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BOUNCE nfc at actwin_com: Non-member submission from [Ellasoma at aol_com] (fwd)
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J. L. Wiegert
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 20:17:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: owner-nfc at actwin_com
To: owner-nfc at actwin_com
Subject: BOUNCE nfc at actwin_com: Non-member submission from [Ellasoma at aol_com]
>From wiegerj at paulsmiths_edu Tue Oct 13 20:17:48 1998
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Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 20:16:35 EDT
To: NFC at actwin_com, robertrice at juno_com
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Subject: KIllies
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Going Native, Cajun Style
by Bill Duzen
Killifish come in many shapes colors and styles. they are known on every
continent except for Australia and Antarctica. The dazzling colors of members
of the Genus Aphyosemion and Nothobranchius dominate the interests of many
killie keeps. The shapes and colors of some of the Cynolebias have many
aquarist fans and then there are the Rivilus people.... A Genus that is often
overlooked by our hobby is the Fundulus family this family of killie fish is
found mostly in North America. There are species located from Maine to Florida
to the Great Plains states and north again to Montana. The Bayou Killifish,
Fundulus pulvereus is found in the coastal areas of Louisiana and Alabama and
along the Atlantic brackish and salt marshes of Georgia up to Maryland. They
are less often found in fresh water coastal streams. The fish that I have were
collected in brackish water in Louisiana.
Fundulus pulvereus is one of the overlooked gems. This fish grows to about
three inches TL with the females being slightly more robust. While on the
subject of the females, they are a light olive brown with several dark brown
spots on the upper rear portion of the body behind the dorsal but more toward
the tail. the male is the real beauty. Adorned with ten to twelve vertical
blue stripes that fade as they reach the back of the gill plate they are
easily distinguished from the females at even an early age. At about 1 inch ,
the males also have several light tan spots on the upper rear flanks along
with an horizontal navy blue striping on both the dorsal and anal fins. Both
fins are also edged in an yellow brown. The caudal fin is blue with a field of
silver spots and is edged in a darker blue. As the fish matures the spots on
its body and caudal fins takes on a golden hue.
When I first received the fish I placed them in tap water with the addition of
2 tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons of water. The temperature in the tank is
about 65 to 68 degrees. The fish are fed frozen brine, live daphnia and trout
chow, they will eat almost any thing and as much as you feed them. Partial
water changes of one gallon are made every two weeks with fresh water with no
ill effects. The fish seem to mature at 2 1/2 to 3 inches. I have several
smaller pairs of about 1 3/4 to 2 inches that have yet to start laying any
eggs. A full grown reverse trio was placed in a ten gallon tank with a small
box filter a floating mop and Java moss covering the bottom.. The fish will
lay their eggs in a hanging mop or floating plants. I have found the vast
majority of the eggs laid in the very top of the mop closest to the floating
cork. The eggs were collected every other morning at a rate of 4 to 12 each
time. If I waited until the evening to collect the eggs , the egg numbers were
reduced so the trio must be partaking of the cuisine. The eggs were placed in
fresh aged water with the addition of Acriflavin to reduce fungusing. The eggs
are rather large and start hatch in 16 to 18 days at 75 degrees. The fry are
rather small for such a large egg but are still large enough to take newly
hatched brine shrimp. The growth is very fast initially but slows to a crawl
after about a inch in length. The reasoned I used a reverse trio for breeding
was the female seems to be more aggressive with the males being shy and
retiring. When I tried a pair per breeding tank the egg production almost
stopped.
A related species is the Marsh Killifish (Fundulus confluentus) has about 14
distinct, irregular bars on its body and occurs in similar habitats in the
peninsular of Florida. So, the next time you have a spare couple of tanks
expand you killie horizons and go native and try F. pulvereus or many of the
other passed over members of this Genus.
References
Field guide to North American Fishes, Whales & Dolphins Published by Alfred A.
Knopf inc. 1981
Peterson field guides Freshwater fishes by Lawrence M. Page and Brooks M. Burr
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company 1991