Killifish Journey - video and pic heavy (56k)

Thanks NQuaday. I would have to agree.

Here is my attempt at taking a few pictures but they just wouldn't stay still so pardon the blur.

Added another matching tank which is currently housing ~10 3 week old N. guentheri "red" and N. palmqvisti. Still waiting on plants for it.



In the infusoria but too tiny to see in the pics are ~20 additional N. guentheri "red" and N. palmqvisti, recently hatched.



And here are some pics of the four older N. eggersi "blue":



Next up to hatch out:

Light came today

I'm hoping to keep these two tanks low light, low tech, and hopefully low maintenance so I grabbed a 35" 12x1w submersible LED strip by Beamworks. For $35, including the shipping on a 3' item, I thought it might be garbage but it actually appears to be very nice. Much more substantial than I imagined, a nice reflector on each LED, the adapter and cord fasten together with a water tight screw seal which really doesn't seem necessary as it's nowhere near the water...

Right now I'm waiting for the rubberized spray to dry on the DIY stand I built for it and then I'll have pictures of it above the tank.

Couesfanatic said:

Awesome. This has been on my list of things to do for a long time now. I've always liked those fish.

Click to expand...

I really recommend it. Pretty amazing to see them hatch and even more fun to watch them grow. And they are pretty cheap to boot; The eggs cost ~$0.40 a piece and that includes the cost of shipping. Even if only a quarter of the eggs make it to adult hood that's $1.6 a fish and they are beautiful.

If you go for it here are my three recommendations:
1 - Start with a species that hatches out large such as N. eggersi.
2 - Buy a container of brine shrimp eggs. Many egg sellers include a tiny tiny amount of eggs but it's not really enough and running out of fish food when they have already hatched really blows. You can buy a several year supply of brine shrimp eggs for ~$10. Preferably get the San Fransisco strain as they are smaller than others although I have no problem feeding the discount larger variety. http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c2/San-Francisco-Strain-Brine-Shrimp-Eggs-c24.html
3 - Make sure to wait till the eggs have eyed up before hatching. You want them as developed as can be before you hatch them - this has a large impact on how they survive the first week of life.

And of course don't lose hope if the first attempt goes poorly. I find the second attempt at hatching the same batch of eggs almost always goes better than the first.

Update video: http://youtu.be/qhKJzLrb2m8

The guentheri have colored up and both tanks are now planted. I still need to figure out how to get rid of the piece of granite in the second tank but atm I have nothing more attractive to hold the wood down - Ooops.

Some stills of the guentheri: