hobbygodz Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 (edited) Hi everyone, here's a couple of pics of some of my killies for your interest. This guy & two girls are A. Gardneri from Billy & Victor at Aquaristic. This guy is G.Akure, his girl was elsewhere when the pic was taken. (I scored this pair at the SKG meeting raffle last saturday) Cheers guys! Edited August 22, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 They're gorgeous!! Good luck breeding them. Looks like you're going for a continuous spawning setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dracon Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 very nice although i dont know much about them are they hard to care for ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 (edited) Hi guys. I'm not too sure how long the eggs take to hatch with G.Akure, but I think A.Gardneri hatch relatively quickly above 24c? (Hello Killimike?). I have a couple of spare heated & planted tanks to throw the adults into whilst waiting for eggs to hatch in their previous home. They would certainly eat any fry that appear in their vicinity.They are always ravenously hungry and very (hyper) active.I'm sure you could feed them till they burst. They will eat almost anything. They seem to be very easy to care for and produce very little waste compared to my bettas & guppies. Snails and lots of plants in a heated 40cm tank with only 2 or 3 of these guys almost seems to take care of itself. The tank lids must have no gaps as I am sure these fish are part avian. A.Gardneri will jump out to grab food from your fingertips while feeding! Most amusing and highly recommended pets. Do your homework though before buying killis - there are many, many strains of these guys and some are very hard to look after (as are some betta), let alone breed. Pick the easy to care for killis and you will love them as I do! - Brad. Edited July 17, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 breeding killis is the best fun too, especially the peat spawners. Peat + eggs, add water, and 8 hours or so later SHAZAM!!!! you have a bunch of fry. As long as you know a bit about their required water parameters and don't stuff around with them too much, they grow incredibly fast. I have juvenile Nothobranchius eggersi (apparently one of the more 'difficult' species - I must have beginner's luck) that I collected as eggs in peat from their parents which I stored for 6 weeks. I hatched them 3 weeks ago, and they are readily sexable and in fact engaing in breeding behaviour. Yes, that's right - birth to sexual maturity in THREE WEEKS!! How cool is that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 SHAZAM!!!! Cool, I must try that. (knew I must be missing something!) B) Seriously though, that series of events in such an incredibly short timeframe is truly amazing Lisa. Keep up the good work! Seeya 2morrow! - Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 (edited) The upper Gardeneri looks very like the N'ssuka locality,these grow quite large and are very prolific.Cull out any that show yellow on dorsal or anal fins although N'ssuka generally breed pretty true. The Akure is a very nice example with the strong yellow bands.When I was breeding his fish there was alot of polymorphism which should not be.Aim for fry like your male ,hes a beauty. Dont cross breed the 2 they are fine examples of what the locality should look like I would collect eggs from a mop(N'ssuka use the very top)and water incubate with a little methylene blue(1drop per cup of water) for 7-10 days.They can be incubated in peat which give alot of fry of the one age.Incubate peat at 22-25 for 3 weeks.I prefer water incubating these guys.You will get heaps of fry and they are large enough to eat BBS Edited July 17, 2009 by killiguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Thank-you killiguy for your knowledgable advice, I will attempt to apply it correctly. - Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Most recent killi aquisition......A.Australe (M+2F) Just hangin' with the cories...... I apologise for the crap pics.......Note to self.....must get decent camera. Cheers to all, Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terribletegs Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I was gonna say... that last killi looks a lot like a bronze cory! LOL! Very nice fishies. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) Okay, here's a couple of slightly better pics of my new recruit............. A.Australe "What kind of fish are you?" Cheers everyone! Edited July 28, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 great photos Brad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) Thanks Lisa. Mrs G.Akure finally appears with hubby in this one, entitled;"give us a kiss honey" Cheers! Edited July 28, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Say hello to Epiplatys Annulus. These guys are tiny and almost indestructable,(temp and ph wise), though conditions do need to be ideal for successful spawning.The male is around 23mm long, the girls are about 13mm. This is the boy. I have had one successful spawn from these guys but their cory tank-mates ate them after a week or so. The cories have since been moved into another tank with my A.Australe. They get along fine but I am hoping they don't munch more fry if they appear. (I do love my little cories) -Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 I think it was these kilis I saw at a LFS the other week Brad... they had brilliant blue eyes .... seem to hang round the top of the tank a lot... What conditions do you need to spawn them? Are they annuals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 (edited) Hi