many killifish about??

how many members are keeping and breeding killifish, be it s/a or african? anuals or non-anuals?
just wundering what people have, if they breed them to keep them in their own hobby....
only wundering because killies have always had my attention but there are very few mentioned in threads, is it the dedication and time required for these fish that have people reluctant to keep them or are there more about than we know off?

cheers john, it always seems to be after ian puts up a related post that gets me asking myself "that man is an inspiring killifish keeper but is he the only 1 around keeping them?".... they are realy a breeders only species instead of something an lfs could stock due to how finicky they can be i supose
i have been visiting puddlefish's website on and off but there doesn't seem to be much activity on it which is a shame, hopefully andrew and platty will have time to post too

at the moment i have a small no of killifish
1pair aphyosemion australe
2 pair nothobranchius ribripinnis
thats it for the moment
john

Killifish is something I had always been interested in but was never able to find any.
Until i took a visit up to seahorse and found they had a few different types of killies.
I picked up 2 male steel blue killies and they are looking great.
I had to move them from my community tank as they were biting the fins of my other fish and they have amazingly large mouths so now they have a nice 40ltr tank to themselves.
I have not tried to breed them yet but i do intend to in the future if i can find some females
Cillian

@Davey, Killifish are great fish with a mad range suitable for all people. It is a pity that they are not so popular as they should be, and are not stocked as much as they could be.

Often, the killifish come under a few problem areas (and that is great pity):

there is traditionally some snobbishness associated with killies.....and some specialist societies have had some form of closed doors to 'outsiders';

there are some truly very difficult-to-keep killies (yes, they do require very special conditions), but there are many that are extraordinarily easy species as well;

prices range from silly high to silly low;

I believe that many books on general fish keeping simply copy the classic old books on the subject from days back when when a major killifish was the Blue Gularis (sjoestedti)............that one fish alone has a reputation that can mar the whole notion of what to mix with a killifish.
But the aggression packed into that 7 inch powerful monster is not necessarily seen in all killifish.

Most of the aggression in killies is often directed at their kind.....but other fish that interfere with their space may also get a hiding.

Having a "very peaty" water is not necessary for all killies. Yes, there are some that will not last long without very specialised water chemistry.

"Short-Lived"....ummmmmmm....rubbish when used as sweeping statement.
But there are true annuals that will only live for less than a year (you may be lucky to get 3 months out of some).
However, there are any killifish that will live 3,4,5 years. (that is not that short-lived !!).

Feed-wise....again, there are species that are pretty finicky, but on the whole their main diet can be a good quality dried food with the odd frozen stuff.

Temperature.....most will do nicely at room temperature. BUT...again, a 'but'....there are species that demand a temperature between about 14 and 18 C (that is not easy in summertime), and there are some species that are best kept at about 30 C (that is easy to do with a heater).

"Quality of Stock".....that is a problem. Many fish available are pants.
But that is not due to the killifish themselves, but due to the breeders and the transfer of fish from breeder to seller.
If you buy rubbish Killies, then you'll end up with rubbish killies.

I should go back on my present 'policy' and start buying via mail order again to get eggs from fish that are not stocked in Ireland. Until then, though, I am stuck with whatever I happen to see in the LFS.

I was doing much more breeding before I joined this forum....and there would have been more eggs/fry available for anyone who showed an interest.
Maybe I should start doing more breeding for supply than simply for keeping my own stocks going.

Anyway....over to others who keep Killies........and there should be more of you out there.

ian

thats a good start, a couple of nice species to start with

am interested in trying again for rachovii bier 98, eggersi solid blue, guentheri, simpsonichthys, sjoestedti etc but the only visable option seems to be by importing eggs though which wasn't a great success for me last time. i have looked on the american and british killifish sites but all i see are eggs from the likes of america, malta, tailand, singapore etc so even resources seem limited with limited suply! that got me curious as to whowas keeping what species closer to home.

