?) (05/06/88)
Okay, I'll bite.
I've tried keeping just about every type of fish but killifish,
And I find that I'll have a 10 gallon tank free this summer.
Any suggestions as to:
Killi species (the hardier the better),
tank setups (filtration, substrate and lighting)
Any good books on killies out there?
Or would I be better off setting up another 10-gallon
marine tank? (I've already got one running now).
Well?
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (05/08/88)
In article <9194@reed.UUCP> torch@reed.UUCP (You want I KEEL You!?!!?!?) writes: > > Okay, I'll bite. Take it to alt.sex, pal. > I've tried keeping just about every type of fish but killifish, > And I find that I'll have a 10 gallon tank free this summer. > > Any suggestions as to: > Killi species (the hardier the better), > tank setups (filtration, substrate and lighting) > Any good books on killies out there? As to which killie specie is the best for beginners, this is real easy. Aphyosemion gardneri. (Aff'ee-o-see''me-on and you can probably figure out gardneri, oh ok, gardner-eye, tough huh ?) or A. australe. The gardneri are probably a slightly better choice, they are a bit bigger and blue fish are just neat, the australe are still pretty nice though. These are probably the hardiest. With a 10 gal tank, probably an undergravel filter and some hornwort is the ideal setup. No heater required, killies prefer it cool. Really. They get listless above 76 and live longer in cool water. Males are quite tough on females, so trios, (1 M 2 F) are better than just pairs. More M's than F's are a disaster. Killies are not great community fish, they dont school, and tend to be intimidated by most other fish. These are the reasons they very seldom appear in local petshops. Books ? Well, the Pet Library series "all about killifish" or something like that is worth the dollar it cost. Just. Killifish by Dr. Anthony C. Terceira is passable. Tony is a good friend but the book is a disapointment. The bible of killie fanciers is Col. J.J. Scheel (pronounced skeel)'s reference work _Rivulins Of The Old World_ (ROTOW) This is THE definitive work on taxonomy, nomenclature, biology, you name it. It's not the end all for rules and guidelines for keeping killies, but truthfully there really is nothing to it so not a lot needs to be said. It was published in 1968, and will be hard to find. So why keep killies if they have all these bad points ? Simple, they are the most brightly coloured of all fish, fresh or salt water, and are the easiest fo breed of any fish. The lazy mans way to breed these things is to feed them well. Unlike most other fish that spawn once a month or so, producing large number of eggs, killies spawn every day if left to their own devices, yielding 10-20 eggs a day. If they are well fed, they will not eat their young. The young however are cannabilistic, and grow quickly, so they must be harvested frequently if any numbers are to be obtained. If however, the sexes are seperated for a week and condtitioned well on live food, 200+ eggs can be expected, 100 the next day and so on until they level off to 20-30 per day. So you can go either way; no work or maximum yield. Killie people are fanatics, 300+ tanks are not at all uncommon because killies are small and dont need big tanks. Oh yeah, the cardical rule of killie keeping: you need a tight cover. This cannot be emphasized enough. They jump. My god how they jump. They can escape through holes that they cannot physically get out of. Even if the tank is securly covered, they can leap out when you open the tank to feed them. They are quite famous for this. A few people keep tanks at half volume to get around this, they are less likely to be able to get out through a good cover. As has been pointed out, there is an American Killifish Association, whose convention is in a couple of weeks, if you cant find any killies locally, let me know; i seem to recall there is a pacific northwest chapter someplace, which would be a good source of fish. I could go on and on about these things, they have been, are, and will always be my favorites. > > Or would I be better off setting up another 10-gallon > marine tank? (I've already got one running now). > > > Well? > > > > -- noalias went. it really wasn't negotiable richard@gryphon.CTS.COM rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard
gary@grc.UUCP (Gary Sutcliffe) (05/10/88)
I will second Richard's suggestion of Aphyosemion gardneri (also known
as Fundulopanchax gardneri) as good fish for the killie beginner. I got
a couple pair of A. gardneri lafia (lafia is the variety, one of at least a
dozen) last November and now have about 60. I would have a lot more, but I
stopped saving the eggs. They are hardy, eat just about anything I give them,
and easy to get to spawn.
The biggest problem with killies is finding them. Pet shops rarely have
them, and when they do, the prices are usually high. The reason is that
they are not easy to mass produce by the fish farms. Most spawnings
produce 20-30 eggs/day over a period of a couple of weeks. The fry to hatch
first grow so fast that they are often able to eat their younger brothers and
sisters.
Sorting the fry, or hand picking eggs out of spawning mops requires too
much manual labor for it to be profitable for fish farms that normally
toss a dozen fish in a pond and harvest 20000 fish a few months later.
Also some species require the eggs be dried out for several months before
they will hatch. Your best bet is to find others that raise killies
and beg or buy some from them.
Because the eggs take such a long time to hatch (about 2 weeks for most
of the Aphyosemions, and up to 9 months for some South American annuals)
they can easily be sent by mail. The American Killifish Assoc. has
monthly listings of fish and eggs for sale by mail. Also, the AKA has a
special group to help beginners. They provide fish good for beginners at
reasonable prices. I think they are currently providing A. gardneri.
I don't have the address for the AKA here, but can post it if there is any
interest.
Killies are really neat fish. By and large, they are very colorful, easy
to breed, and do very well in small tanks. A trio of most species (1 male,
2 females) will do very well in a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a few plants or
spawning mops for cover.
Just remember they can find the smallest opening in a cover and jump out. I
put plastic wrap around the opening for the heater and air hose (killies like
it cool, ~72F, but my basement gets down to 45F, so I use heaters).
The best book I have found is _Success With Killifish_ by Ed Warner. It is
sometimes found in pet shops, or you can order it from him for $4 postpaid.
His address is 507 John St., Rockford, Ill 61103. It does not have as many
pretty color pictures as other books, but has lots of practical advice.
Final words of advice: *MOST* killifish are not as picky about soft water
and live foods as Dr. Herb, et. al. indicate in their more general books
on fish keeping.
Get some killies. They are really neat fish.
--
Gary Sutcliffe W9XT (414) 644-8700
GENROCO, Inc. Slinger, Wis.
{ames, rutgers, harvard} uwvax!uwmcsd1!grc!gary
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