I have just joined the NZKA. What do you fellas and fellesses charge for killie eggs?

Hey there. I would like to know the price (shipping included) of some killie eggs in say late dec/mid jan.I have to wait a bit to get the next tank. Also what sort would be available at this time? From a list that I have gone through I really like the look of the Australe Gold, Striatum, Korthausae Red or Yellow and I really like the Bitaeniatum. I am not apart of the NZKA (yet) and I am prepared to pay full price. I will look into joining the NZKA if I manage to get another tank sorted and really give this a go.

Cheers

I normally do ten plus for $10 this includes the P&P which is $3.50 and in a pill vial in a block of polystyrene.

In the summer could prolly do them by mail, I haven't tried that tho

Different breeders different prices tho.

I have heard of Golden Wonder eggs being sold for $2.00 each.

The more difficult the fish and harder to get, could push up the price as well.

The nothos are normally a weeks spawning, that can result in over 100 eggs, but then you have a wait of a few months to hatch them.

Then again, some club members will swap or even give eggs to other club members.

Non members can expect to pay about 50% more.

Alan

NZKA 104

Thanks for that. I have had aproaches from a couple of members and hopefully will have some eggs next week. Can I start the young on microworm or should I start up my brine shrimp hatcher? I was going to start with one type but have done the usual and accepted the offer of choc and gold australe and possibly N. kourtause.

Hi alanmin 4304,

yes you can start them out on microworms, but I suspect you already know that killies will grow faster on bbs.

If you don't have any bbs eggs contact the treasurer of NZKA, he can help you out (NZKA members only).

Just a note of caution!!!!

we have 2 strains of N. korthausae please make sure you know which strain you are getting -

red strain throws different fin coloured males,

yellow strain has distinct blue sides and only throws yellow finned males.

good luck, the more killi people in the south the better, I think it's 5 now unfortunatly you all live in different citys

But they are in the Sth. Is. tho Stu!!!

Where's that??

Alan

NZKA 104

:lol:

Waitaha landed in the South Island--- Too many traffic jams in the North----not silly.

hehe nothing wrong with us southislanders apart from the fact that I am origionaly from hamilton as of 3 yrs ago hehe. Soo much oppotunity up there with fish and tanks then there is down here. Just sucks for the fish hobby now that we are down to only 1 tight bum fish store with an owner who does nothing to keep customers.

btw with killie eggs, how do you hatch them?

It depends slitly on the species Penjane, Nothobranchius being the most differcult.

For Nothobranchius all you have to do when there ready to hatch is add water . :lol: i'm not kidding.

Yep

Must agree there Cas

That's where the saying, "instant fish" comes from.

The hardest thing is waiting for them to be ready to hatch.

Alan

NZKA 104

YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

MORE Killie Keepers down south

we can get a nice cell of the NZKA going at this rate

keep in touch with pet world in cch they sometimes have killies

NZKA 237

unless pet world is prepared to ship fish to me I doubt I will be getting any from there.

I don't know when exactly but I hope that it will be soon that I can join you guys in this lovely world of instant fish :bounce:

Thoes in dunners and invercargill (don't know how many there are) who keeps what species? Would be interesting to know whats local

cheers

penjane,

I know this may be a little off topic "killi eggs"

but !!

how far are you from dunedin??

and are you prepared to travel there??

this is a good thing on notho's, I spit my 2ft tanks into 3 tanks 300mmx200mm and 200mm high = 3 notho tanks the trick is in the dividers and lids must be NO jumping between tanks.

the only killies in your area is korthausae yellow that I know of.

We are 2 hrs drive from dunners. Unfortunatly I can't drive there myself (me naughty and only on learners licence!!) and my husband doesnt' want to drive me there for "fish" as he thinks its a waste of time and blah blah blah.

If we only have the one species down here then when I am allowed to I wouldn't mind trying a different one

I am looking at doing a day trip or two over the christmas holidays up to dunners so maybe I can work something around then that is if I have a tank then.

