The Giant Rivulus (Rivulus hartii) is also known as Hart's rivulus. It can grow up to four inches in length, which makes it a really large killifish. It is actually a popular food fish within its native range, and a robust South American species than does not require a lot of pampering in the aquarium. Rivulus hartii is found along the northern coast of Venezuela and in Trinidad and Tobago, where is inhabits streams, swamps, ponds, and pools located under waterfalls. It feeds by jumping up from the water and catching insets among overhanging vegetation, and can also travel short distance on land in order to find terrestrial insects during wet weather. Keeping a reliable lid on your aquarium is therefore a good idea unless you want to spend a lot of time rescuing fish from the carpet. Rivulus hartii is not a seasonal killifish.
The male have a light blue to green body with longitudinal rows of red dots running from the operculum to the caudal peduncle while yellow striping decorates the top and bottom of the caudal fin. The female fish is of a more drab brownish color and has a black eyespot on her caudal peduncle.
Breeding Rivulus hartii
If you want to breed Rivulus hartii, you can place a couple in a 20 gallon aquarium. Rivulus hartii is a vigorous jumper and a secure lid is therefore mandatory. Include plenty of plants to make the fish feel at ease, e.g. floating water sprite or similar plants. One or several spawning mops should also be placed in the aquarium. Keep the water temperature between and 22 – 27°C, ideally stable at 26°C. The pH-value should be slightly acidic; pH 6.8. has proven successful in the past. Doing a 40% water change once a week is recommended.
Giving your Rivulus hartii a nutritious and varied diet is important. You can for instance combine brine shrimp and live food with a high-quality flake food. While many small killifish species like tiny food, the large Rivulus hartii needs a mouthful of large brine shrimp and similar. Giving your Rivulus hartii a lot of live food can result in larger spawns.
During the breeding period, the female will release a small number of eggs each day, normally during the well lit hours of the day. A newly laid Rivulus hartii egg is approximately 3 mm across and will need from ten days to two weeks of incubation.
Fry rearing
When the fry hatch, it will be around 6 mm long and feed from a small yolk sac. It will take around 24 hours before it becomes free swimming. Unlike many other killifish fry, a Rivulus hartii fry can be given newly hatched brine shrimp as first food. Flake food is also appreciated. When kept on a nutritious diet, the fry can exceed 2.5 mm in length after no more than a month. Rivulus hartii is known to be a sturdy species and the fry survival rate is normally amazingly high. An aquarium with older fry can be used as rearing aquarium for new fry, because older fry usually leave smaller fry alone.
Didn't find the info you were looking for? Register for free and ask your question in our Aquarium forum !
Our knowledgeable staff usually responds to any question within 24 hours
Related Articles
Aphyosemion - Information about Aphyosemion
Breeding Clown Killies. Epiplatys annulatus - Information about how to keep and breed clown killies.
Breeding Fundulopanchax gardneri Jos Plateau - A detailed guide on how to keep and breed this species.
Breeding the Blue Gularis, Aphyosemion sjoestedti - A guide to keeping and breeding the blue gularis..
Cynolebias - Information about Cynolebias killi fish.
Epiplatys - Information about Epiplatys killi fish.
How to Make a Spawning Mop - Detailed instructions on how to make a killie spawning mop.
Killiefish - Information about Killiefish
Killies - The Plant Spawners - The permanent and the mop methods of spawning. Incubation methods raising the fry.
Killie Mops - How to make and use these devices where killifish and other plant spawners can lay their adhesive eggs.
Nothobranchius - Information about Nothobranchius killi fish.
Shipping Killifish and Eggs. - A detailed article. Conditioning the fish. The water, bagging, containers. Carriers, receiving.
South American Killies - Cynolebias: True annual killifish that require slightly different treatment than Nothobranchius.
Spawning Cynolebias constanciae - This description of breeding this fish could apply equally well to other peat spawning annual killies.
Triggers - Triggers for killifish to breed and what you can do to convince those in your tanks that they should hatch.
Understanding Killifish Names - An explaination.