Killifish question

[nycfatcow]

Hey guys,

Its my first time getting in to killifish and i just ordered a bunch of eggs and should be coming in next week.... I have a bunch of things set up for the egg hatching and raising process... i was reading online that java moss is good for newly hatched babies.... now i was wondering if you can substitute that for guppy grass? also any tips for a beginner?

[Zagz]

Moved to breeding forum.

[BillD]

What type are they?

[nycfatcow]

nothos.rachovii beira98...i bought a 100 eggs

[BillD]

I spawned them a number of years ago, and raised about 150. I hatched them in a margarine container and used a piece of rigid airline tubing to pipette them out of the container into a tank. As you are probably aware, not all the eggs will hatch on the first soaking, and you will have to re-dry the peat moss and let it sit for a month or more, before doing the hatch thing again. My preferance is for a bare tank, because it is easier to keep clean. Mine were large enough to eat BBS when they became free swimming. They grow very quickly if you feed them well and keep the water clean.

[nycfatcow]

bill,

I have a plan in my mind that im going to set up shortly let me know if you think it'll work... Once i get the eggs im going to try to get them to spawn with water from one of my fish tanks... im going to set up this hatching tank in a small rectanglular shaped take out container....about 12inchsx6 inches,,,,

Onces the fry spawn i was going to move the fry to small circular take out containers and have around 5 of them each with a bit a java moss or guppy grass.... I am thinking about feeding them frozen brine shrimp...and flakes as they get bigger...

After a month or when they get larger i wanted to move them to a nice big tupperware container....also filled with java moss or some sort of plant.... My question is do they need any filteration? or is it possible for me to have the moss and snails as the clean up crew?

Water changes are a definate....guppy gass/java moss? same thing or different?

[BillD]

It has been a while since I had any killies. N. rachovi was my first, and is still one of the most colourful fish in the hobby. The reason for hatching the eggs in a small container is that it is easier to gather the peat moss up for the second hatch. You can use a jar, which allows you to see through the side to gather the newly hatched babies. Once the babies have hatched, usually in 24 hours, you remove them, gather up the moss, squeeze most of the water out, so that it is just damp, and put it into a baggy, for another months rest.
What you are proposing might work, but will be a lot more work than if you put them all together in one tank/container. A small tank at first, to keep the fish concentrated and near the food, then, after a week or two, a large one. Sponge filters are probably the simplest form of filtration, but if you might get by without. Again, you would be creating a lot more work for your self. Java moss is probably better for harbouring microscopic life for the fry to eat than as a water purifier; it grows too slowly. As a rule of thumb, the speed at which a plant grows is a pretty good indicator of how well it will aid in cleaning the water. I like hornwort for that. However, if you have lots of it, it will help, and by all means use it.
Killies are voracious eaters, and you can't really overfeed them, as long as you keep the water clean. A fish that may live less than a year in the wild, needs to grow quickly.

[nycfatcow]

alright bill sounds great... ill keep you updated