The amount of killifish owners has jumped a lot recently, so I thought I should make a post concerning mop spawners.

Mop/plant spawners are species of killies that spend a lot of time on the surface of the water. Common mop/plant spawning species are Aplochelius lineatus (Golden Wonder), Epiplatys annulatus, E. dageti (and all Epiplatys species), Aphyosemion australe (and most other Aphyosemion species), Jordanella floridae (Florida flag fish), and Fundulopanchax gardneri.

These species will deposit eggs in duckweed, riccia, and java moss. They may also deposit eggs by the leaves and roots of rooted plants.

But when it comes to collecting eggs, an artificial spawning mop is best since it is easily removed, doesn't take over the tank, leaves very little mess, and works in any water condition. It is also ridiculously easy to make:

Get a small (preferrably) hard-bound book, a skein of 100% acrylic yarn, scissors, and either a cork or pill bottle/film canister (with all labels removed). USE ONLY MAN-MADE MATERIALS WITH 'NO DYE LOT' or they might deteriorate or pollute the water.
1. Wrap the yarn around the book 40-50 times.
2. Cut the yarn then cut another small piece. Tie the 2nd piece around the middle of of one side of the wrapped yarn:
----------------------------------------------
I
I
I
>>>>>>>>>>>>%>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>%>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>%>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I
I
I
----------------------------------------------
(Book with '>>>' as wrapped yarn (1) and '%' as tied yarn (2))
3. Flip the book over and cut the wrapped yarn in the middle.
4. Sterilize the mop in boiling water or antibacterial solution.
5. Tie mop to a cork or sandwich a thread in a pill bottle/film canister.

Finally make sure if you use a pill bottle/film canister that the plastic does not get trapped against the hot light fixture in your tank, especially during/after water changes.

Enjoy your killies!!!

This post has been edited by noelberg: Feb 1 2005, 05:41 AM

Noelberg, my aphyosemion australe "gold" and a. SJO "blue gularis" thank you very much...I'm quite new to this killie stuff, glad I found this post.

You and your killies are quite welcome, fishdudein!

You have some stunning species. Out of curiosity, what color yarn did you use, and what do you feed your killies?

(Sorry took so long to reply)....I bought some dark green yarn (thinking it would appear more "natural-colored" in the killie's eyes??) and was going to do my own version of the mops you just described, only I wasn't too sure how to go about it. Now I will have to double check that the yarn I bought is 100% acrylic, I didn't really pay attention to this as I was picking my yarn out. Just out of curiosity, is there a reason for using only the acrylic yarn? The AUS that I bought are quite small, not what I would think to be breeding size yet. The SJO pair that I bought are good sized and were putting on some nice breeding colors soon after I bought them, and then I lost the female. Luckily, I went back to my LFS and they still had several of them left (they seem to hide in a community setting, so other customers at the shop couldn't see what they were missing. In the species tank I have them in, though, they are out all the time), so I bought them all, now own 6.

I basically feed them what I feed my other fish, 2 small meals a day. Usually flake or pellet in the morning; evening meal of (pick one, rotate for variety) frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, or bloodworm, occasionally frozen daphnia and freeze dried tubifex. One day a week is set aside as a fasting day for all my fish.


Thanks for the kind words, noelberg, I was quite stunned when I saw the golds in my LFS. I just stood there in front of the tank, defending my territory until an employee could net out what I had laid claim to!! Picked up the gularis the following week. Looking on Aquabid, someone has listed some A. australe "chocolate" for sale ........I think I might be coming down with a bad case of "killie fever"!

Yes! The type of yarn matters greatly because it can either decompose or leech harmful chemicals into the water if it's not the right type. Acrylic or other man made (polyester anyone?) materials decompose much, much slower than natural materials. And yarns with 'dye lots' can leave your fish with colored - and potentially deadly - water.

Apparently the color doesn't matter one bit, but I was curious about that tidbit of info. Sounds like a science fair project: "Does colored yarn affect killie spawning tendancies?"

And as for diet, yours sound like happy killies. I hear about a lot of nuts who only feed their killies natural food. I love feeding mine frozen bloodworms and beefheart, but sometimes they just get plain old flakes - it's easier. Fresh baby brine shrimp became too much of a hassle.

enjoy those killies!

Hey Guys.
Glad to hear someone talking about my favorite fish.
I don't think the yarn color matters to the fish.
I allways used ( no killies right now ) dark colored manmade yarn ,painted three sides of the tank black,and used dark gravel. I believe they feel safer and color up more.
You probably know this, but just in case, the killie tank must be tightly covered, or they will jump out. They will find any little crack, and jump out and dry out.
You're lucky to find them at LFS, I have to get mine shipped in.
Plan to get some more when I get the new place organized.
Happy Killies. KF

I allways used ( no killies right now ) dark colored manmade yarn ,painted three sides of the tank black,and used dark gravel. I believe they feel safer and color up more.

. ... Darker tank floors/back/sides show the colours off better. It all about contrast.
Many killies are stunningly coloured without the need for the dark background. There are a few though, with subtle colouring, that the blackness can really highlight well.
Think Austrolebias nigripinnis. Essentially a black fish anyway, but the spots look so much better against black backgrounds than light ones. You get to see the real shine of these beautiful fish.

The mops colour can help too.. dark mops=dark background.
They look more sheltered too.

(though, obviously nigripinnis don't use mops, but dark peat substrate does the job for me!!)


cheers

I know this is really a novice question. This is my first time with killifish and i really like them and plan to get more in the future. At the moment i have 4 Jordanella floridae. My question is, wat exactly is a mop-spawning? Is it suppose to represent a natural environment for the killi's to put there eggs? Thanks in advance.


Torrens

Hi Bozza,
I'm visiting Brisbane for 3wks in March 2007.



http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breedi...illie_Mops.html
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breedi...lag%20Fish.html
Regards
BigC

[quote name='noelberg' date='Feb 1 2005, 12:38 AM' post='629325']
The amount of killifish owners has jumped a lot recently, so I thought I should make a post concerning mop spawners.

Mop/plant spawners are species of killies that spend a lot of time on the surface of the water. Common mop/plant spawning species are Aplochelius lineatus (Golden Wonder), Epiplatys annulatus, E. dageti (and all Epiplatys species), Aphyosemion australe (and most other Aphyosemion species), Jordanella floridae (Florida flag fish), and Fundulopanchax gardneri.


Well, I am new here and wanted to see if the mop picture would post.
Perhaps I can contribute more if I figure this forum out.

Charles H in St Louis, MO