How to keep a Killie Fish.

[Red]

A killie fish is found on most parts of the world, there are native killies to the US and they can be found in the Amazon or the middle of a wasteland. I am going to talk about killies in general, and the two different kinds of killies annuals and "regulars".

Myths-

In this section of the thread, I would like to make clear on some common myths or questions people have about killies.

If I buy a annual killie would they only live for one year?
No, in the wild this is true because the die every year due to dry season but in captivity they live around two years. They will also produce eggs more then once a year in captivity.

Most killies will live in a community tank as long as the tank mates are not big enough to fit in the biggest killies mouth.
False, killies are not community fish. 99% of all killies will get harassed by the other fish or will not come out of hiding because of all the movement the other fish does.

You have to buy groups of killies for them to be happy.
That is also false, killie breeders and keepers sometimes have major problems with males killing of the females, so they live alone. That is fine for the fish, but may not be fun to watch for the keepers.

What should I get when buying killies? A pair a ratio of 1 male per 2 females?
This has been discussed throughout the killie community for a long time, there is pros and cons for both. If you want my thoughts be free to pm me.

If you think there is other questions that should be added be free to pm me or ask in the thread. if you have any questions about this or killies, you can use this thread to.

[toysrus]

It seems like whom ever posted this know's what they're talking about from experience,but the information was useless to me. It would seem like a curse is in place if ya own one,and I'm already cursed so I want one anyway.
It's worded like Killie's are reserved for everyone with the exception of someone interested in raising them.

[UncleWillie]

I have to disagree on a few aspects w/ my limited killifish keeping experiences. I can only speak on behalf of the species that I have kept, which is limited to North American species. Like toyrus said, this sounds like the percentages and sex ratios seem limited to one's personal observations.

Again, these are only MY personal experiences, so take that as you may.

I disagree with 99% of killies will be harassed by tankmates. If you have peaceful community fish, there is no reason a killifish will get targeted any more than the next fish. I have had peaceful killies co-existing in the same small tank (sheepshead minnows and rainwater killies) along with other species. But in all honesty, it is my larger killifish which are the most aggressive (mummichog, flagfish, Seminole killifish, bluefin killifish) towards fish larger than themselves. These guys can be the nastiest fish in the tank if there territory is threatened or days old fry are swimming about. There is probably individual variation as well - as I have had very peaceful flagfish and Seminoles.

I disagree with killies needing to be kept alone. If kept properly, and in the correct sex ratio as required by the particular species, they are most enjoyable in groups. For instance, flagfish will form pairs, the larger Fundulus (mummichogs, Seminoles, studfish) will prefer one male protecting a small schoal of female, and the others (rainwaters killies, bluefins, and sheepsheads) prefer large groups where males loosely defend territories and females are free to mingle. This goes back to the community and sex ratio aspect, but I think this paints enough of a picture.

As you can gather from the above, I have only kept the species which I spoke of (mummichog, southern studfish, Seminole, sheepsheads, rainwater, bluefins, flagfish). I have never kept African or South American species. So please don't take this as a challenge, but rather addition to the experiences of killie-keepers, that forum members can learn from.

[Red]

I have to disagree on a few aspects w/ my limited killifish keeping experiences. I can only speak on behalf of the species that I have kept, which is limited to North American species. Like toyrus said, this sounds like the percentages and sex ratios seem limited to one's personal observations.

Again, these are only MY personal experiences, so take that as you may.

I disagree with 99% of killies will be harassed by tankmates. If you have peaceful community fish, there is no reason a killifish will get targeted any more than the next fish. I have had peaceful killies co-existing in the same small tank (sheepshead minnows and rainwater killies) along with other species. But in all honesty, it is my larger killifish which are the most aggressive (mummichog, flagfish, Seminole killifish, bluefin killifish) towards fish larger than themselves. These guys can be the nastiest fish in the tank if there territory is threatened or days old fry are swimming about. There is probably individual variation as well - as I have had very peaceful flagfish and Seminoles. Yes, they come from the same area, and coexist in the wild and live together fine, which I assuming that yours is wild caught. Like I said, its more for the fancyer of the killies.

I disagree with killies needing to be kept alone. If kept properly, and in the correct sex ratio as required by the particular species, they are most enjoyable in groups. For instance, flagfish will form pairs, the larger Fundulus (mummichogs, Seminoles, studfish) will prefer one male protecting a small schoal of female, and the others (rainwaters killies, bluefins, and sheepsheads) prefer large groups where males loosely defend territories and females are free to mingle. This goes back to the community and sex ratio aspect, but I think this paints enough of a picture. As I stated in there, the killies can be kept with there own kind, and major groups of what you wanted, just breeding may vary.
As you can gather from the above, I have only kept the species which I spoke of (mummichog, southern studfish, Seminole, sheepsheads, rainwater, bluefins, flagfish). I have never kept African or South American species. So please don't take this as a challenge, but rather addition to the experiences of killie-keepers, that forum members can learn from.

I have kept many species of killies, probably around 200 pairs and have sold lots of babies.

[Sharkman]

better question is, where can you buy killies?

[UncleWillie]

Red - As I said, I am not questioning your experiences, only adding mine. I never saw where you were talking about the "fancier" of killifish.

Sharkman - The best way yo go about getting killifish is probably going through a local aquarium club and finding someone who breeds them - like Red does. There are usually folks that will sell or trade.

[troy]

better question is, where can you buy killies?

Try your lfs.

[Red]

Red - As I said, I am not questioning your experiences, only adding mine. I never saw where you were talking about the "fancier" of killifish.

Sharkman - The best way yo go about getting killifish is probably going through a local aquarium club and finding someone who breeds them - like Red does. There are usually folks that will sell or trade.

No, its ok. Maybe in the future we could discuss co-writing a nice article with your native killie keeping, where i haven't kept natives.

Sharkman, its best to look for local aquarium clubs, I am fortunate to have a killie club in my area where I buy and sell them.

They next article coming up is going to be on annuals more in depth.

[William]

Aquabid is also a decent way to find killies.

[jbeining75]

better question is, where can you buy killies?

www.azgardens.com

Largest online fish nursery in US. It is based in Arizona. They have amazing hard to find plants, fish and shrimp and since they are a huge nursery they almost always have what you are looking for.