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Fish Folk

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  • 4 weeks later...

The long wait is kind of fun, if you've got other things going on in the fishroom. Time really flies. We are getting close to the time when I plan to "wet" the Killifish eggs. I've ordered by mail a set of Nothobranchius rachovii Biera 98 eggs. And I bought a trio of Nothobranchius guentheri and collected eggs from them to dry. The rachovii eggs can take 5-6 months to lie dry and dormant. The guentheri, on the other hand, take only about eight weeks.

Today, I decided to pull out the dirt and have a look at the eggs. Here are the bags...

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And here, for your viewing pleasure, are videos of my picking through this dirt looking for eggs. If you have nothing better to do ya NERMS, watch this...

Nothobranchius rachovii egg check...

Nothobranchius guentheri egg check...

 

Edited by Fish Folk
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On 5/6/2022 at 3:05 PM, Tihshho said:

It's been so long since I've dealt with annuals. Do you have any recommended sources for eggs?

AquaBid > Killifish > Killifish Eggs

I personally avoid importing to save transit drama.

Seller "Sellfishgals" comes recommended.

Also, here's a look at the eyes in the Killi eggs - "Eyed Up"

248601902_KILLIEGGSEYEDUP.png.46505a4edfecde3d235f408b66f78119.png

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here we go! Welcome to the planning stage. About a week from now, I’ll try out my first ever hatching of Nothobranchius rachovii biera 98s. Then, I’ll try out Nothobranchius guentheri. This video rambles on about the whole plan…

 

 

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I’m going to do a thing!

Decided to give the N. guentheri a go today.

(1) ACO Specimen container + airline with ziss stone

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(2) Added water from Discus tank + Java moss from Goodeids 

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(3) Poured in 1/2 of the N. guentheri coconut fibers + eggs

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Setting the timer, will check every hour until lights-out. Bubble is very light.

Here is a short video…

 

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They are soooo fast for fresh hatched fry!  Pop right out ready to go!  No dragging around an egg sac for them.  They’ve clearly absorbed it completely while waiting for life-giving water to magically appear.

This is great you’ve gotten such an excellent first hatch AND documented it for us.  Thank you!

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On 5/31/2022 at 7:43 AM, Fish Folk said:

Here id Day 3 — on to three jugs now. Watch a move-in…

 

“I have no idea what I’m going to do with all these killies.  I tend not to think about that enough.”

Quote of the day, right there!  Isn’t that the core of MTS?  😆 😂 🤣  I love this!  I think it’s fantastic what you’re doing, and with the native fish in particular.  Keep going, sir!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, I’ve not updated this thread recently. After the amazing joy of hatching out Nothobranchius guentheri eggs, I experienced the sadness of them dying off rather abruptly once added to the jugs.

I called a Killi expert, and walked through my process. Obviously, it’s hard to troubleshoot things in someone else’s fishroom, but he did share exactly what he does, and offered tips that might help resolve my issues.

(1) He hatches his Killis out in a “shoebox sized” Sterilite bin, with just a couple inches of water. I had been using a large Specimen container.

(2) He preps his water by adding a golf ball sized bunch of peat moss to the water a few hours before wetting the eggs. This adds natural tannins, and lowers pH to counteract the toxicity of any ammonia buildup.

(3) A small mesh bag with some Ammo chips (I’m trying Ammo-carb) can help cancel out Ammonia too.

(4) Vinegar eels should be harvested the proper way — fresh water set above a floss partition above vinegar and eel culture. Vinegar is more dense, so water stays above. Eels will come up through the floss into the fresh water where they can be harvested from.

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(5) Try to get fry _off_ of eels and _on_ to BBS as soon as possible. Keep water level low for a few weeks do that the fry can find food. Part of the problem with moving them so soon to jugs was the water depth, and challenge of finding any food.

(6) Instead of moving fry out of hatching box / tank, keep them there for 3+ weeks. Add a bit of water each week, but not too much. Once fry are hammering Baby Brine Shrimp and looking hardy, they can be moved to a 5.5 gal tank.

(7) Best practice is to separate males from females once they’re distinguishable to allow them to all mature without harassment or bullying.

(8) Ideal breeding group is 2x males with 4x females, two soil-spawning cups. This allows spawning to be dispersed, and for males to be aggressive towards each other when not spawning.

I’m going to try hatching Nothobranchius rachovii eggs today. Here’s why…

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Hoping for a better result! I have set up a 2.5 gal tank on my jug-shelf this tine, and peat moss + ammo-carb bag has been added. There’s a sponge filter going (not breaking surface of low water) and gentle bubbler. Java moss and misc plants also…

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Stay tuned!

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