Btw what is ment by anuals and non anuals?

cheers

Killies, or Killifish have two basic ways to differentiate from each other, which divides the species into two groups, you've got your annuals and your non-annuals.

Annuals- These are species that live on an average for 18 months, sometimes up to two years, they grow very fast from fry to breedable, and I quite often have 6 week old annual killifish breeding. They breed in peat, at normal tropical temps, and require very little tank space. The eggs need to be incubated dry, in the peat between 2-3 months depending on species, once the peat has matured, rinse it in some tank water, and watch the fry hatch out, depending on feeding and quality of the killifish, ive had upwards of 300+ fry hatch out at a time, from 1 weeks breeding.

Non-Annuals- These are the species of killifish than can live 3 years plus, majority breed using the mop method, where they spawn on the wool mop, the eggs stick, allows the keeper to remove mop and place eggs in a solution of something like methylene blue or malachite green, which help prevent fungicide. Fry usually hatch in about 2 weeks. For some species the peat method of breeding can be far more effective though. Fry for both species are big enough to eat BBS when hatched. Allot of this species, if fed well can be bred in a heavily planted tank, and will live with various stages of there fry, no troubles.

Cheers

Shae you forgot 1 group *semi annuals,

species that can be breed as either annuals or non annuals, there are/were two species in nz recently that fall in this group.

Fundulopanchax sjoestedti and Fundulopanchax filamentosum.

Well after being told that my LFS won't get any killies in. They have now got pairs shipment comming tomorrow. I don't have a tank yet and I am totaly gutted but depending on the price I was thinking of getting one pair. Will they be ok in a 15ltr tank untill I can get the 2ft for them? They couldn't tell me what kind they were either so I will be going back tomorrow to have a look . If one pair would be ok in a 15ltr tank tempory then I might smuggle some into the house hehehe.

Cheers

Hi PJ, I REALLY recommend buying eggs from one of the NZKA members rather than getting them from the LFS. Now, I'm a strong supporter of the LFS these days and buy as much from them as possible... not fish, but all the equipment... but you should really do it right and have a bag of peat with some eggs (of a type you've chosen) posted down to you. Then you can hatch them out and raise them from scratch.

Of course, they're your fishies and you get to do what you want, but just a thought

Eggs would be a lot cheaper as well. Imported killies are usually not cheap. Do you know where your shop buys their fish from.

Hi penjane, to the best of my knowlage there is NO local breeder down there that could supply shops or wholesalers yet.

so that means there probly imported fish, if that is the case prepare your self for a big shock when you check the price

:lol: imported killies are 1/3 to twice as expencive as nz breed fish.

I know I have a hole in my wallet :lol:

LOL caserole. I know what you mean. Her guppies are $6 per fish and that includes the ones that others bring in to her localy (like my own) I don't know what to expect in the way of price but could anyone tell me what it could be for a pair? As I said I have no idea what species they are as they said that they couldn't remember the names either so I will just have to go and see. But my main question is

Could I put 1 pair of killies into a bare bottom 15ltr tank for about a month? Just untill I can get all my tanks sorted and stuff.

Cheers

with regards to tank size.

Most killies would be fine in a tank that is 30cm x 15cm x 15cm.

How do I know? I use them for my killies. just pop in a corner bubble filter and you are away.

And I better advise you before Alan does "KEEP IT COVERED"

Happy killie keeping

well apart from my 2ft which has guppies in it the only other tanks that I have that are fully covered are the 15ltr tanks thats why I was asking if this size would be ok. It currently has heater and a stingray filter as it is holding some young guppies which I will put into the main tank if I get any of these wonders of the world lol. The tank is 35L x 20H x 21D (cms). The 20cms high is where the water level would stop. It is slighly smaller at the bottom but not by much.

Cheers

i saw lots of differnt trios and pairs of killies in Auckland for around $50 per pair, could be a guideline.