Jump to content

Clown killifish - Epiplatys annulatus - which tank for them


beastie
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello. Since this is a bit specific question, I thought I will try to ask it on this forum, as it seem to be more advanced than all the other beginner topic related ones. I will state that I have 4 tanks at this moment and have been keeping fish for like 10 years, granted I realize this make me no expert.

I have two tanks and am considering getting some interesting fish, like the clown killifish. First tank is a shrimp tank that has been running for a year and a half. 56 cm x 25 cm x 36 cm, nonstandard dimensions, it gives around 38 liters. I added the frogbit only few days ago, I assume it will grow a bit better before I get any fish. It is mostly filled with moss, although the moss is also filled with algae, I hope the frogbit will help with that. There is a cryptocoryne there and egeria densa, but I might have to remove that, not enough nutrients. I was initially considering getting a Indostomus paradoxus but they are constantly not available at the supplier, so maybe the clown killifish would work instead. It has some scuds in it, pH is 7, water is without a heater so at this moment 22°C, in the summer it will be around 27°C in the heatwaves, otherwise 25° most of the summer time, 20-22°C most of the winter time.

The other tank is housing my 5 tylomelania snails including their babies at this very moment, has been running with this filter since October 2022, substrate and some plants since August 2021. 60x30x30 cm, gives around 41 liters. This one has heater, so at this moment it is at 25°C, should be stable, I expect slight rise in the summer heatwaves. pH here is slightly higher, around 7,4 and as far as I can tell has no microlife present. After taking that picture I added some pennywort on the surface that was not doing well in my other tank and also some stargrass, but the snails seem to find it too tasty, so it is just resting at the surface at the moment. There are also few strands of naias in the tank.

Both tank have soft to normal water hardness(My water supplier says 6,73°dH GH), also have dried leaves and alder cones in them, in the snail tank they get eaten quite quickly so they dont work as well for the infusoria production. As food goes I have access to frozen baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, live mosquito larvae and am planning to raise live brine shrimp and maybe grindal worms.

Which tank would work better for a trio or small group of clown killifish or are they even a good fit for either one of them. Thank you for your advice. 

tank 1 shrimp.jpg

tank 2 snails.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will leave all clown killifish recommendations to others as it’s not a species I’ve ever kept or ever really looked into much.  @TxFish is deeply into killifish but doesn’t get on the forum very often, I don’t think.  @Fish Folk would likely be your best bet for a quick answer.  I can’t remember how into killies the other tagged people might be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome! In my opinion, either tank is fine to keep them in. Be advised: prepare a full-fitting lid. Killis can be jumpers. 

For breeding Clown killis, you could try the aquarium with frogbit + java moss. I doubt that Neocaridina will eat fertilized eggs. They will definitely eat infertile and fungus-covered ones though.

It is possible that Killis may hunt down and eat baby shrimp. To keep your colony going, consider adding some small rock piles in back corners so that shrimp have safety zones to hole up in.

There are, of course, thousands of other  lovely Killis too. Here are three species in my fishroom just today…

Nothobranchius guentheri

43948760-6F62-4A57-A8D6-7DA107B94214.jpeg.a3a93965d7daa77d1f902303e6ca8dd0.jpeg

Fundulopanchax scheeli

7F1742A8-3ED8-4A10-B7AB-15D88D8605FD.jpeg.134a600634421e601770ae63037ff8f0.jpeg

Fundulopanchax sjostedti (Loé)

D7C06EFF-63A5-48F2-941B-5917C632B30B.jpeg.f502a923564b1b74f75feb6530affbc4.jpeg

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the suggestions, I have lids on both of these tanks and the shrimp tank has a tunnel, some rocks and a cholla wood piece in there.