fishbites, yes they do have lovely eyes, all three of them! Seriously, they have a rudimentary eye atop their head to percieve attacks from above. They may hang at the top of the tank at the LFS, but mine don't. They use all of the tank - most are at the bottom as I type. They appreciate a heavily planted tank with a top cover of duckweed or riccia. Half a dozen of these killis in a 25 litre tank with lots of plants and little "football snails" will pretty much take care of itself for a long,long time. I would describe these little guys as cute,clean and sedate, but they will jump if you try to net them. Ideal temp seems to be around 24C. They eat flake,micro pellets,fdbw,or bbs and mozzie larvae on the very rare occasion that I have it. Don't overfeed, they eat very little. The guy in the pic is just average as far as colouration goes, some ep's also have brilliantly coloured dorsal,caudal and anal fins ranging from yellos thru red,orange and black. The girl's fins are generally clear. There are also quite a few different sub-species of this fish. If buying pick only the fattest, most active and brightly coloured examples as they will also be the healthiest of the bunch. I'm no expert,(far from it), but I'm pretty sure they are not annuals - Many killis are not annuals and will live for around a couple of years, it all depends on the genus of the killi. (Hello KilliMike? Killiguy? I am way out of my depth here). If you are seeking to spawn I would definitely reccommend a more educated source for your info than myself, but can I tell you that mine spawned from eggs in the parent tank approx three weeks after laying, temp 24c,ph 6.5-6.8. Get some, they are awesome little fish. Brad. Also check this link for relevant info.................................. http://killifishaustralia. :fish: Edited August 19, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted August 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 :cheer: Woo Hoo!.....I have killi fry! I just spotted two A.Akure about 6mm long in the parents heavily planted 25L tank. I suppose there will be more but they could be hiding anywhere in this tank. There is heaps of micro-life in the tank for the babies to feed on. Parents are from Dallas and are they are awesome examples so I hope these little guys grow up the same. Cheers, Brad. :cheer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killimike Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Mucho congratulations! This is excellent news. See, I was telling the truth, the little buggers get busy in the bushes, and we're none the wiser till the results swim into view a few weeks later The fry will eat just about anything at that size, so no trouble there. They may eat their younger siblings, or in turn be eaten by their parents, but the odds are good if they have reached this size. If you want to be on the safe side, you could remove the parents, but we have all had planted tanks of gardneri where the fry grew up with the parents, so either way should work. Just to clarify, killi names can be confusing. 'Akure' is a locality, so Akure are a kind of gardneri, not a species in themselves. So the full name runs Fp. gardneri 'Akure'. People call them Akure for short, since they are the only species of killi we have from that locality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted August 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Thanks for the tips Mike. I think i'll leave the fry in with mum & dad this time around and see how they go. There's thick duckweed on the surface and a million plants in that tank, - I foresee a possible mess if I try to capture them...............Cheers! - Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted September 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Update 26/09/09 Fp. Gardneri "nssuka" @ 6 weeks. So cute....... Fp. Gardneri "Akure" @ 4 weeks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connor Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Geeze i wish someone in Newcastle had some killies to sell i really want to try them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbygodz Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 (edited) You will get them Connor but you have to be persistent and ring around the lfs's. Use a courier to procure your first pair if necessary. Join "Killifish Australia",there are nearly always some fish available in the raffle at the monthly meetings in sydney. On (rare) occasion there are killis available in the classifieds on the killi website. Meetings are usually west of sydney so the M7 would be the go for you, it's not that far away! If you sign-up and attend the christmas meeting I am sure you will score some fish -and snags for lunch!. The parents of my Gardneri "nssuka" in the pics came from aquaristic aquariums at botany. Give Billy a ring there,he can usually get them,or will call you when he does if you ask. Auburn Aquariums also sell gardneri (gold and nssuka). Hope this info is helpful mate. -Brad. Edited September 27, 2009 by Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connor Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 thanks brad il give them a try Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewarebrunette Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Wow they look interesting. Dont think I have ever seen them in Cairns. But that wouldnt suprise me. Where are they native to ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 They are seriously beautiful fish Brad, good job! I must get my act together and get my hands on some Killi's PS.How are the Oscars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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