Killie mating problems?

Question

i cant get my two killie fish to mate. i have them in a 30 gallon tank, and any advice is welcome, like turn off my filter, or float a plant at the top.

i also need to know how to keep the fry alive. please help

and thank you if you do

Answer 1

You really need to purchase a good Killifish book, the things that you need to know would eat up a lot of typing time. Breeding Killies is a separate hobby,and a real art. There are several breeding schemes for the various species,but almost all of them involve harvesting the eggs and storing them for a period of time. Some killies are peat spawners and others are "mop" spawners, if you don't know what this means buy the book.

Answer 2

as mentioned by another poster, there are many different types of Killies and how they spawn.  A Golden Killie, Aplocheilus linneatus, are mob spawners.  You're advice that you received from someone else is correct, Effectively you can just toss them in a tank, and some plants and you should be good to go.

you might need a couple of things to assist in the situation though.

1 - fresher/richer food sometimes helps.  frozen brine, beef heart, etc.  If you can get live brine even better.

2 - water changes,  frequent small water changes can initiate more breeding behavior.

3 - Prodiving enough proper locations for the fish to breed.  Plants are a good example as you mentioned in your question.

Now, if you don't have live plants such as java moss to provide (which is an excellent breeding material for this killie, as it provides a good source of food for the fry when they hatch, as well as good cover.) I have heard of people having problems spawning killies when an internal/submersed filter is being used inside the tank.  I had good success with a simple sponge filter.

You can make a mop.  A spawning mop is just a bunch of yarn attached to a cork floating in your tank.  The killies will swim in the mob, spawn, and leave.  Many breeders will swap out mops and put them in a different tank to hatch out the fry.  You can see if you're actually having any progress with your killies by lifting up the mob and looking for any small pearly/clear eggs attached.  It's really quite neat!

Good luck with your killies!