Wouldnt large killifish eat shrimp? I did only rudimental research on killifish, since there are so many, but wouldnt those with larger mouths eat the shrimp and not just babies?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with FishFolk , either one should be fine, though I'm eyeing that one one with all the Anubias in it, but that's just an aesthetic thing for me, nice looking tank.  I haven't seen a huge impact from the shrimp, and vice versa, but once pond snails started showing up, fry production started slowing down for me, and I've lost a few from jumping, even if that gap in the lid doesn't look big enough they can get through, I use a floating mat of water sprite to help mitigate this, but any floating plant should be sufficient, I also stuff little gaps for airlines and such with filter floss, its a little bit of a pain to remove it every time for feeding, but it helps. I also recommend starting with a bigger group, the latest colony I have I started with 8, lost two, why exactly I don't know, they just disappeared, didn't find any bodies near the tank, and they're so small they could have easily been eaten by the shrimp in there within a few hours, I know they can be pricey, but any losses from a bigger group wont be as detrimental. I feed live BBS, freeze dried daphnia and crushed flake, mosquito larvae sounds like a winner too, any thing small enough for them to eat.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/23/2023 at 10:08 AM, beastie said:

Thank you for the suggestions, I have lids on both of these tanks and the shrimp tank has a tunnel, some rocks and a cholla wood piece in there.

Wouldnt large killifish eat shrimp? I did only rudimental research on killifish, since there are so many, but wouldnt those with larger mouths eat the shrimp and not just babies?

Probably, yes they would! Clown killis are best bet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many should I get? When I initially contemplated rachovii killifish (that i decided against, i think the snail antenna would be too tempting for it) i assumed one male two females. But the clown killi is smaller and some sites suggest it is gregarious and the inner species aggression is milder than other killifish species. Does that mean three would be too little and I should aim for six?

Are they easy to sex when young? If yes then two males four females might work. If not then the question is how many to risk. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/23/2023 at 12:27 PM, beastie said:

How many should I get? When I initially contemplated rachovii killifish (that i decided against, i think the snail antenna would be too tempting for it) i assumed one male two females. But the clown killi is smaller and some sites suggest it is gregarious and the inner species aggression is milder than other killifish species. Does that mean three would be too little and I should aim for six?

Are they easy to sex when young? If yes then two males four females might work. If not then the question is how many to risk. Thanks

I kept 4 males and 10 females in a planted 5g without any problems. When I broke the tank down I pulled somewhere between 25-30 killis. Males would have a colored tail and females would just be clear. 
 

Here’s a screenshot of one pair I had in the tank 

image.jpeg.f7a4aa525b7218c2484147c100cc8d32.jpeg

Edited by knee
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Absoultely not well versed on them and agree with everyone above.

I am Im a big fan of clowns as well. Id put them n anytank you have for them. if i did my cm conversion right my clown tank was a

45 cm x 66 cm x38 cm 90 liter tank  /  18"x26"x15" 24 gallon tank

20220705_121826.jpg.c8212b5b0470b65f777d486424903226.jpg

I ran it around 68⁰ with duckweed and frogbit floating. This tank started with 18 adults and grew to more than that on its own. Mine ate nearly everything and produced fry that grew  with the adults in the tank. I do not currently keep them ad I am a bit focused on the breeding of my puffers and needed puffer foods currently but a top species for me. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m another vote for clown killifish. I love killifish, and clown killifish were my first foray into that world. They will colony breed with enough plant cover. I didn’t believe this initially as I am not a skilled breeder by any definition (just like the planted look so that’s the type of tank I put them in) - but my six killifish are now somewhere north of 15 and I haven’t done anything different. 
Go for the clown killis if you want something that can’t eat your other creatures. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am still waiting for the breeders to get back to me, they have them, just not right now or not around me. I also still cant figure out which tank :)) I have several fish I would love to try and not sure in which order or in which tank, so maybe you can advise:

clown killifish, Scarlet badis, armored stickleback ( Indostomus paradoxus), pygmy corydoras, kuhli loaches (though some sites say not at all for 10 gallon and I am confused) and perhaps Asian stone cat (hara jerdoni) though thanks to me having the hillstream loaches now I can let these go.

The two tanks are very similar, air filters, sponges, one has shrimp and no heater, so it swings from 19 up to 27 in summer (warm room), the other will have to have my tylomelania snails as I have nowhere else for them right now, has a heater, 25 degrees stable but am expecting higher in the summer. Both did get plant growth, the one with shrimp had a moss spike and some floating plants, the other one has new grass plant and also no floating plants, they dont do well there

I was thinking a combo of tylomelania, clown killifish and maybe later one one scarlet badis (once the killies breed a little at least).

For the other tank I am still considering the armored stickleback, but have been waiting for four months now and not sure if they will ever be in stock again so maybe the clown killies would be a better choice there. Choices, choices, I know. Hard. Will appreciate any tips on how you would do it

 

 

tank_w_tylomelania.png

shrimp_tank.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...