i can find lots of info ,but its not easily understandable, as it can be quite conflicting heres what i got:

when they arrive i put them in a shallow tray( about 3inches tall) the base of the tray being covered with washed damp moss peat- i cover the tray with cling film,and store it in a dark warm place, leave it for about 3 weeks ( ensuring the peat dosent dry out-tho it will be sweating due to the cover) after this time i would drop the whole lot into a small tank set at 75_80 degrees, when this is done i would add some microworms, to stimulate the eggs into thinking that the rain season has started(vibrations)
right im not going any further as i dont want to give you the idea that i know exactly what in doing, there is very diffrent methods give on the web,some using small water pots others peat,some taking out bad eggs other not, so i would rather get it straight from the horses mouth so to speak,my eggs are coming from Thailand,so i have yet to do reaserch on the weather there,rainy seasons etc...this is something i really want to do and do right, so i would be so grateful for your help

shelagh xxx

Nothobranchius rachovi from your PM.
The species in question is not from Thailand but rather from around Mozambique, Africa and is a true annual.
You sure have picked a hard member of the Genus to start with. Anyway with that said I will attempt to tell you how to raise this species.
From my own dealings with the species in question N. rachovi Beira 98. I lost quite a few batches of fry in the early days mostly through ignorance and stupidity, nowdays they are a doddle.
OK you will recieve the eggs in peat, on the bag there should be both a spawning date and a prospective hatching date. Rachovi eggs can take anywhere from 4-6 months to hatch as they go through different development stages whilst in the peat (diapause) As I said earlier they are true annuals, meaning that they lay their eggs in the bottom of the pool they are living in, the hot summer sun dries up the pools but the eggs remain viable until the raining season returns. During this time there may be a freak storm and some of the eggs will hatch and the pond will dry out once again, these fish fry will obviously die, but there will still be eggs in the mud, as not all will hatch at the same time which is natures way of preserving the species.
Ok when you get the eggs and have assertained a hatching date (if he's selling them, then I would expect that they are pretty close to hatching, maybe no more than a few weeks). First off I would check the peat for eggs, These will be difficult to spot amongst the peat at first, but should be amberish in colour. You should really get yourself a good magnifying glass from your local chemist or opticians. Looking through this at an egg you should be able to see the developing embryo, now the way I can tell if they are ready to hatch is look at the eye, around the iris (black part) you should be able to see a gold coloured, kind of ring. If that is present then they are ready or at least some will be ready. If you dont see this then I would personally place the peat in a clean fish bag, keep a little bit of air in the bag and tie the opening with a knot. Store in the dark at a nice warm constant temperature (hot press/ airing cupboard wraped in a blanket) anything where it is warm. The inside of the bag will condensate, thats fine. Check again for good signs of development as above in say a fortnight.
Phew!
If the eggs are ripe enough to hatch place you peat in a 1lb white (for visual purposes) ice-cream tub. float this in an aquarium and cover the peat in the tub with about 30mm of tank water of around 75'F. Some of the eggs will hatch almost immediately. The fry are really, really small, you wont believe how small these things are compared to guppy, platy young.
Right get another good size white margarine tub prepared and try to catch the fry using a syringe with a littl piece of airline attached carefully suck up the fry one by one and place in the new tub which incidentally should also contain the same depth of water from the same source.
The fry must be fed immediately. Given the size of these, the food stuff has to be very small indeed newly hatched brineshrimp are too large. Infusoria is the order of the day (see my pinned topic in the killifish section) Place some Salvinia natans or similar in the fry tub this will also provide some natural infusoria and place one drop of liquifry No1 for egglayers in there as well. Keep the fry tub spotlessly clean and add some extra water day by day as you go along (a few mm per day) After 2-3 days the fry can be offered newly hatched brineshrimp and you fears shold be almost over. Cleanliness is paramount with these, remove any uneaten food soon after feeding. Feed the fry 4 times per day, little and often. Also its a good idea to mix a few grains of cooking salt in the water to prevent velvet. Just a few grains mind.
Notho fry grow quickly with regular food and small waterchanges, they have to as their whole lifecycle only lasts 10-15 months.
Now your peat. All the fry that were going to hatch will have hatched in 2-3 days. Take your peat squeese the excess water out and lay it on a piece of kitchen towel. get its consistancy to something like pipe tobacco not too dry and not too wet. Rebag and store this as before for another fortnight. then repeat this process all over again. You may find that you have a higher hatch rate from your second wetting than the first. You can repeat this procedure 3-4 times if you like. I would normally have enough fry after 3.
N. rachovi fry grow quick as I said earlier, you may find you have skewed sex ratios in favour of males or vice versa. (par for the course) seperate the sexes as they become apparent also seperate according to size as Rachovi males are quite aggressive toward on another.
Now N. rachovi will rarely take dried foodstuffs, but I have had them take frozen bloodworm etc in the past. If you can make provisions for giving them live food then do so.
Culture you own (see pinned topic again in killifish section)
Starter cultures available from various sources on the net
Whiteworm, Grindalworm and Microworm. Fruitfly if you like but can be a bit awkward for some people.
I think I've covered just about everything there may be some holes here and there if so don't hesitate to ask if you have any problems.
Regards
BigC.

