Need Help With Care And Tank Set Up

[Queen Bee]

I have a couple of killifish on hold at the lfs. They are a male & female pair of the species Fundulopanchax Amieti. I've been looking for information on the care and set up for the tank. I am going to use a 5 gallon with java moss.

Other than feeding worms or brine shrimp, I have not been able to find out much. Everyone says different things for the killifish, and then end by saying not all species of them are cared for the same.

I did read somewhere about a lower temperature giving them a longer life.

I also read that they prefer more acidic water. No problem there my water has almost no buffers and I need to keep coral in my other tanks.

What I need to know is about water changes, heat, light. Anyone out there that can give me some more info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AdAndrews]

I have a couple of killifish on hold at the lfs. They are a male & female pair of the species Fundulopanchax Amieti. I've been looking for information on the care and set up for the tank. I am going to use a 5 gallon with java moss.

Other than feeding worms or brine shrimp, I have not been able to find out much. Everyone says different things for the killifish, and then end by saying not all species of them are cared for the same.

I did read somewhere about a lower temperature giving them a longer life.

I also read that they prefer more acidic water. No problem there my water has almost no buffers and I need to keep coral in my other tanks.

What I need to know is about water changes, heat, light. Anyone out there that can give me some more info would be greatly appreciated.

first 5gal is too small for kili's
keep to feeding them flake food like tetra min
they will need a tempature of around 26-28 celcius
dont bother about acidic water, they will survive what ever
you need your tank light on for 8 hours a day
change water 30% every 2 weeks and test
if you havnt got a filter, buy 1

what tank is it that you have - or going to buy- my advice is to get a 10 gallon and have a small community as killi's are herder to keep

 

[Davo86]

Hi Queen Bee,

I'll admit i know very little on this species but after a quick google it seems they do in fact live better at lower temps of around 23-24C, Also it appears ph and hardness isn't critical but 'Moderately Soft Acidic water' is repeated a lot when describing these.
One site mentions keeping them in a ratio of 1M2F.

Big C is ultimately your best bet for more answers on this species.

 

[BigC]

Hi,
Fundulopanchax amieti is a fairly large type of killifish around the 7cm mark, doesnt' look much on paper but believe me its a good sized fish when fully grown.
I would always like to obtain a trio if possible (1 male and 2 females). They are a beautifully marked killifish and its beautiful orange underbelly is an added bonus.
There are many populatations of this species and all hail from around the Sanga river basin in Cameroon, West Africa. You would find this killi in marshes fed by fast flowing streams and forested areas in the rainy season. This is a fairly recent discovery only found in 1974. It is a semi annual, meaning that the eggs can be stored in peat to develop or kept in water to develop. If you intend to spawn these then here are some stats you should try and acheve for sucessful breeding. Temperature should ideally be 25-27'C pH 6.5 dH around 8. Try rainwater and tapwater mix if there is no heavy industry in your locality. You can use a peat substrate if you so wish or make some spawning mops but dont add the cork and let them sink to the bottom of the tank. Collect the eggs daily and place them in damp or water whichever suits you best. Water incubation takes around 3 weeks whereas peat incubation takes a lot longer around 8 weeks, but the fry from the peat incubation will be a lot more robust. The fry will accept newly hatched BBS from the outset. As with any small body of water you should be performing regular waterchanges, I do mine every other day. Small and often. Feed the adults on a mixed diet of predomiatly live or frozen foods with flake forming the backbone of such diet.
As said earlier the males are pretty boisterious toward females so if you dont want to be left without the female then I would haggle the LFS into letting you have a couple of females or even better three.
Pretty gloss over stuff here, if you need a more indepth article on this species or peat preparation/spawning mops or if there's anything your unsure of then just ask.
I hope this was of some help to you.
Regards
BigC

 

[Queen Bee]

The lfs where I am buying them, only have these 2 killifish. They are in a 2 gallon tank together. They keep some other species (can't remember the exact name) They were chocolate and something that looked close to Australae.

they do have a larger tank of killifish in the regular section and they are all the same, but not anywhere as magnificent as these. More common breed I am thinking as they are not as expensive either.

