Killifish?

[Spen2cer]

I was thinking of getting killifish gardneri in a 55 gallon species tank. I have a 7.5 pH with 13 GH. How many would you recommend, and what plants/ rocks should I use? Thanks!

 

[Back in the fold]

I recently got a couple pairs of Fundulopanchax gardneri "Rayfield". They are very nice fish. Very colorful and not overly aggressive with each other. A natural set up is a very good and easy way of raising these fish. Plant your tank very well. A bottom plant like Java Moss ( Vesicularia dubyana) is almost mandatory. It gives good hiding spots for fry. It does well in low light and that is good because you should have a lot of floating plants. Frogbit is excellent. The long roots hanging down from the Frogbit are also good fry hideouts. Whatever else you want is up to you but Killifish love planted tanks and look their best in them. Your water sounds perfect. Temperature should be about 72 to 74 degrees F. Gardneri are not fussy eaters and will gobble down whatever you give them. Males will stake out a territory and defend it. In your 55 you could start with two pairs and you would have a bustling colony in 6 to 8 months. That would look awesome. I have heard that they will kill guppies and seem to only tolerate their own kind but I have not seen that. I keep mine alone anyway. Eggs hatch in 12 to 20 days and fry can eat newly hatched brine shrimp right away. What you are planning would be a very beautiful display.

 

[Spen2cer]

I recently got a couple pairs of Fundulopanchax gardneri "Rayfield". They are very nice fish. Very colorful and not overly aggressive with each other. A natural set up is a very good and easy way of raising these fish. Plant your tank very well. A bottom plant like Java Moss ( Vesicularia dubyana) is almost mandatory. It gives good hiding spots for fry. It does well in low light and that is good because you should have a lot of floating plants. Frogbit is excellent. The long roots hanging down from the Frogbit are also good fry hideouts. Whatever else you want is up to you but Killifish love planted tanks and look their best in them. Your water sounds perfect. Temperature should be about 72 to 74 degrees F. Gardneri are not fussy eaters and will gobble down whatever you give them. Males will stake out a territory and defend it. In your 55 you could start with two pairs and you would have a bustling colony in 6 to 8 months. That would look awesome. I have heard that they will kill guppies and seem to only tolerate their own kind but I have not seen that. I keep mine alone anyway. Eggs hatch in 12 to 20 days and fry can eat newly hatched brine shrimp right away. What you are planning would be a very beautiful display.

Awesome! The room I am putting them in is naturally 72-73, so I'm set on that. I will definitely get some java moss and frogbit. Thanks for your help!

 

[Back in the fold]

Glad to help. Couple other things I should have mentioned are Killies are jumpers. Really good jumpers and they like to jump. Have a super tight top. You won't need a heater either. Your room temp is perfect. I have 2 oddball males in small unheated tanks that get down to 66 degrees. No problems at all. They are still active, colorful and eat well. I came to find out that most Killies actually prefer cooler water and some stop breeding at higher temps. But 72 - 74 is perfect for gardneri. They prefer dim lighting but the lights for your plants won't bother them if you have lots of floating plants. Also, use one or two big sponge filters to save your fry from getting caught. A HOB power filter wouldn't be good. But that is also good. Cheaper to run and maintain. I hope you get this going because it will be an awesome sight. Keep your adults well fed and they will leave the fry alone too.

 

[Spen2cer]

Glad to help. Couple other things I should have mentioned are Killies are jumpers. Really good jumpers and they like to jump. Have a super tight top. You won't need a heater either. Your room temp is perfect. I have 2 oddball males in small unheated tanks that get down to 66 degrees. No problems at all. They are still active, colorful and eat well. I came to find out that most Killies actually prefer cooler water and some stop breeding at higher temps. But 72 - 74 is perfect for gardneri. They prefer dim lighting but the lights for your plants won't bother them if you have lots of floating plants. Also, use one or two big sponge filters to save your fry from getting caught. A HOB power filter wouldn't be good. But that is also good. Cheaper to run and maintain. I hope you get this going because it will be an awesome sight. Keep your adults well fed and they will leave the fry alone too.

What's a light you would recommend? I am more than happy to cut some money off of my budget. I will probably get the tank cycling starting in a month or so. I will be sure to get a lid, and are there any sponge filters you would recommend? Thanks again

 

[Back in the fold]

I like to do things on the cheap. My lighting is a simple floor lamp over this 20 gallon. It has 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb and works great. You could have two and it would be perfect. The filter only cost me 10 bucks.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Great little fish -really spunky. I only have 4 running around with all sorts of fish of similar size - I've never seen any aggression out of them other than when I was feeding tubiflex worms and they bumped other fish out of the way to get to it. I think you can manage that LOL. Now my spec's on them say the Gardneri Killifish prefer temperatures in the range of 73-79 and a ph of 6-7.5 so easy care for fish. Mine have not been jumpers because they tend to swim in the mid-lower half of my tank.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Oh I don't like to do things cheap LOL.

 

[Spen2cer]

View attachment 95229 View attachment 95230 View attachment 95231 I like to do things on the cheap. My lighting is a simple floor lamp over this 20 gallon. It has 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb and works great. You could have two and it would be perfect. The filter only cost me 10 bucks.

Oh, ok! I think I will just go for a basic LED then, and try to find a good sponge filter

 

[Spen2cer]

Oh I don't like to do things cheap LOL.

I see we have contrasting ideas going on here

 

[Back in the fold]

Oh, ok! I think I will just go for a basic LED then, and try to find a good sponge filter

Any sponge filter will do but get a fair sized one. Mine in that 20 gallon is 4 inches diameter and 4 inches tall. You might need 2 in a 55 gallon. You'll have to be the judge of that. They are easy to hide with plants so don't let the ugly factor discourage you. If you want to go with really nice LED lighting, then all the better. Nothing beats first class.

 

[Spen2cer]

Any sponge filter will do but get a fair sized one. Mine in that 20 gallon is 4 inches diameter and 4 inches tall. You might need 2 in a 55 gallon. You'll have to be the judge of that. They are easy to hide with plants so don't let the ugly factor discourage you. If you want to go with really nice LED lighting, then all the better. Nothing beats first class.

I was originally thinking the Finnex Planted+ 24/7, but if there is an alternative that would work just as well and be less expensive, I'm all in

 

[Spen2cer]

Any sponge filter will do but get a fair sized one. Mine in that 20 gallon is 4 inches diameter and 4 inches tall. You might need 2 in a 55 gallon. You'll have to be the judge of that. They are easy to hide with plants so don't let the ugly factor discourage you. If you want to go with really nice LED lighting, then all the better. Nothing beats first class.

Substrate? I was thinking sand or eco-complete

 

[Back in the fold]

I converted to sand. No more gravel. Lots of people on this forum do it, most notably @Byron. Their results are very nice. Just plain old play sand. It looks good and the plants do great in it. I was skeptical at first but now I'm a true believer.

 

[Spen2cer]

I converted to sand. No more gravel. Lots of people on this forum do it, most notably @Byron. Their results are very nice. Just plain old play sand. It looks good and the plants do great in it. I was skeptical at first but now I'm a true believer.

Ok, awesome.