The beautiful Fundulopanchax gardneri Nigerianus, commonly known as the ‘Steel Blue Aphyosemion’ provides a wonderful introduction to the world of the killifish. For those who would like to try breeding fish for the first time, they are the perfect solution. What I find most attractive about killies is the diversity of colour amongst the different species. In the main, the males are the more vibrant. The females are mostly dull in comparison. However, in my small collection I have a particular species where-upon the female is as colourful as her partner. Also, if I may be permitted to add a ‘flowery’ observation? A lot of killies have markings under the mouth, making them appear to ‘smile’! Such an endearing quality that caught my eye.
As a relatively ‘new starter’ in the fish world myself, having only bred a few species over the last 15 months, I found the Steel Blue a most exciting and rewarding fish to keep. At the beginning, I was attracted to the Aphyosemion species, the Australe Gold aka ‘Gold Lyretail’ being the first fish I’d ever bred in any number sufficient to say, ‘I am a fish breeder’! I will never forget the feeling of pride seeing my fish swimming in a tank at the ‘fish’ shop in my home town.
Many people steer away from killifish, assuming they are not good in a community set-up. Some are, some aren’t. Your local dealer would be able to advise you. I originally bought 2 pairs of Steel Blues from an aquatic outlet. If you are serious about breeding, it’s wise to obtain a pair from a secondary source and perform a ‘mix and match’. As with anything in the natural world, better results are obtained when blood lines are mixed. I have recently reaped the benefits of acquiring ‘new blood’. Many of the eggs are now fertile and I am enjoying success with my fish on both water and peat incubation.
Breeding
All fish want to breed, so by providing the right conditions and feeding them well, success will be yours. Steel Blues appear tolerant of a wide range of water conditions so long as the overall quality is good. A regular regime of tank maintenance coupled with a resistance to over feed your fish should yield results. I perform a 20% water change every 2 weeks. I feed my fish on a good quality dry flake food, frozen blood worm, cyclops and grindleworm if my cultures are thriving. In my experience, these fish are prolific breeders. They produce on average between 3 -10 eggs per day, sometimes more. They may spawn for a week or two then take a rest period up to anything from 3 days to a week. I have in the past, collected a colossal 50 eggs in one days spawning! Needless to say, this was not a regular occurrence and most of the eggs were infertile.
The fish will spawn on wool mops placed at the top and bottom of the tank. Acrylic mops are best to use as they do not rot. They will also place their eggs on fine aquatic plants i.e. Java Moss or the roots of Java Fern.
The males are relentless chasers, so it is wise to furnish the aquarium with such flora as refuge for the females and any fry born in the tank, which is a regular occurrence. What a thrill to see young fish swimming around with the parents. There is no right or wrong way to breed your fish, it’s whatever suits you. Obviously, there is the natural way. Two or three pairs placed in a two foot tank along with plenty of vegetation would successfully yield rewards, but to nurture every egg will produce many more fry.
I must stress, in my experience, males are aggressive once they have established their territory. I haven’t noticed such behaviour when they have been placed together from the start.
Collecting, incubating and raising the fry
You may also incubate the eggs on slightly moist peat or in water. The advantage of using the peat method is that the fry are mostly born within 3 days of each other, save the odd straggler. Should you choose to collect the eggs over a 1 / 2 week period, it stands to reason the fry will hatch sporadically.
Some breeders will separate the parents from the mops or vice versa after a week of spawning, allowing the eggs to hatch of their own accord. Only having a few species, I prefer to collect the eggs on a daily basis. As a novice, every egg is precious and every fry, a small miracle. I pick the eggs from the mops and place them on the peat. Small plastic tubs complete with lid will suffice for this purpose providing they are not opaque as the eggs are light sensitive. Depending on the number of eggs yielded, I collect over one week or two.
They are then left somewhere warm and dark for a further fortnight. After such time, you are able to see most of the eggs coloured a deep amber and ‘eyed up’, almost ready to hatch. At this point, I empty the tub into a larger container and add aged aquarium water to 1½ ” depth. The following morning, there will be fry to see. The baby fish are then removed from the acidic peaty water by use of a pipette and placed in a small tank to grow. I have dropped fry from extreme acidity to a ph of 7 with success. It should be noted that sudden temperature changes should be avoided during the handling and hatching process.
I furnish my tanks with a small amount of coral gravel and bio foam filtration. Performing a small water change on a weekly basis and treating the water with an ammonia check will hopefully combat hazards due to intense feeding.
Another method is water incubation. Place the eggs in a margarine tub or similar, containing water from the tank the eggs are collected from. I apply gentle aeration which apparently speeds up embryo development. I can’t say that I’ve noticed a significant difference when air hasn’t been introduced. The new fish start hatching at 15 days.
Feeding the fry
Being born at 3 – 4 mm in length, the Steel Blues are able to take newly hatched brine shrimp straight away. I also feed them on a high protein, fine grain dry food. At 3 weeks, they can eat grindleworm, and even blood worm depending on growth rate. Provided these foods, coupled with crushed flake, leads to fast development.
After a short period of time, the definition between the sexes is recognisable. The colour in some of the young males can be observed at between 4 and 5 weeks of age. If you raise them to maturity, you are a ‘fish breeder’! I base my enthusiasm for the Fp gardneri Nigerianus as a starter fish due the rapid growth of the fry.
Source: Aquarticles (no longer available)
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