Fundulopanchax marmoratus

[Crispii]

@GaryE Just a thought, but do you think my pairs are too young to breed? The seller who sold me the fish told me that they are sexed out about 1.25" long. Before the separation, I was able to collect a few eggs (about four) and all have fungused. The eggs were smaller than any Fundulopanchax species that I worked in the past. Perhaps the group were inbred and that I'm not getting any decent amounts of eggs or even fertilized ones?

 

[GaryE]

Inbreeding is rarely an issue with Fundulopanchax. But age is.

Some of the weird Fp we don't see often, like marmoratus/ndianus etc can be hard to breed. Even the absolutely easy to breed scheeli I recently got aren't cooperating at the moment. They look ready, but they aren't.

I just went digging in the French (KCF) site, and noticed something interesting. They have a lot of people breeding the fish (well, 7 or 8, and for a killie globally, that's a lot). The eggs are said to be fragile for the first 24 hours. As well, there may be light sensitivity. They say the fish should be in dim lighting, and that the eggs should also. They seem to direct breeders to natural set ups, saying that fry predation is minimal. You might want to try that with one of your pairs - maybe a 10 gallon, unheated, with gravel and lots of plants.

The guy who wrote the article noted eggs were laid in the morning at the top of mops in his place, which suggests no eggs in gravel. But you never know for sure.

The most frustrating element in that article is the unnamed author said they were easy and prolific....

 

[Crispii]

Inbreeding is rarely an issue with Fundulopanchax. But age is.

Some of the weird Fp we don't see often, like marmoratus/ndianus etc can be hard to breed. Even the absolutely easy to breed scheeli I recently got aren't cooperating at the moment. They look ready, but they aren't.

I just went digging in the French (KCF) site, and noticed something interesting. They have a lot of people breeding the fish (well, 7 or 8, and for a killie globally, that's a lot). The eggs are said to be fragile for the first 24 hours. As well, there may be light sensitivity. They say the fish should be in dim lighting, and that the eggs should also. They seem to direct breeders to natural set ups, saying that fry predation is minimal. You might want to try that with one of your pairs - maybe a 10 gallon, unheated, with gravel and lots of plants.

The guy who wrote the article noted eggs were laid in the morning at the top of mops in his place, which suggests no eggs in gravel. But you never know for sure.

The most frustrating element in that article is the unnamed author said they were easy and prolific....

That is what I hear from many sites, claiming that they are easy to breed, prolific, and a good fish for beginners.

 

[Back in the fold]

That is what I hear from many sites, claiming that they are easy to breed, prolific, and a good fish for beginners.

One size fits all advice rarely fits anyone entirely . The guy writing that wrote his experience but we don’t know everything about his setup . Too many variables . Sometimes I think the placement of an aquarium factors in too .

 

[Jennet]

I'd offer to go undercover in the UK, but don't think I am anywhere near ready for killifish yet

 

[GaryE]

I found a new source of info, purely by chance. I was willed the killie resources of a longtime friend, and have an entire box of revues, mostly in French. I am cat sitting for another friend, and grabbed a review to read while I was over there - he asked me to keep the cat company. The cat couldn't care less if I'm there or not, but hey, I said I'd do it so I figured I'd do some reading.
Just at random, there was an article in the old review I took. 'Fundulopanchax marmoratus (Radda 1974) by Jean-Pierre Fremery, Killi Club de France, #2/05, March/April 2005, Page 18.
To translate and summarize: The fish occurs with Chromaphyosemion splendopleure and Aphyosemion calliurum. (To me, having bred both very easy killies, they should be equally cooperative) shallow, swampy habitats. Soft and acidic water, pH between 5.4 and 5.7, temperatures between 22 and 25c. He used rainwater for them at 22-23, with oak leaves on the bottom and little egg collection. Fry appeared in good numbers even in small tanks. However, he fed live foods, deviating from that only if he ran out. He tried mops (I think for the article) and said the eggs were large and took 20 days in water at ranges between 20 and 25.

I've noticed that a lot of French hobbyists collect rainwater, and building storage systems seems to be a normal part of their hobby.