Austrolebius nigripinnis

[Myrtle]

Hi, has anyone here kept these before? I have a pair arriving tomorrow as my first foray into substrate spawners and I'm loathe to kep them in the traditional breeding setup as the tanks are in my bedroom so I want something nice to look at too.
Thought I could pick brains about what potential pitfalls there might be keeping substrate spawners in a planted tank.
I'm also running into conflicting information regarding the aggressiveness of the males....

 

[jolt100]

Hi, its been quite a long time since I kept Nigripinnis but I have been keeping Simsonichythys Santanae for a few years .
Males can be aggressive to other males and to females and its best to have multiple females for each male to give respite from spawning aggression, or separate the female for a few days.
They are peat divers so need a deep pot filled with peat or coire fibre thats been well soaked for spawning. The male will establish a territory over the pot and when the female is ready she will go into the pot. He can chase the female so its good to have places to hide,
I usually have a bare tank with pots for crypts and small bits of wood for epiphytes but the tanks are in the shed so not worried about aesthetics.
You could split the base into a bare area with the spawning pot and the other half, front or rear, with normal substrate for planting?
Temperature isnt critical, cooler temperatures will mean slower growth and longer lifespan.
Cheers
John

 

[Tyko_N]

I haven't kept annual killifish (yet), but with substrate spawners I can imagine one problem is how to encourage them to spawn in an easily removable container, and not burying eggs among the plant roots or similar instead (a nice thick carpet of Eleocharis is probably not a great idea). If you want to truly challenge yourself though, and have somewhere else to house old adults, you could let the entire tank dry out rather than just a small container... I know Scott Fellman played with this a few years back, and I've tried a "seasonal tank" myself successfully, albeit without the fish. They can be quite pretty even during the "dry" part of the cycle:

 

[Myrtle]

I'm going for epiphytes I think as it's also pretty low light, so doubt any stems would work. I've gone for a thin sand layer with enough space open for a pot of coir and hopefully enough hiding places. I'd have preferred more females but it was a pair and spare male or nothing!
I quite like the idea of a seasonal tank, I may well give it a go when I have more than just a pair to play with!
Anyone out there got a few spare Vila Soriano females by chance?!

 

[MichaelJ]

I never kept killifish (I think...) ... I've been toying with the idea of setting up tank for native North American species. We have a bunch of native species here in the US (and a bunch of non-native ones down south). A variarity of Fundulus and Lucania mainly. Even a couple of sp. are relatively common here in Minnesota.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Liam]

When I kept them and other substrate spawners I kept them in planted tanks with aquasoil or sand and used coir pellets for them to spawn in. They know not to try spawning in the hard substrate and will use the pellets, the pellets work even for much bigger killifish, it’s easy to take the pellets out if you want to hatch the eggs. If you have lots of plants and or hardscape the female will be able to hide, but you will need to keep an eye on them as the male will persist in trying to get the female to spawn.

 

[Jorge O'Reilly]

I hate your guts. These literally live within an hour's drive from where I live, but are hard to catch, and NOBODY SELLS THEM. And yet people overseas routinely keep them. I will get some one day, beautiful fish. I cannot speak from direct experience regarding their keeping, but I can tell you that during the seasons in which these are alive the temperatures are pretty cool. I would not raise it further than 20-21 C. As for the aggressiveness, I suspect we may know the same or less, but I have seen videos about them in English and in Spanish, which you may not have. Several of them kept males together, but always with lush vegetation and in a relatively big enclosure.

 

[Jorge O'Reilly]

This post reminded me that the season apt for collecting them is drawing near.

 

[Myrtle]

Thanks all! I had to laugh at your comment though @Jorge OPL so many times the things that are nearest are the hardest to get!
@Liam do you mean those pellets with the membrane around them to keep them in shape, for potting on seedlings? I hadn't considered those, to be honest but they definitely look like a better idea than cutting holes in the top of pots! Is there a specific size or do they just come in 1 size?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

you mean those pellets with the membrane around them to keep them in shape, for potting on seedlings?

I'm pretty sure he does, <"the Jiffy pot">. I used them for <"Nothobranchius guentheri,"> but they are the only annual Killifish I've ever kept.

cheers Darrel

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[Liam]

Yes they are called coir pellets on Amazon. They work for all the diving spawners. Here are a different species I had years ago they are bigger than your fish, the pellets work quite well, they will scatter some of it. I always had multiple pairs of the same species with enough room and lots of hiding spots.