The tank I bought is a 5 gallon with lid, light, and filter. I do also have heaters here. I am picking up some java moss, but I do want to breed them, so I will look up what the mop thing is later.

Thanks for the help on cleaning. She said they like old water and that they use water from their other tanks to change their water. Wasn't to clear what she meant. Dirty water just doesn't seem right to use. I am cautioned to change their routine too much, as shocking a fish with very different water conditions is very harmful to them. I am getting some water from her, but I can't do that for every water change. There is a garbage facility and hydro facility close by. not sure about using rainwater. I can't wait to get them and do a water test to see what they are currently living in.

Thanks for the help and advice. I am sure I will have more questions in the near future. Spawning them is a definate must. They are so beautiful!!!

 

[BigC]

OK QB,
First up get a divider made up for your tank or alternatively purchase a similar tank, your gonna need one anyway if you intend to breed.
If you feel the female is being harassed too much by the male courtship then seperate her to a different tank or a divided tank.
For water I see you are hesidant about using Rainwater, so the LFS is giving you some water when you make the purchase. Place the fish in the tank with this water only and add a 1/2 a litre of used tank water from another tank. (not dirty water) the next day add another 1/2 litre of aquarium water, keep doing this until you have their aquarium filled. Please make sure you have a tight fitting cover on their tank, because as with most Killifish species they can and will jump. So please take extra care to make sure their tank is fully covered. Block any gaps with filter wool.
I wouldn't use a substrate if your breeding, Dont use power filters either. You can use a small air driven sponge filter for this purpose.
For breeding mops see data below, you dont need a cork as the mops for Fp. ameiti dont need to float, but if you wish to make a floating mop thats fine as this will afford the female some extra cover.
http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/breedi...awning_Mop.html
Water for breeding can be obtained by filling a bucket with tap water and filling some womens tights with peat moss tying the top in a knot and place this into the bucket and leave for a week or so. Drain the first couple of buckets off and add new water each time. After that you can use for water changes. It should be tinged slightly with tannins from the peat. This is excellent for weekly waterchanges.
Feed live and frozen as said before to bring the fish into condition
Anything else then just ask
Regards
BigC

 

[Queen Bee]

This is going to be a real project. I am so excited, I think I just found an egg.

Update on the tank conditions. Unfortunately, they cancelled me at work, so I picked up the fish a day earlier than I expected. I used the water from the lfs (tested it) and used water from my betta bowl (which was due for a change) The ph was a couple of degrees different, so I kept them in a bucket with their water and slowly added some of the betta water to them over the evening to get them use to it.

They did not like the filter at all. It was a whisper intank filter. They kept spazing out and darting all over everytime they went to that area of the tank. I removed the filter and put in a air stone on a very low setting.

They kept dashing from the light as well. I got some floating plastic plants to give them some shade from the light, and they seem to be doing fine now.

There is a large bunch of java moss in the tank. This is where the egg is. I do want to make breeding mops, thanks for the advice on that.

The female is definately the boss of the tank. Yesterday, she kept pushing the male out of the way and eating all of the blood worms I put in. After several tries, I finally got him to eat one. Today, no one seemed interested in the worms at all. He seems docile and not pushing her around yet. This is a good sign, or is he unhappy and not caring? I think they were mating on the first night. It appeared to be mating from the pictures I've seen.

Not too happy with the water quality. Like I said earlier, the lfs kept them in old water. It is murky and I worry that I won't be able to give them proper water conditions to do water changes. Murky water just seems not healthy for them. They are swimming around and seem fine. I would like to change their conditions slowly and get them use to better conditions. Would this be better for them? I have 3 other tanks from which to pull water. 2 have very high ph (I have coral in them because I have no buffers in my water and lost 2 tanks already from acidic water below 6) The other tank is a betta 2 1/2 gallon with no filter. I change their water 100% when it is due for a water change. Their is no coral in this tank so the ph is closer to the killifish tank.

Very nervous to do the water change and not sure what to do for the fish now that they are home. They were not cheap, and I really want to do the best thing for them. Only been a couple of days, and I am already attached.