American Killifish Association :: Forum

A new Scriptaphyosemion [by fishboy20]

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:46:57 -2200

Killies in Science:: A new Scriptaphyosemion
Scriptaphyosemion

Re: RIce fish, etc. [by rmeyer]

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:56:42 -2200

Killies in Science:: RIce fish, etc.
I do know Mike. In fact, he has bought rice fish from me a few times. Thanks. Bob

Re: Rivulus finally revised? [by rgoldstein]

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:20:29 -2200

Killies in Science:: Rivulus finally revised?
Costa's paper on the taxonomy of what we generally call Rivulus appeared in Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, vol. 22, number 3, pp 233-249, 2011. I do not understand it. His analysis is based on a combination of morphological character states (+ and -) and mitochondrial DNA analyses that have been published to GenBank. I don't know that it's possible to mix GenBank information with morphological information as present or absent. It makes no sense to me. I would like to hear from the DNA experts in our group about this analysis. In the meantime, I am not ready to adopt a system I do not understand. - Bob Goldstein

Re: A COMMENT ON THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM KILLIFISH [by aklee]

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:42:57 -2200

Killies in Science:: A COMMENT ON THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM KILLIFISH
In passing, I’ll emphasize once more that the bait derivation of “killifish” is based entirely upon British references, i.e., the Oxford English Dictionary and the Walton, Chetham and Francis angling books, none of which have any relevance to either American angling or American usage. Neither is “killifish” or any of its orthographic variations relevant to the British angling scene since there were no killifishes in England in the Nineteenth century.

Conversely, as there were no minnows in America, American anglers choose to refer to killifishes as “minnows” and thus never used the term “killifish” prior to its usage in the scientific community. The evidence cited in my post overwhelmingly shows the word “killifish” to be derived from its Dutch ancestry, i.e., “fish of the kill.”
Albert J. Klee

Re: Preserving a killifish [by bcooper]

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:10:42 -2200

Killies in Science:: Preserving a killifish
The answer depends on why you want to preserve it.

For pathological examination, 10% formalin is the best fixative. You might be able to get a small quantity from a local veterinarian. Formalin will reduce the coloration of the fish.

For genetic studies, 70% ethanol is best. It could also be used if you just want to keep the fish for some reason. It tends to do less damage to the colors. In an emergency, vodka could be used.

Barry Cooper

Re: Colliers article in AKA Journal 39/ 5-6 about Aphyosemion [by bwatters]

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:37:24 -2200

Killies in Science:: Colliers article in AKA Journal 39/ 5-6 about Aphyosemion
Robert,

I would suggest that you contact the author, Glen Collier, directly as he may be able to send you a "reprint" in .pdf format.

Alternatively, you could contact Dick Martino, the AKA Publication Sales Committee chairperson who may still have copies of that particular issue of JAKA for sale.

Contact me privately if you need contact information.

Brian Watters

Re: AKA Plug in Aquarium Fish International Magazine [by scottdavis]

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 11:01:14 -2200

Killies in Science:: AKA Plug in Aquarium Fish International Magazine
Is Aquarium Fish International what used to be called Aquarium Fish Magazine? Over the last 25 years there have been a couple very useful articles in AFM (I recall one by Al Castro and another, I think, by Tony Terceira) that have stirred up considerable interest in killies.

Who is the article's author? Which issue is it? What did you find particularly interesting and useful in that article? What could a killie-nut share with other aquarists?

If one looks at national populations, maybe figures the percentages of that population that keep fish, and then at aquarium magazine subscription and sales figures, Americans (not killie keepers) tend to read and subscribe to such publications in relatively low numbers compared to aqaurists in other developed or developing counties.

Even the American big dog - TFH - despite a face-lift, change of management and an influx of hobbyist contributors, has annual circulation numbers significantly down from the 1990s. (Off the top of the head, maybe half of the old 60-70,000 per year.)

FAMA (Freshwater and Marine Aquarist) probably the most advanced of the aquarium magazines in the past, went bankrupt after founder and guiding spirit Don Dewey passed away. I was pleased to see that it was picked up by the same company that publishes Aquarium Fish Magazine. But FAMA and TFH (perhaps because of their mail-order ads) are increasingly hard to find in pet shops around the Chicago area. Only TFH is common on the magazine racks of big box book stores.

So that Aquarium Fish Magazine, which was rather introductory for many hobbyists and is still found more often in shops than the others, has been a good one for introducing aquarists to killies.

I might add, the breeders' challenge series in TFH, between cichlid guy Ted Judy and live foods guy, Mike Hellweg, has generated considerable interest. It turns out that Ted is also active in the general aquarium societies in Wisconsin and is also a member of AKA affiliate WAKO. Mike as a member (and president) of the Missouri A.S. has long been a friend of the St. Louis killie people. (Look at the photo credits for his culturing live foods book - it looks like an honor roll of SLAKA members.)

And the beauty of that is that both are spawning and raising a good number of killies, along with their rainbows, cichlids, livebearers, Cyprinids, Anabantoids, catfish and odd-balls. Their implied acceptance of killies as accessible and breed-able by active aquarists, is great PR for killies.

Killies are sometimes puffed up as a lot different and exotically harder to breed and raise than other aquarium fishes. There are some very challenging killies, but that could be said for selected members of all of those fish groups. When one considers the issues of water chemistry and pureness, food for breeders, fry and growing out youngsters, housing and a lot of other fish-care issues, there are an awful lot of similar concerns shared by aquarium specialists.

Re: Determining the Age of a Killifish [by Norm]

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:08:49 -2200

Killies in Science:: Determining the Age of a Killifish
Scott, http://www.marinebiodiversity.ca/otolith/english/home.htm will give you the Otolith Research Lab of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Darthmouth, Nova Scotia. This site will give you all kinds of information on otoliths. Also, look in the Links section and you will find a Fish Ageing Service. I think the use of otoliths is mostly used for long lived fishes. Any age analysis would have to take in to account the "life style" of the the fish being aged. I am sure a aquarium fish would not have the same environmental stress factors (food, temperature,longevity factors, etc.) as a fish caught in the wild.

I keep my dead fish speciems in alcohol. The rubbing alcohol you get in the drugstore works fine (either isopropol or ethyl). The use of an alcohol instead of formalin helps with color prseration and keeps the speciems more supple. Formalin is more toxic and causes tissues to harden. Small fish can be kept in toto in alcohol(do not use metal contaniers) and will last for years with addtion of fresh alcohol for evporation. Keep the specimen completely immeresed otherwise exposed area will dry out. With larger sized fish, an incession can be made in the abominal area to allow the preserative to invade the internal organs. It should be noted that a large collection of alcohol preserved fish could present a fire hazard.

Re: new Nothobranchius names published [by nternes]

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:15:25 -2200

Killies in Science:: new Nothobranchius names published
Haven't tried any of the melanospilus types yet. Would like to some day. I like the spotted female.

Also N. sp. aff. furzeri Save River (and all populations north of the Save River) has been described as N. kadleci.

Aphyolebias Info [by bperkins]

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:44:39 -2200

Killies in Science:: Aphyolebias Info
All,

Costa, W. J. E. M.: Three new annual fishes of the genus Aphyolebias Costa, 1998 (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) from Bolivian and Peruvian Amazon. Comun. Mus. Ciênc. Technol. PUCRS, Sér. Zool. Porto Alegre, 16 (nº 2): 155-166. 2003.

I am looking for a copy of this publication. If you can help me find it, I would appreciate hearing from you.

THanks

Brian Perkins
WildPERU
www.wildperu.blogspot.com