Schuyler Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) In my other journal I've talked about hatching and raising some nothobranchius guentheri (Guenther's Killifish) but that journal is getting a bit jumbled so it's probably time to make one dedicated to raising (and hopefully breeding) these fish. Normally, serious breeders well keep them in bare tanks with maybe some floating plants. I'm not a serious breeder and all of the places that a tank could go are highly visible so it will need to look nice. Basics about the hatching and initial setup Eggs harvested: Sept 20 Eggs hatched: Dec 12 Spawning medium: coconut coir Initial count: ~40 Current estimate: ~30 Food: Industria, BBS, and hikari first bites Current tank setup: large flat Tupperware with a small sponge filter, tiny preset heater, 4 ramshorn snails, moss, guppy grass, and floating plants Moving to New Tank Now that they are a few weeks old, the larger should probably be separated out to reduce competition. They can hopefully be transitioned to frozen foods. New Tank Setup Size: 10g Filter: Fine sponge filter (getting seeded in established tank) Substrate: leftover Fluval Biostratum mixed with Black Diamond Blasting Sand Plants: tall val, mixed floating plants, possibly moss (mostly pulled from existing tank) Hardscape: Random assortment of leftovers If I use the lava rock it will be covered in moss using a dry start method and then added in later The general idea of the tank will be to have the filter, main rock, and val all on one side so that the val comes out and arches over the rock and the rest of the tank. Then the spawning cup will be put on the other side. Edited February 10, 2023 by Schuyler Adding a better thumbnail and removing planted from title 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 I just realized that I forgot to add any pictures of the fish 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 I have run out of BBS... I'm trying to feed them frozen daphnia and also trying it sound Christmas gifts: The size difference between some of these is crazy. You'll have to zoom in to see it but compare the fish in that circle to those on the other side of the heater They also seen to swarm for feedings now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 The fish don't seem too picky about food which is nice. They ate bloodworms that had been all chopped up with aquascaping scissors. Or at least they picked at them. They also still go for the hikari first bites but that's so small it doesn't seem like it will give them enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 There is one fish that looks like it may be coloring up? It's at least x1.5 bigger than the rest and much darker. It's also much better at hiding so I only tend to catch a glimpse. They are full on going after the Fluval Bug Bites but I'm also giving assorted frozen foods just in case. I can tell that they are eating because they will get all bent out of shape then jolt. At first it I thought they had bent spines and may need to be culled but have since noticed that it's just them getting ready to pounce. Here is an example: Side view 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 Today we moved the fry to the 10 gallon. It's not in it's final form. I still want a bare bottom to be able to clean up waste easier without sucking up fry. Who needs a python when your sink hose almost reaches the tank? The kids choose to use the background we got somewhere along our aquarium journey rather than the frosted glass. Most of the plants were removed and then I scooped then up with a little clear plastic cup so that we could count them and so that they wouldn't be out of the water. The snails were also very happy, there were at least six clutches of eggs along the sides of the tank. I scraped then off with a razor abd moved them too. On total we counted 26 fry. Not a great survival rate but way better than the total collapse an experienced killi breeder warned me was likely on a first batch. Hopefully now with more space they will have less ill effects of crowding. Right now, ~6 of them have a potential new home once they grow out. I also talked to the local LFS and they said they would consider taking some once they start to color up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 11, 2023 Author Share Posted January 11, 2023 The fry are doing great in there new home. They miss readily accept crushed Fluval Bug Bites as well as frozen daphnia and chopped up blood worms. It looks like they may be staying to get some initial signs of coloring. I see some red above the gills on some but that could just as easily be their gills... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick_Nick Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 On 1/10/2023 at 11:50 PM, Schuyler said: The fry are doing great in there new home. They miss readily accept crushed Fluval Bug Bites as well as frozen daphnia and chopped up blood worms. It looks like they may be staying to get some initial signs of coloring. I see some red above the gills on some but that could just as easily be their gills... Looking forward to seeing how this continues to go! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 The are a few that are clearly changing color and you can see it in their fins. After a few minutes of taking pictures these are the best I could get: I made a fresh batch of rapashi community and tested a little on them. They pecked at some of the crumbs but none of them went after the main chunk and none of them seemed to take more that one bite. Oh well, just going to stick with fluval bug bites, frozen daphnia, and a few fairy shrimp. They seem happy enough with that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick_Nick Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 They are definitely getting their body shape! Are these annuals that mature quickly? