Steel Blue / Splendid killie breeding?

So I was shocked to see a breeding tank of either steel blue or brilliant killies at a LFS.
The tank was well planted and had 2 males and 5 females.
The owner said the fish had been born there and tank raised.
They are some of the most brilliant fish I've ever seen and have great personality.

I'm going to buy one male and three females I believe and set them up in a well planted and established planted 24 bowfront with moss and lots of hiding spots.

Several questions:

-Right now the 24 has one pea puffer and 3 african dwarf frogs. I know the puffer has to move, but are the frogs compatible with breeding? Will they chomp the eggs?

- What are the keys to breeding killies? I've heard live foods, water changes, moss. Any advice??

- How long do these killies live? Tank born and raised.

- Any plants they like? There's swords crypts and Hyrgrophilia in there now.

Thanks guys! Would really like advice on working with these killies.

 

You'll want a spawn mop or a lot of grassy plants like vals.

In order to get into specifics, you'd really have to get a species ID.

I would not keep the ADFs with them if you want to breed, you won't see any babies if you do. But to get them to breed, it's the same as with every other fish. Keep the water clean and keep them healthy.

 

I also have some small ottos in there will those eat the killie eggs?

 

EricV

Our resident killifish breeder ^^ Hopefully he'll have better answers for you. My understanding is that many killI eggs need to be removed from the tank and either put in an egg tumbler or dried or other such things in order to hatch them. Otos should leave them alone, as they are herbivores, but I wouldn't trust them not to have a nibble.

 

So I was shocked to see a breeding tank of either steel blue or brilliant killies at a LFS.
The tank was well planted and had 2 males and 5 females.
The owner said the fish had been born there and tank raised.
They are some of the most brilliant fish I've ever seen and have great personality.

I'm going to buy one male and three females I believe and set them up in a well planted and established planted 24 bowfront with moss and lots of hiding spots.

Several questions:

-Right now the 24 has one pea puffer and 3 african dwarf frogs. I know the puffer has to move, but are the frogs compatible with breeding? Will they chomp the eggs?

- What are the keys to breeding killies? I've heard live foods, water changes, moss. Any advice??

- How long do these killies live? Tank born and raised.

- Any plants they like? There's swords crypts and Hyrgrophilia in there now.

Thanks guys! Would really like advice on working with these killies.

I breed a different color variant of the steel blue killifish (fundulopanchax gardneri) so my answers to your questions are going to be based on them. However most of it would apply to the splendid killifish (Aphyosemion splendopleure) as well.

1. I would not breed them with the ADFs. You'd end up losing most of your fry. Otos are generally safe however. I wouldn't consider a pea puffer to be a great fit as a tankmate either.

2. They breed relatively easily. They will lay eggs among plants/moss (or a spawning mop). These eggs do not need to be removed for incubation and will hatch in the tank. The incubation times vary.

I would go for a ratio of either 1M:2F or a solo pair for breeding. Females will eat each other's eggs and beyond 1:2 you start losing more eggs than you gain.

The spawn best in small tanks. Above a 5 gallon for a trio you start seeing decreasing yields.

Live foods are great for conditioning the adults and microworms are a must for the fry. Fry can be left with their parents however the larger fry can be a bit cannibalistic towards their newly hatched siblings.

They prefer soft slightly acidic water for breeding but are still likely to spawn under a range of water conditions albeit at a slower pace.

3. I'm not sure of the lifespan of the splendid killifish but f. gardnerI live for about 2-3 years on average.

4. The more plants the better. Mosses, green myrio, duckweed, and dwarf sag all work well for breeding and rearing fry but almost any plant will do.

.

 

See? I knew he would know

 

Awesome!!

I ordered f. GardinerI from the wet spot in Portland and they are doing great.

The puffer and ADF went to a friend with a big 75 and more frogs, so they upgraded their living.

I wound up a little lopsided on sex of the fish.

Normally the store sells pairs, but they had extra females so they sent me 2 males and 3 females.
Unfortunately I didn't realize how these fish jump a lot, and 4 of the 5 jumped out within 2 days!!!!

I had to re-order and all they could send was 2 pairs.

So I have 3 males and 2 females.

But the tank is Very heavily planted, a bow front 24. Lots of moss, wisteria, crypts, swords and some hygrophilia.
Every spot in the tank is a hiding spot!

I love how active and inquisitive these guys are.

They seem young, just over an inch long but they love to eat so they should grow fast.

Feeding dried and frozen bloodworms, with some spectrum and crushed krill mixed in for variety.

Of course I have a lid now and no ones jumping out!!!


Only real question is will snails eat the eggs???

Have some large ish snails in there.

But I'm not too concerned they don't seem to be old enough to breed yet anyway, though they do exhibit weird behavior between the males and females, I swear they were kissing!

Thanks so much for the advice!!
I'm gonna start getting them live worms when I can.

I never can keep the worms alive for more than a few days.

Is there a trick to it???

 

 

Oh they're definitely old enough to breed. Once the males are showing fin coloration they're ready to go.

 

They don't seem to give any s.
Serious attitude.
I think I just saw one take down a leaf... For fun

 

So I have noticed them actively mating.
What should I look for now?
Preserving the eggs and fry?

 

Unless you're breeding them on spawning mops I wouldn't go through the hassle of collecting the eggs. I usually just collect the fry when they hatch with a turkey baster. Incubation time is usually around 2 weeks in the water.