Killifish for beginners?

[irmuddled]

So along with a 60gal purchase (for $30 ) I got a free new 10 gallon tank, still with the box and everything. I figured I'd use them for killifish since Ive wanted to hatch some for a while now.

Which are the easiest to hatch? Im looking at aquabid but there soo many species I got tired of googling them :{ Oh yeah, any care tips would be appreciated also. Thanks!

 

[FasterShrimpo]

Really they're all simple to hatch. But if you want a beginners killifish, I would suggest the norman lampeye (note they are schoolers).

 

[SubRosa]

What type of Killie are you thinking about, egg hangers or substrate spawners? Egg hangers spawn like alot of Tetras, leaving eggs in plants or spawning mops. The normanis are this type of Killie. My personal choices would be a Fundulopanchax species, either scheeli or gardneri for ease of spawning and nice coloration. If you want a substrate spawner they don't get any easier than Nematolebia whitei. These are the type that lay eggs in peat and get a "dry" incubation period.

 

[Inka4040]

Haven't made the jump to the annuals yet. They have a reputation for being a bit more complicated in terms of raising the fry than the plant and mop spawners are. As for simplicity, can't beat any of the species that lend themselves to permanent type breeding setups. Aphysemoin australe and Chromaphysemoin bitaeniatum are great beginner species, as are pseudepiplatys annulatus.

 

[SubRosa]

I'll agree with most of your choices but I 've found that the annulatus need soft water which I have to make. If you have soft water from the tap then I'd agree with them.

 

[Inka4040]

Yeah, sorry NYC and most of the surrounding communities have really soft water. Easy to take for granted.

 

[irmuddled]

Thanks a lot! There's really limited information on killifish out there so I appreciate the help. My water is very hard... even with co2 injection it's still supposedly too hard for more fish. I'll also skip the annuals, since I want to play it safe and know close to nothing about killifish...

 

[Eupterus]

I also have hard water and wanted to pick killies that would thrive in it.
From what I've found:
Nothos and lampeyes enjoy hard water.
Since you don't want African annuals, I guess nothos are out for you, leaving you with lampeyes. Bad news, I've read they are the most rare and difficult killies to obtain.

 

[irmuddled]

Then I'm confused, should I go with the annuals in that case? All I want are pretty obtainable killies that will survive! (at least for a year)

 

[SubRosa]

Look at the genus Aphanius. They all prefer harder water and some are even brackish. They're not as common as alot of other Killies but there are a couple of people who regularly sell eggs on AquaBid. They're plant spawners. Another type to look at would be the genus Cyprinodon aka the Pupfish. Alot of them are endangered and not available in the hobby, but the common Sheepshead C. variegatus are common in coastal areas all along the Atlantic. Red River Pupfish ,C. rubrofluviatilis and C. alvarezi are available occasionally, but the Aphanius are easier to find.