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 8:49 AM, Slick_Nick said: They are definitely getting their body shape! Are these annuals that mature quickly? Yep! Online it says that some can be sexually mature in 6-8 weeks. These will be more on the 8 week side but this is my first batch so I have nothing to judge that on other than my pessimism 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick_Nick Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 10:02 AM, Schuyler said: Yep! Online it says that some can be sexually mature in 6-8 weeks. These will be more on the 8 week side but this is my first batch so I have nothing to judge that on other than my pessimism I am going to try my hand at some non annuals first and see if I can breed them but I’d love to try some of these guys one day! I just want to make sure I can keep the life cycle going to enjoy them for a long time! Thanks for documenting your experience 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 It's now been one month since they really started hatching. They are starting to look and act more like fish rather than fry. Their bellies are less prominent, they gather together when they see others eating, they come to the glass when I walk up to feed them. I also finally got a decent picture of one of the males getting there color. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick_Nick Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 On 1/13/2023 at 7:05 PM, Schuyler said: It's now been one month since they really started hatching. They are starting to look and act more like fish rather than fry. Their bellies are less prominent, they gather together when they see others eating, they come to the glass when I walk up to feed them. I also finally got a decent picture of one of the males getting there color. That is a good photo how exciting to watch them start from eggs and now you get to watch the males start bursting with color! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Are females just plain or do they have the odd spot of color? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 15, 2023 Author Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 1/15/2023 at 8:29 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: Are females just plain or do they have the odd spot of color? From what I've read/head/seen, all of the nothobranchius females are more of less indistinguishable. My Eggersi female has a slight blue sheen. This these fry I'm not sure yet... I don't know them well enough to be able to distinguish a female from a male that's just a late bloomer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 It's getting easier to tell the males from the females. There's even a bit of sparring going on between the males, flaring their tiny little fins. Still really hard to get a good photo of them though... I'm using a technique I learned from Irene on girl talks fish: airline connected to a chopstick for cleanup 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 They look great and Irene’s chopstick siphon method works great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick_Nick Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Wow it’s really impressive how much they’ve changed already! I absolutely love the shape of them such a neat little fish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Looking at them now it's looking like the sex ratio skewed towards male. Some of the males look like they are even attempting to mate already. That looks so funny though because they are just so tiny. I'm going to see about finding a way to divide the tank to give the females more of a chance to eat and to get a better idea of the ratio. Anyone have suggestions for something that could be a divider? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 They have some on Amazon for around $20. That’s not cheap for a piece of drilled acrylic but the benefit is that they attach with suction cups. On 1/17/2023 at 9:06 PM, Schuyler said: Anyone have suggestions for something that could be a divider? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 On 1/17/2023 at 2:39 AM, Schuyler said: It's getting easier to tell the males from the females. There's even a bit of sparring going on between the males, flaring their tiny little fins. Still really hard to get a good photo of them though... I'm using a technique I learned from Irene on girl talks fish: airline connected to a chopstick for cleanup You’ve probably just made my tank maintenance day a lot easier, THANKS! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Good news! The divider came today. It's real cheap and seems a bit flimsy but should get the job done. Separating was tricky with so many tiny fish. While catching a female a tiny male chased her into the net... Typical adolescent behavior. Once separated I did a quick count and it looks like the are 11 females and 12 males. That was just a quick count, there may be more. When they moved to the tank there were 26, at least one died after that and there may have been more but I suspect that the last two were just hiding in plants or behind a filter when I counted. The males were probably just more visible before. The females seem to be more shy, smaller, and hanging out on the bottom/edges of their side. Now the females shouldn't get outcompeted for food by the more aggressive males. Edited January 20, 2023 by Schuyler 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 Picture now that I can take one without a reflection of me and the kitchen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted January 21, 2023 Author Share Posted January 21, 2023 Well there were gaps in the divider and wouldn't you know it, a bit snuck into the girl area and tried showing off. The hole is now patched and fish returned to their proper place. We'll see if they can still find a way through 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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