I recently bought some killifish eggs online, from a species I have been trying to get for a loooong time.
They came from Eastern Europe. A couple of weeks ago I had a great hatchout with Polish origin Aphyosemion ocellatum eggs, collected by a really careful breeder. This lot, Aphyosemion coeleste from the same breeder, were equally well packed and shipped.
But the mail is a cruel environment.
I had three fry hatch three days ago, which gives me a chance of an eventual pair. A slim chance. But among the basically cooked eggs were a few I thought showed signs of life. They were well overdue though, and weren't hatching naturally. And so, I went to work.
Killie keeping can have aerobic benefits. I transferred the eggs to a small jar, via my high tech turkey baster. I took a deep breath, held it til it was spent and breathed the CO2 into the jar, sealing it quickly after. Then I put on some good dance music. I confess, I have been known to dance walk around the fish area.
So I stumbled gracelessly to the music, swishing the sealed jar for the length of a 5 minute African hip hop run. The old killieguys used to put the vials in their pockets and go for long walks, but it's pouring rain and cold out there. Plus I like music. Burna Boy-I can't imagine such a cool artist dealing with his music being used to hatch African ditch fish eggs....
As I write, with the shaken, rattled and rolled eggs in a tray beside me, 2 tails have popped out and 1 fry is trying to figure out what is happening. If I get these 3 , I've doubled my odds. Some overdue eggs produce deformed fish, but it looks like I got these ones in time. I actually thought only 2 were viable, but all 3 just swam when I shook the tray, seconds ago.
Welcome to the world, beautiful wee killies.
They came from Eastern Europe. A couple of weeks ago I had a great hatchout with Polish origin Aphyosemion ocellatum eggs, collected by a really careful breeder. This lot, Aphyosemion coeleste from the same breeder, were equally well packed and shipped.
But the mail is a cruel environment.
I had three fry hatch three days ago, which gives me a chance of an eventual pair. A slim chance. But among the basically cooked eggs were a few I thought showed signs of life. They were well overdue though, and weren't hatching naturally. And so, I went to work.
Killie keeping can have aerobic benefits. I transferred the eggs to a small jar, via my high tech turkey baster. I took a deep breath, held it til it was spent and breathed the CO2 into the jar, sealing it quickly after. Then I put on some good dance music. I confess, I have been known to dance walk around the fish area.
So I stumbled gracelessly to the music, swishing the sealed jar for the length of a 5 minute African hip hop run. The old killieguys used to put the vials in their pockets and go for long walks, but it's pouring rain and cold out there. Plus I like music. Burna Boy-I can't imagine such a cool artist dealing with his music being used to hatch African ditch fish eggs....
As I write, with the shaken, rattled and rolled eggs in a tray beside me, 2 tails have popped out and 1 fry is trying to figure out what is happening. If I get these 3 , I've doubled my odds. Some overdue eggs produce deformed fish, but it looks like I got these ones in time. I actually thought only 2 were viable, but all 3 just swam when I shook the tray, seconds ago.
Welcome to the world, beautiful wee killies.