Aphyosemion

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Crispii

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Thought I should make a thread showcasing one of my favorite genus of fish in order to promote these beautiful and underrated fish into the hobby a bit more. None of the pics belong to me and feel free to post any pics of your Aphyosemion killifish.

Aphyosemion pyrophore 'Komono Yellow'
fwkillifishe1619171039.jpg
 
Killifish are really nice fish and I reckon most of them are completely under rated. There are 3 main Genera of killifish kept in captivity (Aphyosemion, Nothobranchius and Epiplatys) but people in killifish societies around the world keep other Genera too.

The biggest drawback to these fish is their small size and short life span. Most species only live for 12 months, some might make it to 2 years but very few live longer than that.

Most are peaceful and colourful and can be easily bred in captivity in tanks that are 12-18 inches long.

They can be kept in community tanks but they must be kept with small peaceful fish too. Some of the bigger panchax can get nippy so they need to be watched, but Aphyosemion are normally fine with other fish that don't hassle the killifish.

Their tank should be covered because they jump. And they like floating plants like Water Sprite. It allows them to hide just under the surface and grab insects that land on the plants or on the water.

They can be fussy about food and some will refuse dry foods, preferring live or frozen food. Most of this comes down to the breeder who should be offering their fish a wide variety of foods to maximise the nutrition the fish get and to reduce the chance of the fish going on hunger strikes if they aren't fed purely on live foods.
 
I'm an absolute killie freak, be forewarned if you read on! I got my first pair at the start of the 1990s, and have been into these colourful fish since then. I consider them ideal for aquarists who like hands on fishkeeping and who live off the beaten path. Because their eggs can be mailed, they are a great equalizer for people who choose to live farther from population (and fish sharing) centres than most of us.
A "killie" is many things. I like the Genus Aphyosemion. My fish live 2-3 years, and lay eggs that take about 2 weeks to hatch. I just keep replacing my adults, raising fry and having fun. One species I keep have been in my tanks since 1992. I still like them, many generations in. And learning how to keep them going that long has taught me more about fishkeeping than a lifetime on forums would.
I'm in Canada, and get my fish from breeders in France, Spain, England, Portugal, Czechia, Poland and the USA, as well as western Africa.
There are issues for these fish. One species, one tank. That's the big one. Temps from 19 to 23c. Highest quality foods needed - the fish equivalent of processed foods don't fly. And you must breed them. They aren't good if you want fish as ornaments. You have to want to participate in a living process.
There are annual killifish = short lived, beautiful and with eggs that can rest unhatched for long periods, as befits fish evolved in wet and dry seasons where their ponds, streams and wetlands dry out. They aren't what I keep, but they are also fascinating.

Another appealing thing to me is these fish, with very few exceptions, haven't fallen prey to the human wish to 'improve". They aren't examples of the linebreeder's art, like fancy guppies or Bettas. Orange australe and some blue gularis have been fancy bred, but 95% of these fish are just as their habitats made them. That to me is cool.

My pictures.
 

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I'm an absolute killie freak, be forewarned if you read on! I got my first pair at the start of the 1990s, and have been into these colourful fish since then. I consider them ideal for aquarists who like hands on fishkeeping and who live off the beaten path. Because their eggs can be mailed, they are a great equalizer for people who choose to live farther from population (and fish sharing) centres than most of us.
A "killie" is many things. I like the Genus Aphyosemion. My fish live 2-3 years, and lay eggs that take about 2 weeks to hatch. I just keep replacing my adults, raising fry and having fun. One species I keep have been in my tanks since 1992. I still like them, many generations in. And learning how to keep them going that long has taught me more about fishkeeping than a lifetime on forums would.
I'm in Canada, and get my fish from breeders in France, Spain, England, Portugal, Czechia, Poland and the USA, as well as western Africa.
There are issues for these fish. One species, one tank. That's the big one. Temps from 19 to 23c. Highest quality foods needed - the fish equivalent of processed foods don't fly. And you must breed them. They aren't good if you want fish as ornaments. You have to want to participate in a living process.
There are annual killifish = short lived, beautiful and with eggs that can rest unhatched for long periods, as befits fish evolved in wet and dry seasons where their ponds, streams and wetlands dry out. They aren't what I keep, but they are also fascinating.

Another appealing thing to me is these fish, with very few exceptions, haven't fallen prey to the human wish to 'improve". They aren't examples of the linebreeder's art, like fancy guppies or Bettas. Orange australe and some blue gularis have been fancy bred, but 95% of these fish are just as their habitats made them. That to me is cool.

My pictures.
Beautiful! Really loving your killis. 😍
 
Killifish are very beautiful and the actual fish are more beautiful than the photos.

My favourite Killifish which I had kept are Nothobranchius Rachovii, Aphyosemion Australe Gold, Austrolebias Nigripinnis and Hypsolebias picturatus.
Hypsolebias picturatus is very beautiful.

The only problem is their short lifespan as what Colin mentioned.

I'm now trying to focus on bigger fish that can live longer such as Geophagus Sveni, Red Head Tapajos and Satanoperca Daemon though they require very large tank.
 
I had a long Geophagus phase - wonderful fish. But I returned to non-annual killies because I was spending so much time changing water with the large delicate Geos. I've seen 16 inch daemon, and they are the only big fish I would keep, if I had a room sized tank.

My killies are less demanding for space and the maintenance routines are less rigid. By avoiding annuals, I also avoid the short life problem. And my life is too short to spend so much of it changing water to keep my Geos happy, even though I miss them.
 
Im not gonna react to all of them... so lemme just to this for all of them: 😍😍😍 I LOVE THEM ALL
 
I used to keep what was then called A. bivittatum volcanum (I think they're Chromaphyosemion's now) and they were great in natural sunlight.
 
I used to keep what was then called A. bivittatum volcanum (I think they're Chromaphyosemion's now) and they were great in natural sunlight.
They're now Chromaphyosemion volcanum. For decades, they were all put together as bivittatum (a nice fish but larger and different), until people finally got around to studying them more seriously. DNA discoveries have helped a lot.
Yup, we get around to studying them at last, name them and watch a lot of them go extinct as mega-farms and logging replace their habitats. Here's one in 'police lineup lighting'.

I have a group I breed like guppies - I've left them in peace in a couple of tanks for around 15 years now, In my pending new set up, they'll be in the sunshine.
 

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