@ian... what species do you keep? i for 1 may be interested in eggs/fry if you do decide to

The Simpsonichthys are super killies, but I would recommend not starting in killies with them as do take a little extra care and stocks could be crap....and you don't want to be put-off keeping killies.
But....a very nice genera to aim towards.

Most of my killies are in eggs in bags that I cannot find anywhere since we moved house 2 years ago.......so I'm guessing most are now defunct. In them there was (or is if a miracle happens) some south american killi eggs.

But, present killies include Nothobranchius rubripinnis (they are the ones that I'm giving most focus to at present....I'm also working to improve the stock to make a very strong line), N. polli, N. rachovii, Florida Flag fish, A. striatum, A. bitaeniatus, A. bivittatum, A. sjoestedti, A. gardeneri, A. striatum (and the A. also translate to Fundulapanchax but I couldn't be bothered to spell it).

Now, if the next batch of N. rubripinnis hatch then you would be welcome to them if the quality is as strong as I hope it to be.........if they 'belly-slide' then they go no further than my hatching tank I'm afraid.

ian

underwater world in limerick have a good selection was going to pick one up today but wanted to do a bit of research first

I have kept a few killifish over the last few years, each time I come across a strain I'd like to keep & breed I generally try to source them locally or from UK.
My first killi was F Gardneri - steel blue killi, a fantastic fish with great personality - quite territorial towards each other especially their own offspring, nonetheless they bred freely in a well planted community tank with endlers, tetras etc. I even kept them in a tank with dwarf puffers for a time with no problems.

Next off I tried N Rachovii - an eBay purchase from Far East with my eyes shut, the bag said 100 eggs, after 5 wettings I got to raise 30 or so, they are one if the most beautiful fish going, their life cycle was what brought me to them and I did get some eggs but like Ian below I put the packets away for safe keeping & found them 2 years hence - still I'd definitely go for them again.

Most people who know me know I like smaller fish so I got some Pseudepiplatys annulatus (Clown Killifish) from killikid, their colours are wonderful, a little delicate, amazing jumpers ( don't turn your back to pick up a planting tool or anything else). They can be induced to breed in small tubs - when I had them I was also breeding galaxy rasbora and found both could spawn in a small tank with plenty of clean java moss, eggs were black & really small easy enough to collect.

I've also kept some Aphanius Mento (Zengen) - trickier for me to keep as my water at home is very soft, these like their water much harder so I ended up keeping them in a 60litre tank in work, I got them from a breeder in UK who sent me a few pair every few months as his own stock grew, 1 day he sent a small capful of 15 eggs in methblue, they hatched within 5 days and were great to watch grow. The males coloured up to a startling dark blue - almost black, reminded me of toothless in the movie How to Train Your Dragon. Great to watch flitting about the tank, loved their grindal & white worms. From late October through to March they liked to be kept in cooler water, so they went in the shed with a heater set to 12c, they almost hibernated for those months, didn't really eat much or looked for food, come the early onset of spring I separated the sizes of males & females, fed them well & they bounced back to life again until late summer, harder to keep for me due to their harder water preference & fondness for higher salinity.

I almost had my hands on some Sjo but alas the male took care of the female before they could be sent, at the same time I was offered simpsonichthys santanae but the weather wasn't good for posting, maybe another day.

For anyone keeping killies the most important lessons I learnt was to close all gaps on tanks & keep in touch with other hobbyists, when you need live food or worms they'll always help so long as you help them when they're in need.

Andrew

ian...yea i kept the florida flag fish before but unfortunately had to move them on before they i could progress with them, cracking fish though. that would be brilliant if you could keep me in mind for some ... my list was just a couple i have my eye on but in no particular order although i had a feelin Simpsonichthys would be down the line. i was sort of aiming initialy towards a type with a shorter incubation period if i had to start with eggs.

andrew.... some good reading there... nothing like some 1st hand experience the clown killi is a stunning fish although as you say their not realy a beginner type which is a pity. the 1 thing everyone seems to fall for though is their excellent escape artists.... hopefully i don't