qnp@SAGE.CC.PURDUE.EDU (vinod kutty) (01/20/90)
Here you go Richard: I wish I had known more about killies when I
was in Nigeria, but it wasnt all a waste. I did write down a description
of all aquatic creatures that I encountered. I did the same for many animals
and birds too. Summer of '87....ah!!..such sweet memories. Getting lost in
the jungle, knee deep in clay near the tidal coastline and the tide approaching,wondering when I was going to die of malaria, praying I wouldnt contract
Bilharzia (a nasty disease) through snails, picking up an electric catfish
and finding out it was one(!), 100 degrees farenheit, same humidity, chasing
mudskippers up trees, observing Tilapia culture at the nearby aquaculture
center, driving a 120 miles to catch a few fish and finding them dead by
the time you're home. Some of the highlights. I can go on and on and ...
It may sound rough. It was. But now, it seems so innocuous and nostalgic.
Okay let's get to killies. Collecting killies were actually a chore for me.
I had to keep some of my predatory cichlids (Hemichromis elongatus) alive.
These guys wouldnt even eat earthworms! So, every other morning, after
breakfast, I used to take the car and drive outside the city of Port
Harcourt. Mind you these cities were fairly modern, with fancy hotels,
airports and shopping malls! I usually had to drive about 45 minutes from
home to get to some "creeks". What I usually did was to park the car near
a bridge and walk along the stream or river. Some of these rivers are very
ominous-looking just before thunder storms. They usually have black water,
and have poor visibility. Walking on the banks with dense forests on either
side, before storms can really make one feel insignificant. Nobody will
hear if you yell, nobody will know if you die. Everything turns very dark
and the just before the winds pick up, all the animals, including insects,
become VERY SILENT. It has its beauty, but the first time you are there,
it is a belittleing experience.
Killies are usually not found anywhere near the rivers. Epiplatys species
will venture near the rivers from their river-side pools and ponds, but
they never really go into the rivers. River side pools are my favourite
spots to collect. These pools vary in size from the size of a usual koi
pond to about half the size of a football field! The bigger ones dont
dry out during the dry season and house plenty of other fish too. Most
of these pools are somehow connected to the river, and there seems to be
a VERY gentle current. Larger fish from the river DO come into the pools
and feed on the smaller fish like killies. A lot of these pools are
clear, but are tinted brown. The visibility is pretty good though.
The most colorful killie will look like a drab fish because of the color
of the water. The pH is usually very acid, about 6, and the hardness is
ALMOST zero! Riverside pools in more northern areas, where the rain
forests give away to less densely wooded areas, are absolutely beautiful.
These pools have sandy bottoms, and the water is crystal clear. They are
usually about 2-3 feet deep. Perfect for collecting and observing fish.
These northern pools are also more conducive of plant growth, due to their
slightly less acidic water. The plants I saw were mostly Nympheas sp.,
and Crinum sp. A few GIANT anubias that I could not identify, and a
hair grass like species. I dont know if this is true, but Epiplatys sp.
are more prevalent than Aphyosemion sp. in the northern, drier areas. I
was not able to identify any of the Epiplatys sp., inspite of some
assistance from Charley Grimes, one of Indiana's super killienuts. The
guy has about 75 tanks at home and he is constructing a 2000 (three zeros)
gallon tank at home! Anyway, the Aphysemion were a lot easier to identify.
Among the species I caught were:
A.bivittatum. (the most common and easily caught)
A.deltaense (has a beautiful, red line across middle, rare)
A.gulare (I only caught small ones, common in some areas)
A.sjoestedti (gorgeous! easy to catch with bedsheet shaped nets)
The rest were all Epiplatys sp. (always near the water surface and difficult
to catch. Easier to catch with a collecting partner, biggest one only 3",
probably not a peat spawner, cos I didnt see much peat where I saw Epiplatys!
So much for killies in Nigeria, They are present in India and Thailand too!
India: Not very interesting when it comes to killies. The southern part of
the country, especially the west coast, (I have my roots there) is pretty
wet from May to October. There are some Aplocheilus sp here, namely,
lineatus and dayii. There are a few more, but I have not seen them. Used
by the government agencies to control mosquito populations, these species
have a bright future. The health agencies imported Gambusia affinis (?) to
do the job, but found out that killies did the job better. Major predators
are juvenile snake heads, even Danio malabaricus (the common Giant Danio)
gobble down baby killies if they can.
Thailand. Slightly more interesting, but not a whole lot. The major
killie around here is Aplocheilus panchax. These fish are even sold in
many pet stores. Unlike the U.S., shopping malls in Thailand have very
good pet stores! I didnt catch any killie that I remember, but I did
confuse Dermogenys pusilis (Wrestling Half-Beak) for killies many times.
Half-beaks are found EVERYWHERE, even in brackish water. They, like many
other killies, stay on the water surface and wait for insects to fall in.
Some Thais, use adult males of this species in "wrestling" matches. Although
not as popular as Betta. I couldnt witness any wrestling matches, but I was
told that it takes place everywhere, you just have to look out for 'em.
Well, more about collecting later.
Vinny.