My Killifish Project

[jbib1089]

Hello Everyone,

After much research I decided to take a dive into the world of Killifish. I thought It would be a good idea to document the process for anyone else who wants to give Killifish a try.

First I did as much research as possible before purchasing anything. I searched threads on forums and watched as many youtube videos as I could find.

I finally decided on going with Rachovii Beira 98.
I started looking for the eggs on aquabid. I found a seller who was selling 50 eggs and some brine shrimp eggs for a killer deal, $5.00 shipped.

The eggs were coming from Thailand so they took about 20 days to ship to the U.S. Upon arrival I started getting everything in order.

I made a DIY brine shrimp hachery and gave it a test run since this is my first time hatching brine shrimp. I noticed that the brine shrimp eggs after 24 hours of hatching would sink instead of float to the top like I have read in many articles, and I over all didn't get a great hatch rate. I went out and purchased better quality brine shrimp eggs from my LFS which have given me superior results.

The next thing I needed to get in order were the hatching trays. I used two larger tupperware containers, one to hatch the killies with the peat and the other to grow them out a bit. I filled them about an inch with cycled tank water. An eyedropper works really well to transfer the killies between trays. Once the killies get big enough I am going to transfer them into a already cycled 5 gallon tank and depending on how many survive I may move them to a 10 gallon.

Day 1: I put the killie eggs into my first hatching tray with water and let them sit for 24 hours. After 24 hours I had a total of 6 killies. I transfered them to my other hatching tray with the eyedropper. I also added a few pieces of amazon frogbit so that they could have some micro organisms to feed on. I am letting the unhatched eggs sit for another 24 hours because there are a few eggs where I can see the killies eyes which is a good sign that they are ready to hatch.

I hope this thread interests some people and maybe get some followers.
I will keep everyone updated and feel free to ask questions.

 

[Pamiam]

Very interesting project, I hope you get a lot of little wigglers.

 

[Brookster123]

Those Lil guys breed like crazy! Should be a fun project.

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[Jev12]

I'm following I have always found them quite interesting


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[jbib1089]

Day 2:

The total number of killies that have hatched is 8. I think the killies are doing well. They seem to be eating the newly hatched brine shrimp and are more active today. The only problem I'm running into is controlling the amount of brine shrimp to feed. I don't want to end up polluting the water by over feeding.

The rest of the eggs have been packaged back up and will sit for a few more weeks before a second hatching.

 

[pittbully13]

Killies are cool! Hope you have great success.

I've always wanted some, maybe we can trade fish; if you're willing of course.


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[jbib1089]

I would be willing to trade but the thing with these killies is they are annuals meaning they only live for 9 months to a year. I would check out aquabid they have them for super cheap. Or if all of these guys make it to adulthood I would be willing to part with the remaining eggs. You could try and hatch those out just cover shipping cost.

 

[pittbully13]

Yeah, that will be cool.


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[jbib1089]

Late update but Day 3:

Did a small water change on the grow out container. I can see that most of the killies have full bellies which means they are eating well. I'll try and get some pictures but these guys are tiny.

 

[jbib1089]

Quick little update, all 8 killies are alive and still doing well. 2 of them have grown significantly probably somewhere around a few centimeters long. Here's the best picture I could get of one of the bigger ones.

 

[Oscar_Club]

Any update??

 

[jbib1089]

I've been meaning to make an update on these little guys. I only have 2 remaining males. The other 6 had a few issues. 3 of them randomly passed. The other 3 got eaten by the two larger killies (which weren't much bigger).

I haven't tried to hatch anymore because I've been really busy lately.
If I were to hatch again I would add a small airstone to my setup. The only other thing I would consider doing is maybe upgrading to a small 2.5 gallon tank once they hatch.

Either way the two remaining killies are getting large and showing a ton of color. The picture is the best I could get these guys are fast.

 

[NatureFish]

Super cute! I heard there's a killie called the American Flagfish. I'd like to see someone try those! I hear they are really easy keepers.


NatureFish
????

 

[jbib1089]

Can't say I have ever heard of those ones but I would be interested in seeing some.

 

[NatureFish]

The males look like the American flag! They just have red and blue stripes so of course it's doesn't look exactly like the American flag but they are still cool. They aren't as colorful as your killies though.


NatureFish
????

 

[Fishobsessed7]

Wow they are coming along great






American flagfish



Fishobsessed7

 

[Oscar_Club]

I've been meaning to make an update on these little guys. I only have 2 remaining males. The other 6 had a few issues. 3 of them randomly passed. The other 3 got eaten by the two larger killies (which weren't much bigger).



I haven't tried to hatch anymore because I've been really busy lately.

If I were to hatch again I would add a small airstone to my setup. The only other thing I would consider doing is maybe upgrading to a small 2.5 gallon tank once they hatch.



Either way the two remaining killies are getting large and showing a ton of color. The picture is the best I could get these guys are fast.

Where can I buy couple of those eggs to try?
Thanks

 

[NatureFish]

I just got my first killifish pair and some eggs. The breeding box for the eggs tipped over and my eggs were sucked up by the filter. I found one egg and put it in a peanut butter jar lid. The egg is supposedly a gardneri killie and then the pair are aphyosemion australe orange killies. I can't get the pair to eat or breed.


NatureFish
????

 

[NatureFish]

I just got my first killifish pair and some eggs. The breeding box for the eggs tipped over and my eggs were sucked up by the filter. I found one egg and put it in a peanut butter jar lid. The egg is supposedly a gardneri killie and then the pair are aphyosemion australe orange killies. I can't get the pair to eat or breed.


NatureFish
????

What can I do with the single egg? Will it make it? Can it breed with the pair? Hybrid time!


NatureFish
????