alexyay Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 I've been wanting some killies for ages now, and have wanted to breed them - however there's just a couple of bits of advice that I'm looking for to breed my aphyosemion australe ("orange"?) - I ask this just in case they breed, I wasn't exactly intending on breeding them straight away (but jumped at the chance of getting the fish) What size are their eggs? Do they visibly look like eggs, or will they look like specks of white? Do they lay them in a group or all over the place? And will they spawn on moss rather than mops? (Below is what is all over my moss, but am I right in assuming they are too small for eggs? I wasn't expecting my killies to breed the first day I got them!) Do eggs require being put on peat moss and the whole process, or will they hatch if left in the tank? Is the peat moss process used predominantly for moving eggs (is this possible on non-annual killies?) Do you separate your females and males when you don't intend to breed them, or would a trio be happy permanently in a 21L together? Do you find the females get worn out? And one of the females I got appears to have a lump on her head of some kind - I noticed it the day I brought her home. It's not fluffy, but she's not as active as the other two and is looking a bit lethargic. I haven't seen her eat. Any idea as to what it is and how I can help her? I've started dosing with Pimafix just in case. Now for the otos! OK, so my 90L leaked one night so I had to rush to switch to a spare 120L tank - just before that, the two otos I had were "dancing" up and down with each other, but when moved one of them went missing and I found it today - upside down. However, a couple of days ago I bought another oto intending to up my school numbers (I swear, I'm doomed to only have two) - I found it dancing and chasing my current oto. I've been doing water changes with cold water from the hose - simply because it was convenient for me - but now one of them has a nice sized belly, which I think I can see eggs through. Can she (?) lay the eggs without the help of a male - or do I have to really hope my new one is a male? What should I do to ensure the chances of survival for the eggs and hopefully fry? Are fry big enough to survive other fish or will I have to move them? (I've been told no more tanks!) They currently live with - 3x honey gouramis 1x L129 5x Kuhlis 1x Threadfin Rainbowfish (I intend on upping his school numbers ASAP) How long will she hold the eggs and what do I feed fry? (preferably not requiring a brine shrimp setup) I've read that they lay under broad leafed plants with eggs in groups of 3-4 - is this all they lay or do they lay more eggs over a period of time? Thanks for reading my TL;DR post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted October 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 My male gourami was trying to spawn a few months ago, but the female didn't seem mature enough now the females look big enough and have big bellies - and he male hasn't started bubblenesting again. Any idea how to condition him? I'll try turning my flow down before but the idiot used to make nests anywhere - including the end of the filters - and now he's decided not to now that the females look ready. The plans for breeding them are - carefully move the nest and eggs into a new tank, along with the male - when they hatch remove the male. Does that sound about right? What do you guys feed fry - do I have any other quicker & low maintenance (even from a tube!) options rather than brine shrimp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 It looks like your australi have laid eggs. You can remove them to a small container with your fingers and float it till they hatch. I used a plastic drinking cup. Feed brine shrimp nuplii when they are free swimming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Fresh killifish eggs from the australe look like little clear-goldenish pearls about 1mm in size. They usually appear in a small random group or dotted about. When I used a spawning mop I used to squeeze the water out of the mop, pull apart the fibres like looking for nits in hair and then move the eggs to a floating container within the tank, with a drop of meth blue. If you don't remove the eggs the adults likely won't eat them but the fry lay about half alive for a couple of days so if there isn't any cover in the tank they could easily get eaten. You generally get more fry if you save the eggs. Some people keep the eggs, put them on damp peat and then hatch them together so they are the same age but I couldn't be bothered doing that. If the eggs look white then after a while you'll see they get fuzzy, that's the unfertilised ones rotting away. They will spawn wherever they like but if you limit their choices it's easier for you to find the eggs. You can seperate the males and females but might find that they all sulk and don't eat much. Having a trio makes it easier on the female, they get chased by the males like guppies. If you have a look through the killiefish section there's heaps more information and tried methods noted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Ah, I was wondering why they fungused. Thank you for all the info - I've given the female with the lump to someone who can look after her and try to heal her (the white almost looks like it's spreading, the closest thing I can find is Cauliflower disease but I can't open up a hospital tank to look after her, so I think I may need to look for another female ). I'm away this week, but next time I'll do the eggs in the cup thing. Good to know I don't have to go through the whole process with peat moss etc. So the spots above don't look like eggs to you, Sophia? Eep - I can definitely see eggs in the oto. I really hope they survive past the fry stage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 the spots look like eggs but they could also be faults in the photo here's a good photo of what they look like, though I never had this many at once. They're quite robust and a little sticky. after a little while you can spot which will hatch and with good eyes or a magnifying glass you can see little specks where the eyes are http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Minnows,%20 ... 0Plant.