yes bigc, thats the one
have found this website, but i still want more info http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/killi/nothobranchius.php
how long do the eggs need the dry "season"??
how do i know exactly how much to feed them?
are snails nessercery??( to mop up excess food)

they are such beautiful fish and they dont have a long life so i want to try to give them the very best i can

any way, im excited to start but paitent enought to get as much information crammed in as i can before they arrive

shelagh xxx

Salvinia natans- whats this?

i have written my shopping list to include
1lb tub(white)+similar size tub for fry (( do they need to have lids on when floating and should the fry be in the tank floating in another tub, or back in the ariring cupboard?))
magnifying glass
infusoria
liquifry no 1
i will source grindal worm+i have microworm/brineshrimp


thankyou so much BigC, this is exactly the information i was after,all very clear and well written for me.i will read this everyday till they arrive,as just at the moment its all looking like rocket science lol.
i will do doubt have more questions before they arrive
oh, do i add an airstone to the fry tub? and the soil that they arrive in,is that the only amount that i will need?

thankyou for your guidance BigC

shelagh xx

BigC ,looks like this project is on hold, ebay have just emailed to say that the listing was removed ( dosent say why tho) although i did "buy it now" almost a week ago, the seller is no longer registered,so i think i wont be getting my eggs after all- i will carry on reaserching and asking Q`s though as i will try to get some in this country now( i will wait a week just incase they turn up)

seller id-readesiam ( thailand)

anyone dealt with this guy??
shelagh

i was ripped of on ebay i bought fish and they just took my money and a few other people aswell if you have no luck with the eggs or a refund you would have to put a claim into paypal and they should pay you as you are insured when you pay by them but this process takes a little while hope that helps

No just an airline.


A floating plant.


Two tubs floating in the aquarium, one for the peat moss and eggs and one for the fry. Transfer the fry from the moss tub as they hatch using the method discribed in the article. Do not put the fry tub back in the airing cupboard.


Yes



Dont use Fleabay for killifish eggs etc and especially from such places as Thailand, China etc. I had a very close friend and fellow enthusiast who also went down this route and sent to Bulgaria for some rarities and he too was ripped off.

I have supplied you with a contact via PM for some eggs, let me know how you get on.
Regards
BigC

Shame about ebay ... I'm always a little apprehensive when I buy things from the far east ... not been ripped off yet though.

What do you do about getting them to lay eggs?? Do you need to have a peat substrate and gradually take out the water from the tank??

16x8x8 tank, sponge filter, temperature 25'C, pH 6.8, soft
Well conditioned trio (1 male:2 females)
Well fed on livefoods
Jam-jar half filled with soaked rinsed peat moss
Collect the peat weekly, bag, label and replace.
Hatch and rear as above.

Regards
BigC