea however the tank may not be tall enough. Still searching lots of places for ideas but none decided upon yet. At present the German Ram is top of the list but nothing finalised. Im hoping to use sand substrate rather than gravel this time around. I notice there is another forum discussion on that at present which Im paying close attention to!
Gavin

A great post.well done

i will second that great post

I feel bad now for not going ahead with Killfish after that great post.
I appreciate the effort.
Gavin

HI Gavin,

never feel bad about asking a question there is a lot of great information here that will benefit many!!!! It is far better to ask the question and make a decision than asking question after the decision and there is a problem!!!!!


plus i could talk all day about my fish if i was let and and i would not be the only one:laugh:

mickey

First, congratulation Darren for the patience(and knolwedge) of putting all that togeder.

Gavin sorry to hear that u changed your mind about killies. Yes they are stuborn and strong caracters and fights might occur, but usualy they end up as darren said with maybe a little bit of a tail bite. I have at the moment about 35-40 males of aphyosemion gardneri in a 40l barebottom tank with no problems. And probably anybody whould prefer some colourful activity in their tank than a bored old plecostomus:). I really like the killies and I think that it's kind of the same mith around them as fighters as with discus to be hard to keep. I think they are though fish and easy enough to keep in a species tank.
Good luck wherever u decide to keep:)

No problem Gavin. I had seen your original post and meant to get back to it sooner.

I just read over my post and it dose paint a negative picture. It wasn't meant to.
Killis are a tough little fish that very seldom get sick. You just have to figure out who will mix with who.
A lot of them will mix with other fish with no problem.
Gavin if you decide to go for a Tanganyika tank you could always add some Lamprichthys tanganicus (killi).