Are My Killifish In Trouble?

[Queen Bee]

I am new to keeping these fish, and don't know if the behaviour is usual or not.

This morning the male and female were at the top of the tank very motionless. At first I thought they were dead. They are just hanging out there not gasping and no heavy gill action. After a couple of minutes after the light went on, the male disappeared and I think is hiding in the java moss. I have lots of plants at the top, so there is little open water for them to get to.

Are they showing signs of distress or oxygen starvation? I did turn up the air stone, but they really hate the filter on.

 

[BigC]

I'll stick my neck out here and say you are worrying unduly, Look at the mouth, thats right its upturned, this is so that they can feed from just under the surface. So Killifish in general, when not breeding, deport at the water surface, usually directly under some vegitation so as they can ambush any terrestial prey that may fall into the water. When spooked they will dive down for cover as you say amongst the Java Moss, all perfectly natural Some nice pics would be a help though. Is there any sign of colour loss or hollow belly. (hollow belly meaning signs of under nourishment). What are you feeding them on and how often. Dont leave uneaten food in a tank that small.
Regards
BigC

 

[Queen Bee]

I've not been able to view any of the posts until now, but thank you for your quick reply.

No colour loss, or hollow belly. They look normal. I don't have a program that will make the pictures small enough to post on the forum.

I am feeding blood worms (frozen) The female snags about 4 before I can get the male to take one. She keeps pushing him out of the way.

Thanks for putting my mind to rest. Did I mention I have an egg!

 

[Queen Bee]

My killifish are dying. I think the female is already dead. The male is barely breathing. He takes a breath every few minutes. I found them at the bottom of the tank this morning upside down.

I put them both in a bucket of water from my other aquarium with an airstone. In case the female is still alive, she is in there too. Doesn't look good. The ph of the other aquarium is much higher, and that might shock them, but didn't know what else to do.

They aren't all fungusy like they have been dead long. I had a gourami that looked dead and then came back. I've got my fingers crossed, but not too optimistic.

Don't know if the thing I thought was an egg really is one or not. It looks white, center is more of a solid white and the outsides are kindof fuzzy.

Really disappointed.

 

[BigC]

Sorry for not getting back sooner, this was due to a server problem which slowed down the site somewhat,
Anyway I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. Fp. ameiti is not really classed as a beginner type fish, next time, if your not too put off by recent events I would recommend you try a much easer species and plant spawner Fp. gardneri sp.
You made matters worse above by using different water conditions to try and counteract a problem, not a wise move.
Anyway that escapade has gone now and theres nothing to be done.
Obtain a pair of Fp.gardneri for amuch easier introduction intothe world of killifish.
Regards
BigC

 

[Queen Bee]

Thanks. Haven't been here for a bit. I went back to the store recently. Most of their killifish were dead or appeared to be almost dead. Tanks looked horrible. One fish was floating up and down, very dead. 4 days later I went again with my boyfriend, they never cleaned it out and dead fish were still there. Same goes for the betta section. I was heartbroken for a lot of them, and wanted to save them. How many can you save at $20 a fish with no guarantees?

I tried a different store, saw lots of the yellow killifish. They are huge!! By far the largest and healthiest fish I have seen in a long time. This store was amazing. Pretty far out of the way for us, but wow. Even their wall of bettas was impressive. Crowntails for 3.49!!!

I will try the killifish again, but not from the original store. And an easier type too, thanks