I have a long relationship with a killie called Aphyosemion punctatum Buong Bai. In the early 2000s, my friend Oliver Lucanus went to Cameroon and found this fish while he was doing Cichlid research. A group of forest elephants drove the researchers away for the river they were fishing, and while he was waiting for the elephants to move on, he found a stream full of vivid killies in the forest.
When he brought them home, I spent many hours determining what they were, tracing drainages and reading. Later, the World Wildlife Fund had chosen a different name for the location (due to multiple local languages), as Bolo Bai. That's for any map readers out there.
I mailed eggs of this fish to a number of American Killifish Association breeders, as well as to Europe. While their numbers are now in decline 20 years later (fashion and the drive for novelty) they're still well established in the hobby. I discovered they were very prone to velvet (Oodinium sp parasites) and lost my group around 2013. I got eggs sent to me, and velvet got them too. By 2016, I had none.
I recently read an article in a French killie review talking about how moving water fights Oodinium. With that and one teaspoon of fine sea salt per 5 gallons, I've done well with other "velvet magnets". I haven't seen it here for quite some time. It's a parasite of softwater fish, in my experience.
So I ordered eggs from a Czech breeder, and after a surprising delay, they've hatched in good numbers. I bought 25 eggs and got 15 fry. They are now about half a cm in size, and thriving. Soon, they should look like this:
It's nice to see old friends again.
When he brought them home, I spent many hours determining what they were, tracing drainages and reading. Later, the World Wildlife Fund had chosen a different name for the location (due to multiple local languages), as Bolo Bai. That's for any map readers out there.
I mailed eggs of this fish to a number of American Killifish Association breeders, as well as to Europe. While their numbers are now in decline 20 years later (fashion and the drive for novelty) they're still well established in the hobby. I discovered they were very prone to velvet (Oodinium sp parasites) and lost my group around 2013. I got eggs sent to me, and velvet got them too. By 2016, I had none.
I recently read an article in a French killie review talking about how moving water fights Oodinium. With that and one teaspoon of fine sea salt per 5 gallons, I've done well with other "velvet magnets". I haven't seen it here for quite some time. It's a parasite of softwater fish, in my experience.
So I ordered eggs from a Czech breeder, and after a surprising delay, they've hatched in good numbers. I bought 25 eggs and got 15 fry. They are now about half a cm in size, and thriving. Soon, they should look like this:
It's nice to see old friends again.
Last edited:
