Canberra Killifish Study Group

Keeping Killifish

To keep most species of killifish readily available in Australia, you only need small size tanks to house pairs and tanks that are larger to raise large number of juveniles or for breeding groups in a well planted tank.

Killifish can be kept in pairs, trios or in group situations. When kept in groups it is better to have more than four males to reduce aggression between males. When dealing with a particular species, spend sometime trying to find out as much as possible about them. Quite often the person you source the fish or eggs from is the best source of that information. If you source the killifish from the shops try asking around for others experiences with the species and read anything you find on them in books, magazines and on the internet.

Why keep Killifish?

Killifish as a group an elusive group due to their lack of availability compared to most other freshwater fish that is kept in hobbiests tanks. They come from most diverse habitats; from rainforests to areas where ground water completely evaporates. This has resulted in many biological adaptations within this group. One of these adaptations is used to us hobbiests advantage. Since the eggs of Killifish can withstand a period out of water, eggs of killifish can be traded accross cities, countries and continents. Offcourse with strict regulations here in Australia we are not able to trade eggs with overseas hobbiest but sending eggs across states is fairly straight forward; ofcourse do check with your local authorities before sending or requesting eggs interstate.

Remember, females of closely related species look alike so never mix species and localities if you are intending to breed from them later on. Intentional or unintentional hybridasiation is a big no no in Killifish keeping. There are so many species out there so there is no need to hybridise killies to create new 'sports', leave hybridisation to scientists and serious hobbiest who can afford to put aside 10 plus tanks and destroy all the progeny once the experiments are over.

Tank Size Most Killifish would prefer tanks that are on the small side. One of the smaller tanks that is available in the market currently will do the job nicely.

Substrate Tanks that are set-up for breeding, raising fry and general maintenance are generally do not have any substrate to aid in cleaning the tank efficiently. Quite often in this type of tank the bottom of the tank is painted black (from the outside) or a black cardboard is placed under the tank to provide the fish some security, hence helping them settle in and display their colours to our advantage ;o)

Biotype, display and permanent set-up tanks will almost always have a substrate. In these sorts of tanks using dark substrate materail is beneficial.

Temperature

Killifish come from varied environments so find out where your killie comes from. Having said that most killifish will prefer ~22-24 degrees Celcius.

Warmer you keep your killies quicker they'll grow, but also quicker they'll expire and die.

Filtration & Water Changes Coming Soon!

For most killifish tanks airdriven sponge filter is all that is needed.

Plants for Killifish Tanks Java Moss (Vesicularia sp.)

Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)

Anubias (Anubias sp.)

Bolbitis (Bolbitis heudelottii)

Diseases of Killifish

Remember as the saying goes "prevention is better than a cure!"

Velvet

Finrot

Dropsy

Fungus Diseases (General)

Worms

Whitespot

Feeding Killifish Feeding killifish is generally fairly straight forward. Once killifish are used to their environment they are good feeders. Anything you have on hand will literally do the job.

Live and frozen food will be prefered by most fish and killifish are not different in this regard. Infact all killifish are efficient hunters therefore insects and other invertebrates do form bulk of their food in the wild. Feeding live and frozen food will increase egg production.

In captivity, killifish in general would take flakes, granules and powdered food with no problems, given they recognise these items as food. Feed small amounts to make sure all food is consumed. Your killies will hang around the spot expecting some more food to be dropped in!

As a general rule I do not feed my adult killifish upto 2 days a week. Your fish will thank you for it.

CKSG

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Keeping Killifish

Why keep Killifish?