# Killifish in planted aquarium



## mstolpner (May 11, 2005)

Hi,

I recently saw this killifish in lfs and they told me that this fish requires very low ph (below 6). I like the fish but I don't want to kill it as I prefer to keep ph in my aquarium above 6. Does anyone have any experience with this fish? Also do you know what exactly is this fish?

Thanks,
Mikhail


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## jrIL (Apr 23, 2005)

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Fundulopanchax_sjostedti.php


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

Not something I would keep in "planted aquarium" as addition to fauna but here is another picture taken by me in November at local fish show


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

I had a killie for a week or so. He was really cool looking. It was mostly yellow. But he was an aggressive fin nipper. Tore a chunk out of danios and phantom tetras. I took him back. Killie people mostly keep them in killie only tanks, and usually just a pair and their fry. I wanted to try him out because they can be comunity fish. obviously mine was not. So proceed with caution. I woul dlike to keep this fish in a small tank. But I have no room for more tanks. Thats my expierirence, your and others will vary. Just putting in my $0.02

BTW that is an awsome looking killie. They are rare in most fish stores. That I can tell. I'll bet a killie collector would love to get his/her hands on that fine looking fish.


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## fishdude1984 (Feb 17, 2005)

ive been keeping killies in my tanks for a few years with no problems, except they always kill shrimp so clearly i dont keep them in the same tanks, these are the types i keep/kept 
Fundulopanchax gardneri (Misaje)
Aphyosemion australe
Aphyosemion amieti
Aphyosemion striatum
Nothobranchius rachovi
Nothobranchius patrizi

i think they can do just fine with plants just do a bit of homework


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

They are well suited to nano tanks!!

I keep several species.
They do feast on shrimp, and jump.
Otherwise they seem to do quite well. pH's need not be low unless breeding is real issue, softer water will help, most of mine all bred in normal plant tank conditions.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## mstolpner (May 11, 2005)

Thank you. I guess I have to skip killifish as I have small shrimps and some small fish in the tank. Oh, well.


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## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

How many killikeepers do we have on this board?

I keep Fp. gardneri 'Misaje' Aphyosemion splendopleure 'Muyuka Police Station' C89/15, Jordanella floridae(f1), Austrolebias nigripinnis(fry) and hoping the peat I stored from my Nothos have eggs.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

I have fallen in love with the beauty of these fish and plan on using them exclusively in my next planted tank. I've been doing some research and have found that many species of killifish are "annual." From what I understand this means that they have quite short lifespans. Am I correct in this assumption?

Aggression in a planted tank is not a problem for me as I have been keeping African cichlids in my main planted tank for a year and half now and have dealt with turf wars like you wouldn't believe.

What amazes me is that I don't see killifish used very often at all in planted tanks. The males are unbelievably beautiful and can be kept in even some of the smaller tanks so popular with the Nature Aquarium crowd. 

Can multiple species of killifish be kept together or does that cause problems (i.e. inter-species aggression, hybridization risks, etc)?

I keep Florida flag fish in my grow-out tank and have had them breed several times now. I love those little guys and would like to get into killifish further from my experiences with them


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

plantbrain said:


> They are well suited to nano tanks!!


Tom,

All Killies in nano tanks :shock:

Please define what you mean by all killies.
Please define what you mean by nano tanks (*size).


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## fish7days (Jul 30, 2005)

I'm not sure Tom said "all" in the same tank. I have kept and bred many species in 2.5 gal tanks. Actually spawning can be in an even smaller container, especially the peat spawners. I have a pair of A. Australe in a 55 planted now, and they are doing really well. Feeding may be a problem if you are not prepared to deal with live food.


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

fish7days said:


> I'm not sure Tom said "all" in the same tank. I have kept and bred many species in 2.5 gal tanks. Actually spawning can be in an even smaller container, especially the peat spawners. I have a pair of A. Australe in a 55 planted now, and they are doing really well. Feeding may be a problem if you are not prepared to deal with live food.


I know that ... duh

But I also know that blue gularis wouldn't fit and at least act healthy in small nano tank. I have bread and kept different killes as well in 2.5, 5 and 10.


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## iris600 (Feb 12, 2004)

I've kept a pair of what I believe are the same species as those being sold in LFS as the "golden wonder' killies. The one I believe is a female is slightly larger, with black/browish stripes on her body. She has small red edges to her fins. The other is all gold, narrower bodied. These were given to me, they were homebred... I have had them for over a year in a planted tank w/o any breeding. They are either eating their own eggs or haven't laid at all. The 'female' is particularly aggressive. I'm not overly fond of them, I think it's because they haven't exhibited any particularly neat behaviors and don't seem to have much personality beyond being aggressive. I recently moved them into a smaller tank so I could have a shrimp only tank again, and another tank with my sparkling gourami.
BTW, the sparklings are a super neat fish. Full of personality, excellent little buggers.


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Jay, 
I keep several species but never in the same tank.

Nano is less than 5.5 gal

They are shrimp eating fish. I have a large supply of Cherries in my non killi tanks also. I feed live brine 2-3 days a week and then frozen, or red worms chopped up. 

