The Gold Australe Killifish: A Breeding Project, Part Two

So, now that you've read about how to spawn gold australe killifish, you'll want to know how to care for the eggs and raise the fry to adulthood!

The method for egg raising I use is unique, and as far as I know. The idea for my method came to me after walking in my mom's sewing room: she had clear plastic containers that contained several small 'cubicles' to organize beads and other sewing items. I realized what a great container that would make for holding killifish eggs, and raising the fry in, and my method was born!

After a couple days, I had collected 10 eggs from my spawning pair. I transferred each egg to a separate space in the container; this one way if one egg acquired a fungal or other infection, it wouldn’t affect the rest of them. I maintained water quality in the 'cubicles' via twice daily water changes.

After a week, the eggs hatched (after hatching, remove the shell with tweezers) and the fry will need to eat. I fed the small fry microworms, until they were big enough to take larger food. It took about 3 months or so for the fry to reach a re-sellable size.

Another method for raising the eggs and fry is a breeder aquarium (a separate tank used to hatch the eggs and rear the fry). The problem I see with this method is the larger fry dominate the smaller, newly hatched fry by either stealing their food or simply eating them! Anecdotally, my container method has yielded much better survival rates.

In conclusion, breeding the Gold Australe Killifish is a rewarding experience because it gives beginners the opportunity to breed a less common African species, slightly more difficult-to-breed fish, while not being frustratingly difficult. Familiarizing yourself with the spawn mop will also be useful later, if you are planning on breeding other species. Good luck, and feel free to ask questions or leave feedback in the comments section!

Images courtesy http://www.killi.co.uk

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