Excited young boys....

[Foxjxa]

I currently have 3 different species of killifish in my community tank, all paired up. I'm not actually looking to breed any of them, but I do like to see both the males and females together (I may be one of the few people to find female killifish attractive), though I may move them into separate tanks at a later date to really give breeding a shot.

Anyway, all my male killifish seem to have reached sexual maturity (keep in mind they aren't full grown yet) and are stalking the females like horny teenage boys! :roll: The thing is, only one of my females (my Albino Gardneri) seems to be the right age (judging by her size) for breeding; she certainly doesn't reject her partner's advances, in fact the little tart will often initiate it!

I haven't caught my Dageti pair getting up to any hanky panky yet, but Mrs Dageti seems quite comfortable in the company of her Hubbie, so no problems there, but she does get chased around by my frisky Albino Gardneri boy. Luckily for her, Mr Dageti soon sorts him out and they return to their respective 'spots' in the tank.

My male Australe Gold, however, is like more like a heavily-intoxicated teenager looking for some action! He just won't take no for an answer. Mrs Australe is becoming quite the expert ninja, as it's either a) hide from Mr Australe or b) get 'jumped'.

:lol:

I'm looking at getting some more female killis of each species to ease the pressure on the ones I've currently got. I'm thinking of adding an extra;

1 Albino Gardneri

2 Australe gold

3 Dageti (Not so much as easing the strain as filling up the 'top layer' of my tank - these are my fave's!)

Note those will be females I'll be adding. What do you all think?

Bad/Good/Indifferent?

[Barrie]

the Dageti is becoming a bit rearer now and females are harder to come by so dont be afraid to breed them (or any of the others)

Some say that trios are better as it is less strain on the females (when they have a head ache) but other people say the the "spare" female will just follow behind eating the eggs

Where did you get them all from?

[Foxjxa]

I bought them all off Tim via Trade Me; he has excellent quality fish by the way. I had originally purchased a pair of Striatum as well, but the female mysteriously disappeared (which may be linked with my guilty-looking kitty) and I just sold the male.

Also at my LPS there's about 10-15 male Dageti of varying sizes and one largish female the last time I looked. So someone else may be breeding them in my area.

If I do decide to have a go at breeding, it'll either be with my Dageti or A.Gold pair. Though I have a feeling my Albino's will produce more offspring... :-?

[Zev]

I saw those Dageti in the LPS over your way, aren't they rather expensive?

Something like $25 each?

[Foxjxa]

Yeah they are.

IMO they're not the best quality either. I wouldn't mind paying $25 for a male that has bright, full finnage and clear dark lines, but the ones there are pretty mediocre. Gah, I'm starting to convince myself that I should try breeding them!

I'm hoping to get more off Tim, but he hasn't replied to my emails...yet. *crosses fingers*

[Barrie]

They (Dageti) are producing more males than females at the moment which is the problem... may only be because of the heat of summer but I think I have 2 females left now so Ive just put them down to breed

I dont breed big numbers, just keep them turning over so I dont loose them so its something that you may think of doing?

Are you a member of the club?

[Foxjxa]

No, unfortunately I'm not (yet)!

Well with winter coming up I think I'll give it a go, once I've researched it a bit more.

It's a pity that there's not enough girls to go around!

[AquaNut]

foxjxa

You may get a little something extra in a box over the next few days :-)

Merry Christmas

[sandysme]

if you get an extra pair im also local to you, could take some off your hands,LOL

[Foxjxa]

*girly squeal*

Hugs for AquaNut!! lol

[Foxjxa]

Received all my new killie's today! (My flatmates kindly leave the poly-boxes outside my door)

AquaNut kindly threw in an extra pair of Dageti! Boy, was I surprised to find 3 baby fishies swimming around in the Dageti bag - they are so tiny compared to my current Dageti pair! Gorgeous

I ended up only getting one female Australe Gold (by choice), and she is HUGE! I'm guessing she's full grown, as she's twice the size, literally, of my current young female A.Gold. Mr Australe seems very happy with this new addition, and since she has been in the tank he has been following her around and mating with her almost constantly. I'm not too worried about this, as the new girl doesn't even seem to notice the little orange thing vibrating against her side, LOL! I'm also pretty confident that she could rip him in half if she really wanted to (she really is BIG compared to him)!

So my stressed out female troubles are over! Mr Dageti (my original one) has accepted all the new Dageti under his fin and seems assured in his place as 'king' of the top layer of my tank.

As a side note, the fish were delivered so quickly that I haven't finished setting up a breeding tank for my new pair of clown killifish! Which, by the way, are the most gorgeous killi's I've ever seen. [insert girlish squeal here] And the clown's are TINY! I don't think it's fair to even say they are 2cm long, which presented a problem when I realized I'd have to put them into my community tank temporarily.... :-?

I ended up poking a bunch of holes into a small plastic container + lid and floating it in the community tank with the clown killi's in. I've positioned it so that it 'sits' just above my main filter and is held in place by my plants. They'll only be there for a couple of days, but I'm glad I took that precaution as my other (larger) killi's instantly started trying to attack the wee things through the plastic! My usually calm Angels even had a little try. They're safe for the moment, but I will be able to breathe a lot easier once they're settled into their own tank.

:bounce: Thanks again AquaNut, loving the new fish! :bounce: