Breeding Lyretail Killifish

Hello,

Recently I received a pair of Aphyosemion Australe (thanks again). They're housed in a 35L aquarium with a heater, sponge filter and several spawning mops. Its a bare bottom and Ive been feeding them bloodworms and the prof's GS2. The water is 50% RO and 50% tap. I have no idea what the ph is, my Daro test kit indicates blue which is alkaline. I do find alot of eggs in the spawning mops, I remove them and put them in small plastic containers, not long and they all have fungus. I think putting the eggs in small containers is not the way to go as there's no current and the water is cold.
What would be the best way to hatch the eggs?
Can I leave the eggs in the breeding tank without the fear of the parents eating the eggs and fry?

Thanks,
Mitchell

 

Try adding an air stone and pump to the plastic container, but make sure its not too strong a flow! You just want to keep the water circulating, not create a tidal wave!

I would think the eggs and fry wouldn't last too long in the tank with the parents?

Cheers
G!

 

Hi MITchell,
Have a look at this site (if you haven't yet)
http://www.aka.org/wak/Ref_Library/Aphyosemion/A.australe.htm
They recommend high temps and low PH for breeding successfully.
They are really beautiful fish.

 

Yes, reading again, your pH is critical! If the pH is in the wrong range, then it is the most likely cause of the fungus on the eggs. You must get the pH between the killies range to succeed!

Of course, there may be other reasons why your eggs are getting fungus, but I suspect pH is the main reason? Get that right first, and see if there is any improvement?

I'm not sure of this particular fishes range of pH, but I think it would be around the pH6.2 to pH6.8? I'll see if I can find the suggested range, but google can give you many answers!

Regards
G!

 

Ok, I have increased my temperature in the breeding tank. How can I go about decreasing the ph without chemicals? Can I just start doing large water changes with RO water. As for the eggs in the containers, they're small cream cheese containers, too small for a pump, I can add a airstone but the water will still get very cold at night.

 

Float the containers on top of your tank, and that will help keep them warm!

Adding a higher percentage of RO water can help reduce pH, but you have to make sure you do not use too much? Have you tested your waters carbonate hardness and general hardness? That will give you an indication of what you need to do to reduce pH?

Unfortunately, you will most likely have to add some sort of chemical designed to reduce pH, but lets see what your reading are first?

Cheers
G!

 

I dont have test kits to test for anything other than ph, they are expensive.