I'm lucky to have plenty of species here in the Bay from the BAKA and the local wholesaler carries some of the nicer species.

If you watch Killis, they are plant fish, they hang out under leaves and wonder around through the plants more than many fish. 

There dozens of species that look as good and many that look better than the pics shown here.

If you have never kept them, you should.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## jerseyjay (Jan 25, 2004)

plantbrain said:


> If you have never kept them, you should.


Tom,

I agree. Killies are great for planted tanks. I was referring to gularis.

BTW. I have kept a lot of killies and bred them as well. Check my previoius replies.

Take care, 
Jay


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Hi Jay, no not you, I already know you like them Preaching to the choir.....

Some need larger tanks, but the one's I like don't.
I've also some interesting behavior and success in larger community tanks with them. I am very pleased.

But they do love to kill and eat shrimp like no other fish.
They do grow well on that diet


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## iris600 (Feb 12, 2004)

What are your facorite killies for planted tanks?


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## Garhan (Jun 8, 2005)

*Blue Gularis*

Blue Gularis, I have kept and breed BG for sometime now. (4 years) I keep them in a variety of tanks. In my breeding tanks I have 10 gallons that have a 1 pint glass jar filled with peat . They spawn in the peat on a regular bases. I have also spawned the on mops in the 10 gallon tanks as well. My water is a 7.6 with a 5 KH fresh from the tap. They area very hardy fish and can grow out to 4-5 inches.
I have also kept the same in 50 and 40 gallon planted tanks at a Ph of 6.8 with again a 5 KH and here again they spawn regularly amongst the plants. The eggs are quiet noticable. This is one of the most attractive Killifish in the world IMO. All the tanks have varied in temperature from 72 F to 80F in breeding situations.


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## dha300 (Sep 27, 2005)

its funny to see this post ive been gathering tons of info and trying find the right one for my planted im just not sure which is best thx for info,


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

I've been keeping a group of Gardneri killis in a 20 H planted tank for about a year now. I had one jump-out suicide early on, but no problems since. During the summer, when I was feeding live mosquitoe larvae, I saw spawning behaviour (and a few eggs released into the floating plants' roots) but didn't follow up on it. 

I originally had them in my 30 g community planted tank, but as I witnessed first hand their hunting baby Red Cherry Shrimp, I quickly got them out of there and into the "semi-agressive" tank. I can say (at least about the Gardneri type) that they are really feisty little things! One male in particular continually "attacks" the spots on my arm when I'm doing tank maintenance. He scared the $#!+ out of me the first time he did it. And to this day, he still does it! If I didn't know better, I'd say he got some sort of enjoyment from making me jump, *grin*.

Mine (group of 5) are in a planted low-tech tank with a pair of Bolivian Rams, a pair of juvenile Koi Angels, and two Yo Yo loaches. I regularly toss small physa and ramshorn snails into that tank. The killies try to eat the physa snails, but the loaches get most of them. I have a huge Aponogeton ulvaceous, and the killies seem to enjoy swimming down the "tubes" made by the big leaves as they fold over on themselves. I think they're trolling for bits of food left behind, but another will "see" their outline through the leaf, and peck at them. Its just my observation, but I think they are really nice in a planted tank - they're always exploring among the plants, and are a lovely addition to the tank. 

Killies? I'd say go for it! These are my first killie, because they were recommneded as "easy", and so far, they really have been!

-Jane


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## standoyo (Aug 25, 2005)

have some clown killies...really cute. didn't know they are shrimp hunters! oo have to find another place for my crs! eh may have lost a few to them!


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## Phillyman (Dec 2, 2004)

I have kept killies in my planted tanks, but I usually lose them to jumping. I kept Fp. gardneri 'Misaje' and they seemed to be able to find the smallest of gaps in the lid. So I would recommend trying it with tanks with tight fitting lids only. Most killie keepers limit tanks to one species.


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## jower (Nov 1, 2005)

My favorite has to be Normans Lampeye. Not a seasonal killifish. Is easy to maintain. They school! But they jump as crazy....


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## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

I became interested in killifish after I saw them on eBay. Found out that majority of the killifish at eBay are annual fish. They only live for a year. Aphyosemion killifish and Fundulopanchax are non-annuals that are good for beginners, according to the AKA.

Also I found a pair of killifish offered for the price of shipping at this site - http://www.thefishwizards.com/html/fish4sale.htm. The requirement for this offer is to join AKA (American Killifish Association) - www.aka.org. Shipping for me to Georgia, USA is $9.95. I also bought a microworm culture from him for $2.00. I Haven't recieved them yet so comment on the quality of the pair.

Read that they need ph to be 7.0. and only eat live food. Will microworms and dried black worms be enough for them? For, except for the brime shrimp, all other live food can carry parasites. Brime shrimp seem to be a lot of work to raise. Will they breed if the ph is above 7.0?

I am hopping to breed them to trade for aquarium items at a LFS. Only found one, which is 20 miles from me, which will trade with me. LFS said they don't have a good turn over for this fish. I don't understand why. They seem similar to the betta fish. More likely to get along with some other peaceful fish than the betta.


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## zelthan (Mar 15, 2007)

baeutiful blue gularis


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