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Well, I'm not having very much luck at all. The first killi female - we thought it was likely to be Cauliflower disease, and brought her up to Auckland to be put in a hospital tank. Unfortunately it progressed really quickly and on the last two days she was covered in fungus-like-fuzz and then on her last day she was upside down The female in the tank now isn't looking very happy either. Nothing is wrong physically - her body looks normal. But she's got clamped fins, not eating and is looking lethargic. I've tried feeding her flakes, bloodworms and white worms. She won't eat anything. pH - 7-7.2, Ammonia - 0, Nitrites - 0, Nitrates - 0, Temp @ 26/27 degrees. I've moved her into the main tank just to see if maybe there was something wrong in her current tank? But it's been newly set up, so I have no idea what's going on. My male is looking super healthy. Any help? :dunno: No news on the oto - I got three more yesterday but lost one already (they were all looking happy and healthy too ), she still looks like she's bearing eggs. The honey gouramis bred yesterday, just as I came home after a week of being in Auckland (so they hadn't been conditioned or anything) - except the male hadn't made a nest at all so wasn't sure what to do with the eggs. The eggs quickly got eaten by any other fish in the tank! < video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 You could try adding salt to the water and bringing the temperature down to about 21/22. The aphysemion killies don't need tropical temps quite so warm. The salt ratio I used to use was 1 tsp per 4 litres of water. Also make sure she has somewhere to hide from the male or move him out for a while just in case he is stressing her out. Clean up any food laying on the bottom too, when she's hungry she'll probably come to the front of the tank or go to the top when you appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Most killies (particularly Nothobranchius sp.) are enclined to get velvet and a way to avoid that is to add a little salt or peat to the water. It sounds like you may have columnaris, saddleback or mouth fungus or whatever you wish to call it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 You could try adding salt to the water and bringing the temperature down to about 21/22. The aphysemion killies don't need tropical temps quite so warm. The salt ratio I used to use was 1 tsp per 4 litres of water. Also make sure she has somewhere to hide from the male or move him out for a while just in case he is stressing her out. Clean up any food laying on the bottom too, when she's hungry she'll probably come to the front of the tank or go to the top when you appear. Okay - I'll stick her back in the main tank and turn the temp down. He hasn't even gone near her - the old female he used to pick on but he's left her alone. I can try to add some peat to the filter (unless it works being added just in the tank?) and some salt. Thanks! She doesn't look like she's got much life left in her Alanmin, unfortunately I lost the killi with the fugus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 A. australe will breed well in a community and you just remove the eggs into small containers to hatch. Start a new container each week which also means a new tank each week. The fry will start into brineshrimp nuplii straight off and the eggs generally don't need meth blue or anything (just remove any that fungus or turn white). High temperatures stress killies out. When I was breeding them I used to keep them on the floor of the fish house where the temperature was lowest. If you add peat to the breeding tanks you need to get them used to straight water slowly later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 She's now on the substrate gasping - temp is down to 24/25 reducing it slowly. I feel so powerless I'm not sure what else I can do for her to make a miraculous recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 if she's still alive, just turn the heater off and then put it back on again when it's back down near the 20 degree end A couple of others have had killies from shops die in the same way, I don't think it's a fault of yours, they are usually very hardy fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 She didn't make it I'm down to my last (3rd) female and have 2 males cause I could only buy the last female in a pair lol. I'm hoping she stays healthy, otherwise I might give up :c the only reason why I'm not totally blaming myself is because my males are perfectly fine but having only 2 males won't help me much lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Is it possible to have a male stress out the female to the point where she dies? Just making sure it's okay to place him with the female lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 2 males and 1 female would be irritating for the female, but 1 on 1 should be ok if there is somewhere to hide. I never had a female bullied to the point of death, my healthy ones would either find places to hide away from the male, or chase the male away themselves. When I first had killies there was a layer of riccia on the top of the water, the female would burrow into and hide right at the top under the lights, where I would feed her like a little pet :sml2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 I used to breed them as a community with a number of males and females in a bare tank with just mops. There is a lot of postering with the males but it is all bluff and not much damage done to males or females. You can plant it out but it means you have to search the plants for eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Yup, it's well planted - I know it may be difficult for me to get eggs etc but I prefer the look of it and I imagine the fish like the plants. It's just 1 on 1, the other male is in my community & will be going into Dad's tank - but knowing they prefer lower temps, will 26 degrees be OK as a permanent home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 I don't recommend 26 degrees but I've never tried it either. 20-22 is what I always did, copying off Barrie who was breeding them at the time. You could have a hunt about in the killifish information on google and see what others have done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 They do best in the early twenties and they live longer as well. If you are buying them they breed best as teenagers and you can breed them at a young age. They are often sold too old and are half carked by the time you get them home because the shops treat them as a community fish which they are not.I have raised over 1000 N. guentheri in one tank and a few hundred australe in a different tank without problems. Drop the temperature and run a peat filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 They do best in the early twenties and they live longer as well. If you are buying them they breed best as teenagers and you can breed them at a young age. They are often sold too old and are half carked by the time you get them home because the shops treat them as a community fish which they are not.I have raised over 1000 N. guentheri in one tank and a few hundred australe in a different tank without problems. Drop the temperature and run a peat filter. Great, thanks I will lower the temperature further for my remaining pair - I looked at them and figured they were being sold as adult fish, maybe I'll have to source some privately. I jumped at the chance of getting some and because I had to breed orange-orange I replaced my female because I wasn't sure when I would next be able to get one. I had been told that they could be at your typical community temps - maybe I'll have to sell my second male as all our communities are at 26/27 Haha, it's always the fish that I like best that have issues, of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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