New breeding project

[plantedtanks1052]

After debating what I wanted  to with my 10 gallon  I'm gonna breed some 

gardneri killifish. If anyone has tips to get them to breed and raise the fry.

Here's how they look

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I think this journal would be helpful for you, @Fish Folk is very likely the most experienced killifish breeder on the forum:

Emerald Killifish Journal https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/18207-emerald-killifish-journal/

 

[Fish Folk]

@plantedtanks1052 F. gardneri -- great choice! My F. scheeli are closely related. I'll explain how I breed mine. Hopefully this will start you out on your way! 

 

(1) For spawning:

Have you made spawning mops before? Here is a great video from Lucas Bretz about how to make one if you're new to them. Mine look like this..

Each day, I pull the mop out to check for Killi eggs. They look like tiny glass balls (about 1/8 the size of BBs). Here is a video in real-time of me finding some in the mop pictured above.

(2) For raising fry:

You'll want another tank or a hang-in fry breeder net set up to grow out your fry. I've used a small 2.5 gal aquarium, clear 1-gallon jugs with the tops cut off so I can get into and out of them, as well as a fine mesh breeder net. Here is a video that shows all three in a system I worked with...

(3) For bringing adults into spawning condition:

You need to be willing to invest in quality foods. I prefer Hikari frozen foods -- spirulina brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms are excellent. The Female needs enough nutrients to develop roe. Good, balanced dry foods can include Betta pellets and Bug Bites. Unless she's loaded up, your spawning is going to be on hold. Sometimes, you need to separate the male from the female for a little while so she can load up. Now, I always hatch out live baby brine shrimp in my fish room. That's an essential "breeder" skill you'll need to master if you're not doing so already (more on that below). Here is a low resolution photo of a female Killi loaded with eggs. If you look, you can see they're golden, and about the size of her center-eyeball...

(4) For feeding fry:

You will find that newly hatched Killi fry need to eat something smaller than live baby brine shrimp for the first week or so. Along with a fine fry powder like Sera Micron or New Life Spectrum GROW fry starter, I feed Vinegar eels. My method is really basic. I buy organic apple cider "Vinegar-with-the-mother" from my grocery store. I make a container from a couple 2-liter soda bottles, cut off the bottom from one, drill a hole, stuff with floss to allow air to pass but cut down the smell. I cut a few small apple slices (take the skins off), add a small square canister filter sponge, pour in vinegar with the mother, and then add a culture of vinegar eels. They'll live and multiply indefinitely up along the top, and around the piece of sponge. Vinegar eel culture can be ordered online here. Now, because I don't bother with the fluted bottle, I add a dash of sodium bicarbonate to deacidify the vinegar when I mix with water. Here is a video showing how I feed vinegar eels to killi fry...

Now when I feed baby brine shrimp, you just need to nail this skill. Here is a DIY thread here on the forum explaining a way to make your own Brine Shrimp hatchery. However, ACO sells an excellent hatchery that improves everything online here. This is how I do mine in the fishroom...

(5) Some additional MISC ideas:

TANNINS -- You'll notice that my water sometimes looks very tinted -- brown. That is because I add (a) catappa leaves (b) alder cones (c) pure rooibos tea bags, floated for ca. 24 hrs. Tannins are helpful at warding off fungus. And infuoria grow well on the surface of catappa leaves and alder cones.

SPONGE FILTERS -- fry will nibble at bacteria that grow on the surface of sponge filters. This is a great grazing context for them. There is a way to make sponge filter squeezing of infusoria, but it requires vigilance so as not to pollute water.

JAVA MOSS -- Add more. Always more. Never can have enough, IMHO.

NEOCARIDINA -- When I add my eggs, I always first have added one single neocaridina to act like a "nurse droid." This is controversial, and not all Killi breeders approve. But I find that these shrimp (a) eat fungus (b) eat infertile eggs (c) do not bother killi fry.

____________________________

Best wishes to you! Please feel free to PM me with anything if you're looking to bounce ideas. Here is a 60 second still shot of the Killi Colony that started from just a simple Trio developing in a 33 gal long...

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Fish Folk