# Killifish for the beginner



## yellowsno (May 15, 2011)

ive been seeing alot of posts about people starting with killifish and i figure i help out with some links and some suggestions... when reading this keep in mind im no expert... im not even close to being a expert... i just like how these fish look and got only some strains i like that i put into my planted tanks.. 


ok so heres some things ive learned along the way...
1) having food ready is a must... trust me ive got caught with my pants down many a times and its not easy to play catch - up

2) if your a beginner looking into dabbling into killifish look into the non - annuals (non annual killifish are aphyosemion and fundulopanchax, while annunal killifish are nothobranchius)

3) less is more... when hatching the killifish u might get excited when you see fish swimming around after the first wetting of peat ive found that its easier to drop some food inside the starting container the killifish are in then to move the minute they hatch... i usually wait a week before moving a fish from one container to the next... (im not sure but i believe this saves on belly sliders and fish developing velvet)

4) research research research

5) dont mix strains... as excited as you might be to mix different killifish... its frowned upon and it might make the next generation sterile...

6) "Btw, Love Killies!!! But be careful they can be jumpers!" thanks knuggs forgot about the hood thing 

and here are some links on articles on how other people raise their killies
http://www.mkka.net/articles/Introduction_to_Killifish.pdf
http://www.mkka.net/articles/KillifishManual.pdf
http://www.peixebom.com.br/publicacoes/keepingkillifish.pdf
http://www.theokaa.org/articles/IntroductiontoKillifish.pdf

(if anyone has anything to add or have any questions comments or want me to remove anything lemme know  )


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## knuggs (Mar 5, 2007)

yellowsno said:


> 5) dont mix strains... as excited as you might be to mix different killifish... its frowned upon and it might make the next generation sterile...


+1 so true has messed up some species as well as the Blue Gularis. Its hard to find a solid Blue Gularis with its true natural large trident tail. Stilll searching...

Btw, Love Killies!!! But be careful they can be jumpers!


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

Can you think of any brightly colored non-annual killies that are safe with adult dwarf shrimp?

I like the N. Rachovii but the whole annual aspect saddens me.


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## yellowsno (May 15, 2011)

I believe killifish and shrimp can be kept together... I usually don't because I feel when the shrimps shed they become tasty deshelled morsels for the killifish

The only thing I can think of is there might be some smaller non annual killifish u can keep I'd have to look it up... But I think they will still chase shrimp and stress them out


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## dindin (Mar 4, 2009)

Killies love to chase! I would never mix them with shrimp ( and I have both).


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## dindin (Mar 4, 2009)

knuggs said:


> +1 so true has messed up some species as well as the Blue Gularis. Its hard to find a solid Blue Gularis with its true natural large trident tail. Stilll searching...
> 
> Btw, Love Killies!!! But be careful they can be jumpers!


Do they develop that tail later? I can't remember as its been too long since I raised juvies. I sold my trio, the male did have a beautiful tail. They left behind eggs that hatched in the gravel:


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## yellowsno (May 15, 2011)

Certain ones have nice tails I really like the Lagos one


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## yellowsno (May 15, 2011)

blink said:


> Can you think of any brightly colored non-annual killies that are safe with adult dwarf shrimp?
> 
> I like the N. Rachovii but the whole annual aspect saddens me.



look in the Aphyosemion categoryand also there are various types of Fundulopanchax that have really nice coloring to them...on a side note theres another group Diapteron that are also really nice but really hard to breed...
Aphyosemion australe 









diapteron









(note these pictures are not of my own...)


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## atom (Sep 28, 2011)

I have Aphyosemion australe with large adult amanos and no problems. I worry about anything smaller though.


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## knuggs (Mar 5, 2007)

dindin said:


> Do they develop that tail later? I can't remember as its been too long since I raised juvies. I sold my trio, the male did have a beautiful tail. They left behind eggs that hatched in the gravel:
> View attachment 46646
> View attachment 46647


I believe it does develop as they grow. I actually didnt has success with breed my Blue Gularis. Didnt really have the right setup and situations at the time. Are those Dwarf Red Blue Gularis? 


The smaller killies like australes are gorgeous fish but need a tank of there own cuz can be aggressive. Never tried them in a large tank 40+ community so not sure how they would do, maybe all the other fish would balance them. I have open tops on most my tanks, reason why I havent tried or kept killies for awhile. They love to jump.


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