When do killifish generally lay their eggs?

HI everyone! I've never had good luck breeding killies...the only killies I have successfully bred are my Aphanius mento, and I have yet to get more than a few fry each time they bred. Therefore, I want to try mop spawning killies from here on out...my idea was to precondition a female for a week or two, add the male and a spawning mop, and remove the mop to another tank and replace it with a new one halfway through the time the adults are in there (about a day). My question is, do killifish have a preferred time to spawn? Do they generally spawn in the morning? the evening? when first introduced to each other? Or any time they wish, with no obvious pattern? I understand that there are hundreds of species of non annual killifishes and that not all of them are going to spawn at the same time of day...I was just wondering if there is a time a majority of killies like to spawn at. Thanks

 

Giving this a bump up for you hope you get some responses today

 

Actually, most killifish spawn from sunup to sundown. There may even be a few that spawn at night. Male Killies tend to have a one track mind, Aphanius mento is one of the worst. That's why it's important to have a couple of females to split his attention. A lot of breeders will isolate females for fattening, then put the pair together for a week or so. No need to change the mop during this week, you can pick eggs daily or just pick all the eggs at the end of the spawning period.

One of the things that will cause an increase in spawning activity is weather. Rainy days usually come with a barometric drop, and this often triggers extra spawning. I've had species that produce 1-3 eggs per day for weeks, suddenly an overnight storm will produce 50-75 eggs in less than 24 hours! There are also some species that tend to be seasonal, regardless of weather or temperature. One type of Rivulus gave me maybe 3 eggs per week for months, then suddenly in November they started putting out 10-20 eggs per day for a couple of months. Then the activity died back again. But by spring I had a 55 gallon tank packed with young Rivulus urophthalmus.

I also learned to pay attention to where they laid their eggs. Some will exclusively spawn in bottom mops, or in the substrate if you have some. (These are still non-annuals.) Some lay eggs throughout the strands of a floating mop while others shove the eggs tightly into the knots of the mops floating at the surface. A number of Lampeye species are known for shoving eggs into tight places, and specially constructed mops will encourage them. Another Rivulus (yes, a genus of strange behaviors) actually lays their eggs out of the water on top of floating media. In the wild the eggs are mostly laid in the wet leaf litter above the water line.

Hope that helps a little.

 

OK! Thanks. Would it be counterproductive to remove the mop a few hours after the male is added to the spawning tank, place the mop in a rearing tank, then put a new mop in early the next day?

 

Yes, that would be counter productive. You need to leave the mop in for the female to get away from the male occasionally.

 

OK. How often should the mop be removed then? I am no good at spotting killifish eggs.

 

If you're just planning to move the mop, I'd leave it for at least a week before removing it. I usually pull it every couple of days and pick eggs out, then return the same mop to the breeding tank. The eggs aren't that hard to find once you squeeze most of the water out of the mop. Trust me, you cannot damage the eggs by squeezing the mop really good. Regardless of whether or not you plan on picking eggs, you need to go through the mop to remove any infertile eggs.