15.11.2007

Fundulopanchax gardneri – the Blue Lyretail Killie

Killies for beginner and advanced fish keeper

Killifische are often seen as sensitive fish that need extreme water conditions and are very short-lived. But that is only the case for a small part of the Killies, mainly annuelle seasonal fish such as Diapteron species.

The steel-blue Lyretail is recommended for a long time as the robust alternative, especially for beginner to the world of killifish. Gardneris are living in the aquarium about 5 years, which is much longer than, for example Guppies. The fantastic colors, uncomplicated keeping, the relative longevity and ease of breeding make the decision for this killifish easy. I have taken them to my heart, therefore I want to recommend them warmly in this article.

Occurrence

The Gardneris are located in West Africa (Nigeria). There are different subspecies. The subspecies F. gardneri gardneri occurs in southeastern Nigeria. Other subspecies are F. gardneri nigerianus, F. gardneri lacustris and F. gardneri mamfensis. The most common subspecies are F.gardneri gardneri and F. gardneri nigerianus.

Co-housing

The Blue Lyretail can be kept in a separate tank as well as in a community aquarium with peacefull fish. A co-housing with characin, armored catfish or barbel stands only the attraction of a separate tank with several pairs of these wonderfull fish in the way. From personal experience I can report a socializing with armored catfish, Otocinclus, Kuhli Loach, dwarf soles and various Loricariidae without problems. Even with smaller killifish from the genus Aphyosemion there have never been problems. Any smaller fish, such as young Neon Tetra are good enough to eat and there will not be much pleasure on longfin species such as Guppies and Rumble Fish.

Keeping

The demands of the keeping can be called as quite moderate. A 1 meter tank offers plenty of room for a few pairs of the beautiful killies. Even a small 60-liter aquarium tolerate 2 to 3 couples. The aquarium should be strongly planted and not too bright. Partial shade brings bright colors to the fish. A cover is mandatory, however. The killifish are jumping often and willingly.

The Gardneris are quite modest concerning the water conditions. However, they should not be kept too warm. Room temperature is ideal, but the fish tolerat up to 25 °C or briefly more. Even these animals are not particularly choosy of the water hardness. At my relatively hard water in Düsseldorf at 10° KH and 15° dGH, they grow and spawn easily.

The voracious fish chow down more or less everything that has the house and yard to offer. Of course, they prefer live or frozen food. But they are also satisfied with flake food or sticks. They are crazy about red mosquito larvae and small fruit flies. Frozen or life food should be feeded carefully, so the fish do not consume too much. They tend to overeat, as do angel fish frequently.

Breeding

I use a pair or a trio to breed in a established 20 L aquarium with built-in filter mat. The facility consists of a clay cave, if the male is too aggressive, and a substrate of black, synthetic wool. In the black wool, the eggs are easier to find because they are crystal clear and shining in the dark wool under light. A heater is not used in the breeding tanks, since the killies are kept at room temperature. Natural or dimly lit is sufficient.

In the breeding tanks, the fish can be kept for several weeks, if enough water change (every 2-3 days 50%) is ensured. The killis are fed at this time alternating frozen food and flake food. The substrate will be removed and examined for eggs all two days. Usually there are 10 to 20 eggs.

The eggs are caged in a small plastic bowl with a low water level. For me, the eggs are prone to fungal, so I use prepared bottles of water with a little bit methylene blue for the daily change of water in the plastic bowl. The advantage is the improved strength and that the water has the same temperature as the water in the plastic bowl. After two to three weeks the young killies hatch and must be transferred into a small breeding tank.

In the first time the breeding tank consists of a 10 L aquarium without futher devices. Therefore it is equipped with plenty of hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), that serves as a filter and gives the tank an amazing stability. A lighting or the installation at a window is needed for plant growing that eliminates the pollutants. Ramshorn snails are added that eat the leftover food and free the glass from slime mold.

In the early days the frey will find plenty of small organisms in the plants. I support them additionally with Turbatrix aceti, which is very easy and almost without effort to proliferate. The small killies also take immediatly decapsulated Artemia eggs, Spirulina and Cyclop Eeze. Living brine shrimp are naturally taken very well, but are not essential for these fish. The nutritional value of the other feed is certainly not inferior.

When changing the water, I usually suck of 70% of the water with a thin air hose. Thereby no frey should be withdrawn. Then I add 1 liter fresh water daily until the tank is full again. Therefore the maintenance effort is relatively low and the frey will always have a good water quality. From time to time the hornwort must be thinned.

At a size of 1 cm Killifische I start to separate the bigger fish, so they do not lay hands on the succeeding smaller siblings and put them into a larger breeding tank.

With good feeding, for example with scraped mosquito larvae, and regular water changes, the small killifish grow quickly. The Fundulopanchax gardneri are mature after three to four months and fully grown after about a year.

© Andreas Jäger