Category: GCKA – Breeding Fish

Having trouble breeding some of those beautiful non-annual killies that you’d really like to keep? Here’s a method to try. In a five or ten gallon tank place well aged water. Add a generous bottom covering of sphagnum peat moss (the long, stringy kind, not the finely ground up peat), a couple of inches deep.…

Raising the annual killifish species has always had a touch of magic about it. Where else can you spawn fish, throw the spawning medium into a plastic bag and forget about it for six months, then add water and get fry? But–surprise, surprise–not all annual eggs must be stored in peat. Some may be quite…

Cull: Verb: to examine carefully in order to make a selection from; pick over.Noun: something picked out, especially something rejected as not up to standard.       Culling is a necessary evil, one of those things that we often don’t want to think about, but that’s essential if we’re trying to breed strong, healthy fish. If you’re only a…

Mos of us who try to raise killifish have our own preferred methods for producing fry. But some killikeepers have found that there are simpler methods that work very well. The following are a few examples. “An approach of ‘benign neglect’ has worked wonderfully well” with Aphyosemion australe, reports Frank Louden. He breeds them in a…

By Mark DelRaso, GCKA/AKA This article first appeared in the GCKA Newsletter in March 1990. Breeding killies of the subgenus Diapteron (Huber & Seegers, 1977) is not too difficult once certain conditions are met. The first problem that arises is finding good stock that is mature. Sexual maturity in the Diapteron subgenus is reached at nine months to one year of…

Getting your chosen fish to pair off and spawn may provide a real feeling of success to an aquarist, but the next step is just as criticalgetting the resulting fry off to a good start. There’s many a peril between a clutch of fertile eggs and a tankful of healthy, thriving adult fish. Consensus among…

At one time or another, almost every killifish breeder has encountered a pair of fish that he or she simply cannot get spawn or fry from. However, notes Mike Wilson, the aquarist can make a number of common changes that may trigger spawning in reluctant breeders. The following are a few examples. Change things in…

Every aquarist has his or her own tricks or preferred way to hatch out eggs, whether from annual or non-annual species. What follows are a few of the tips gleaned from the extensive experience of a number of killikeepers. An egg is usually ready to hatch when the iris of the eye is distinct and…

Those who breed annual fish encounter enough natural problems, but there are a few misconceptions that can make their task even more difficult. “In keeping South American annuals … I have run into plenty of bad information,” says Darrell Rommie. “By experimentation I have determined where [some of] the problems lie.” He offers the following…