I've been monitoring the Forum and joined the Association, as these are lovely fish, and I would like a little advice:

- species to start with? I'm leaning toward a.gardneri "misaje" as a starter, and would like to find a compatible tank-mate species for them.

-I'm tempted to try starting with eggs; this will also entail getting set up for fry feeding. Baby Brine shrimp? or smaller? Or should I start with fish?

-will be setting these up in a 10 I have just finished seasoning. Looking forward to your comments!

Thanks,
Jim

I suggest you start with fish. It gives you many more tries getting the eggs to hatch and then raised. Your choice of Fundulopanchax gardneri misaje is great. They can do great in soft to hard water in general so which ever location you end up getting you should do fine.

As to tank mates are you referring to keeping more than one type of killie in the same tank? It is something that is not advised if you plan on raising fry. It can be done though. I would wait until you have success with one type of fish before trying it. I always raise a few and then try the 2 species or more to a tank after I know I got replacement growing out. You still have to be careful of fish that will make hybreds and watch for agression.

Later, John

John,
Thanks for your advice. Makes perfect sense to me. I'll try some fish and take it one step at a time.
Thanks,
Jim

While most people have success with gardneri Misaje, I sometimes have poblems with egg encubation in water with these. I find that some of the Aphyosemions are easier because the eggs hatch more reliably in water. Two of my favorites are Aphyosemion australe and Aphyosemion bitaeniatum, because of their beauty and ease of care and breeding. In any case, if you have questions, this is the place to ask. If you can get to Reston, VA next saturday, please try to attend the Chesapeake Area Killifish Club meeting. Information at the web site listed under affiliate clubs in this reference.

Lee,
Thanks for the invite! Bit of a drive though, about 4-5 hours to DC area. Maybe one of these days though...
Jim

as you can already sort of tell from earlier posts, you won't really know what works best for you until you try. Most people find F.Gardneri an easy fish. Like mr.Harper, I too had problems with them (in fact I never actually hatched an egg before I gave up). I also recently have had poor luck with Scriptaphyosemion Cauveti, Fp.Oeseri, Chromaphyosemion Bitaneatum and just finally mastered Aphyosemion Australe.

On the otherhand, I've found most Epiplatys and Aplocheilichthys easy for me and I've had descent luck with Nothobranchius. I've also had good luck with some natives such as the bluefin killifish, flagfish and redriver pupfish. I'm currently working with rivulus xiphidius and some south american soil spawners to try my luck with those. I think a lot of it has to do with the water you use and a lot is probably experience and foods.

Live foods definitely make a difference. fish such as epiplatys singa and epiplatys dageti are more than happy spawning away on flake foods but I've found it more difficult with epiplatys lamottei. 3-meals a day with grindal worms and they're popping out eggs like a candy machine.

Just don't get discouraged if you don't have success at first. Try different things, get different methods from different people. What works for one person will totally fail for someone else and vice versa. A different type of fish may also give better results. enjoy killies, they are awesome.. Kyle in Oklahoma

You could perhaps pick a species that you can find locally - that way you'll have access to someone who's been successful with them and you'll be able to get advice relevent to your local conditions.

I'd wait before mixing them with other fish in a community-like setup. Give them a species tank until you get your hands (not your feet!) wet. You should find many killies easy enough to keep and raise but adding other fish into the mix makes things more complicated, especially if you are trying to breed them. If you just want pretty fish in your planted tank then it might not be a big deal (though some killies can be aggressive), but a big part of the fun and challenge of killies is breeding them and maintaining a population.

Whatever you decide, much success and good luck.

Mark.

Kyle and Mark,
Good advice from you both. Guess it's just a matter of doing it, now. So here I go....thanks for the encouragement!
Jim

When you get the fish, try going with one species in the tank, Watch them, and you'll see why. There's plenty of beauty in a killie, and the choice you've made (misaje) is an excellent one. There's also some intriguing behavior to be seen, and it just won't show in a 10 gallon community. Killies can be extremely interesting when kept on their own.