I have read several posts both here and on the AKA Facebook thing that say males will kill their mates. This is a concern to me because I have lost a female to unexplained death and winding up with a male only came the realization that I would have no fry. Fortunately I was able to obtain two more pairs before winter weather halted shipping. Now I have three males and two females. One female is very robust and eats ravenously while the other has not eaten at all since I got her October 24th. So, reading these anecdotal tales of males killing the females I have decided to separate the sexes and really pamper the females for maybe a month and then reintroduce one male to breed as a trio. The males are sure pretty but without a female to lay eggs it’s downright pointless. So my question is this. Which Killifish are most likely to kill their mates and what, if anything, can be done about it ?
Hi Medric –
It is true that many male killies will drive a female mercilessly, but I have found that slightly larger tanks (I used to use what were called 15 lows – I wish I could find those now) with lots of cover made for happier, healthier females. Separately pampering the fish – conditioning – is a tried and true method of bringing out the best in your breeding efforts. Keep at it!
Things are working well enough for now. I have all my gardneri separated in their own individual tanks and all are eating well and settling in well. I think that shipping them stresses them. They get tossed and jostled in the dark for two or three days. That can’t be good for them. I was advised on the AKA Facebook page to have several thick mops so the female can spawn and hide from an over eager male. Another week or two and I am going to see if they will spawn.
Make sure you have those mops. You should have no problems if the fish are well conditioned. Sounds like you’re doing well.
