Re: [Killietalk] Golden killies & others

["Scott Davis" <unclescott at prodigy_net>]

Lloyd's approach is a variation on the classical approach William Innes
reported of leaving the killies in a planted tank for two weeks and moving
the adults. Lloyd's is also one of the best methods for hatching fry - more
especially with some semi-annual Fundulopanchax whose eggs don't do as well
if handled.

Long before there were synthetic spawning mops aquarists would leave
lineatus and other killies in with water hyacinths or water lettuce. Water
lettuce is found today all over the distrbution range of lineatus (among
many other places) though I don't know that it is native to the Indian
subcontinent. There is a species of Salvinia and I would guess other species
of floating plants in South Asia. Certainly in sunny areas, among those
places lineatus can be found, grass roots must hang over into the water at
the edges of some streams, ponds and rice paddies. Those rooted areas are
wonderful spawning sites and sheltered foraging areas for fry.

If we have a warm summer this year, I may try leaving some lineatus out with
water lettuce. However I've got to figure out how to tightly cover the
container - maybe with hardware cloth. There will be no mosquitos there!

We never had trouble with handling lineatus eggs. Their eggs are so big and
they are so productive we used them to teach our children, at about 2 and a
half, to pick killie eggs. Those little kid fingers could pick up the eggs
easier. One would get picked and placed in the tray. One would get picked
and opps... never mind. Another would get picked and put in the tray...

The lineatus were so darn prolific (if one let them pig out on live foods)
that, when the summer temperatures would near 80 F, they would leave 20-30
eggs a day on the mop. The egg supply would last longer than the 2.5 minutes
of attention span the kids would have. ;)

The loaches and Corys are especially designed to root out fish eggs. I've
actually lost Corys (having bought one for each spawning set up because I
was told that they were good for cleaning up uneaten food around spawning
killies. The deceased got so enthusiastic about finding eggs in the spawning
mops that they buried themselves in the mops, seem to have gotten stuck  and
either suffocated or died of shock. That experiment ended abruptly.

Once took a big pair of lineatus, some tetras and Corys out of a crowded 5
gallon tank. Despite the depredations by their tank mates, 40 fry hatched to
bob around on the surface.

Lineatus are notorious fry predators as Bill mentioned. In a large, heavily
planted tank with several pairs of lineatus who may pay more attention to
each other than to fry, some fry will survive in the vegetation and grow
rapidly on their siblings. At a certain point after picking more lineatus
eggs than one can ever use, that planted set up may be the way to go.

Lee Van Hefte surprised me by noting that he spawned Epiplatys over somewhat
large gravel and pulled the parents. One could then see the hatched fry. I
think he is right, if killies want to spawn, they will find a surface.

Lineatus eggs hatch well on demand. I used to pack a batch in a vial and
toss them in a sport coat pocket. Part way through one of my history classes
(maybe when things were getting a little ponderous), I'd pull the medicine
vial out and mutter, "Son of a gun! I'm a father!"

It disrupted class for a while was the vial was passed around the class. But
it was a good 7th inning stretch and plug for the killies. For a while if I
had that infrequently worn sport coat, the students knew that the history
teacher was "brooding" maybe several batches of eggs and needed the extra
pockets. ;)

As for the quest to find "wild colored" lineatus, I've noticed them showing
up in shows this spring. I'll go back and look at Michiana, Chicago and
ExKlusively Killies results for Sandy. The wet mosoon for India is generally
June to September. I seem to recall some infrequent imports from that part
of the world in what would be fall for the Northern Hemisphere. That may
especially be a time to inquire of pet shops or, if one has access, to prowl
wholesalers for lineatus and the other Aplocheilus from Southern India and
Sri Lanka.

Since lineatus can live 2-5 years they can get to be pets ifthey don't
succumb to terminal dehydration.

I recently revisited Everett Talavera's lineatus page. It's worth a visit at
http://mx.geocities.com/mexfishweb/paEverett Talavera`s ge.html

All the best!
Scott


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lloyd Colvin" <lhcolvin at earthlink_net>
>
> The Lineatus are mop breeders.  They do not seem to be territorial. I have
> several in a large community tank with a similar high bio load, but have
not
> seen any fry in the larger tank, possibly due to predation.  When they
> appear to be ready to breed (the males in pursuit of the females), I put
> them in a five gallon tank with nothing but one or two floating mops.
(The
> standard dark green yarn mop attached to a wine cork, long enough to lay
> about 1/4 of its length along the bottom.)
>
> I leave them in the breeding tank for about 2 weeks, the estimated
gestation
> period for the eggs, then take out the mops, placing them in a smaller
> nursery tank.  For the next two weeks the fry hatch out an can be fed bbs
> immediately.  My experience is that the Goldens produce a smaller quantity
> of span over a longer time, rather that a large quantity of eggs at one
> mating.




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