I bought 20 dwarf livebearers (Heterandria formosa/ least killifish) in 2019. They reproduce a LOT and now I have an infinite number in my 20 gal tank - at least 60. They are dying. There are too many of them, and I can't keep the water quality at a healthy level.
So, what do I do?
A) Sell the fish online or to a local fish store so they can sell them to their customers as pets
B) Sell them/ give them away as feeder fish
The problem with Selling them is that nobody is familiar with the species, so they don't want them, and they might die soon anyway.
I don't actually know if they are suitable to use as feeder fish for other species.
Is there an option C?
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For reference, here are the answers to the basic "unhealthy fish" questions.
I have a single-species tank of Dwarf livebearers aka Least Killifish (a misleading name - they are not a type of killifish) aka Heterandria formosa. There are also pond snails and a few plants in the tank.
1~ The fish are dying. At this point at least one per day.
2~ NO2 level is 0, NO3 level is about 40-60. (yes, that's way too high.) pH is 7.5.
3~ The tank is 20 gal. I set it up in June 2019 with the plants first. The pond snails came with the plants. I added 20 Heterandria formosa fishes in August 2019.
4~ The filter is an Aqueon Quietflow 20.
5~ These livebearers are very prolific, and I don't know how many there are. My guess is 60+, a mix of juveniles and adults. Adults are about an inch long.
6~ I do water changes and gravel vacuums about once/week, about 20% each time.
7~ I've had the fish since August 2019
8~ The issue has been worsening over time. I have recently started using an anti-algal, and also an ammonia reducer, but this was not what started the problem.
9~ I have been feeding them Tetracolor Tropical Flakes all along. I did try giving them frozen brine shrimp gumdrops a long time ago but they are too big for the fish to eat
So, what do I do?
A) Sell the fish online or to a local fish store so they can sell them to their customers as pets
B) Sell them/ give them away as feeder fish
The problem with Selling them is that nobody is familiar with the species, so they don't want them, and they might die soon anyway.
I don't actually know if they are suitable to use as feeder fish for other species.
Is there an option C?
~~~~
For reference, here are the answers to the basic "unhealthy fish" questions.
I have a single-species tank of Dwarf livebearers aka Least Killifish (a misleading name - they are not a type of killifish) aka Heterandria formosa. There are also pond snails and a few plants in the tank.
1~ The fish are dying. At this point at least one per day.
2~ NO2 level is 0, NO3 level is about 40-60. (yes, that's way too high.) pH is 7.5.
3~ The tank is 20 gal. I set it up in June 2019 with the plants first. The pond snails came with the plants. I added 20 Heterandria formosa fishes in August 2019.
4~ The filter is an Aqueon Quietflow 20.
5~ These livebearers are very prolific, and I don't know how many there are. My guess is 60+, a mix of juveniles and adults. Adults are about an inch long.
6~ I do water changes and gravel vacuums about once/week, about 20% each time.
7~ I've had the fish since August 2019
8~ The issue has been worsening over time. I have recently started using an anti-algal, and also an ammonia reducer, but this was not what started the problem.
9~ I have been feeding them Tetracolor Tropical Flakes all along. I did try giving them frozen brine shrimp gumdrops a long time ago but they are too big for the fish to eat