# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Killifish >  Congopanchax brichardi

## SCOPE

Hey, just want to check with experts here who got experience with this lampeye killie?
Is this specie hard to maintain or breed?
i hardly can find much information on this.

Thanks so much
Joe

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## TyroneGenade

All the species of this group want clean well oxygenated water. They are sensitive to bacterial infection. Spawning is straight forward. Hang a floating mop in the tank. It should be thick and tied tightly together so that the fish have to squeeze into it. Pick the eggs daily and incubation in clean well oxygenated water. Eggs are normally fertile (at least 90&#37; viability). Eggs and fry are large and will take baby brine shrimp from hatching.

This advise is based on my experiences with Lacustricola katangae.

Good luck!

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## SCOPE

Thanks for your inputs. That's means breeding and keeping for this specie, as long as clean oxygenated water shall be okay. Looks good. Breeding ratio or breeding group for these any advise? thanks again

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## TyroneGenade

I think a shoal is a better option than a trio or pair. This is only a guess.

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## SCOPE

> I think a shoal is a better option than a trio or pair. This is only a guess.


Thanks again! i will buy up a group of these to try up next week. Thanks a lot

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## RonWill

Joe, let me know what's happening with these. I'm feeling a bad bad itch up you know where.... (not my fault if I still drool at beautiful fishes!  :Laughing: )

Let's play with them together and swap notes!!

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## RonWill

> All the species of this group want clean well oxygenated water. They are sensitive to bacterial infection. Spawning is straight forward. Hang a floating mop in the tank....


 Drats!!! Just when I thought I'm done foolin' around with Henri deBruyn filters, Joe here has to tempt me with something I've not gotten my hands on before (which is worse than wanting to breed _Corydoras hastatus_).

Tyrone, I'm wondering if these _Congopanchax brichardi_ lug around their eggs in clusters until they find a suitable spot to drop 'em. Are they habitual egg-eaters?? (first thing that came to my mind when you mentioned tightly-wound mops)

Joe, I googled briefly and can't help feeling that they don't ship very well. What's the $-damage on these?

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## SCOPE

> Drats!!! Just when I thought I'm done foolin' around with Henri deBruyn filters, Joe here has to tempt me with something I've not gotten my hands on before (which is worse than wanting to breed _Corydoras hastatus_).
> 
> 
> Joe, I googled briefly and can't help feeling that they don't ship very well. What's the $-damage on these?



Ron,
i hope i didn't tempt you. i guess this is a very uncommon lampeye as i never heard them before. After checking on some limited pictures from the web. They look impressive to me as well.

Yes, i heard they dont travel well. But since this is a hard to comeby oddball. i would like to gave a try. As compare to other oddballs that i brought in last trip from Taiwan from my business trip - Corydoras Gracilis, Apisto Diplotaenia and Biotoecus Opercularis. I guess the damage is pretty the same. Mostly they arrived with some 20-30% dead, within next few days, another 30% died off. i usually lucky to end up 50% survive and stable in my tank.

So, i guess this killie should be pretty the same. Lucky the price is not really pricey as compare to those apistogramma or Cories that i brought in. i just hope that e.g. out of 10~12pcs, i manage to survive 4-5pcs to take a photo or 2pcs or at lest to experience its breeding.

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## RonWill

> Lucky the price is not really pricey as compare to those apistogramma or Cories that i brought in. i just hope that e.g. out of 10~12pcs, i manage to survive 4-5pcs to take a photo or 2pcs or at lest to experience its breeding


 Joe, I was thinking the same. How much will 10pcs set me back?

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## SCOPE

> Joe, I was thinking the same. How much will 10pcs set me back?


haha! i had just sent you PM for details.

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## TyroneGenade

The tight mop was to provide a firm spawning surface. In my experience, they don't eat their eggs nor carry them about.

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## mozaqua

> Drats!!! Just when I thought I'm done foolin' around with Henri deBruyn filters, Joe here has to tempt me with something I've not gotten my hands on before (which is worse than wanting to breed _Corydoras hastatus_).
> 
> Tyrone, I'm wondering if these _Congopanchax brichardi_ lug around their eggs in clusters until they find a suitable spot to drop 'em. Are they habitual egg-eaters?? (first thing that came to my mind when you mentioned tightly-wound mops)
> 
> Joe, I googled briefly and can't help feeling that they don't ship very well. What's the $-damage on these?


Ron,

I made a few of the deBruyn style filters for my killi tanks. I was a skeptic, but they are really working great. One problem is adjusting the output a first.
I tested the temperature compare to a neighboring tank with a regular sponge filter, no noticeable difference. The major difference I see is plant growth! Sponge filters are terrible for plants, they do not allow any CO2 to remain since the waters surface is over agitated. With the deBruyn filter I actually can grow moss with the killies @ 30C ! No joke. This to me is the biggest benefit, since plants take up nitrate, and make the tank look much better.
I want to install them in all of my killi tanks now, but need to find a suitable plastic. I tried using the square flower planter pots, but the plastic is too brittle, and the glue will not hold.
Maybe PVC sheet, or something else will work better?

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## TyroneGenade

What about plastic guttering? You will have to get the end-caps though.

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## mozaqua

> What about plastic guttering? You will have to get the end-caps though.


Tyrone,

Haven't seen any of that stuff at the local hardware store here in Bangkok. Most people just use the PVC for rain gutters.
I have fashioned a couple filters out of 3" PVC pipe, cut long-ways. They are used in conjunction with a canister filter in my shrimp tanks. Actually, today I made one for a 75L killi tank, which I plan to use air power only. I will see how it works soon  :Grin:

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## RonWill

Mosiah, I'm sure you can find overhead filters driven by powerheads. These are quite popular in our region and some are designed with perforated bottoms for even water distribution. Alternatively, large electrical trunking (casing) with end caps or ends folded inwards and sealed with silicon is also do-able.

For air-powered water lift, a smaller diameter acrylic tubing is much more efficient than a larger one.

Show us pics of your PVC overhead wet-dry!!!

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## mozaqua

deBruyn style airlift wet/dry filter.

The first 3 pics are of the prototype PVC only. Dual airlift for this 75L killi tank, reserved for larger killi species ex. Fp. sjo. 
The last orange colored one is already being used in 3-4 killi tanks, made from a plastic flower pot (not very good plastic for working with though, 2 have already come un-glued  :Sad: ). Also they are not pretty to look at what so ever. (Trying to make my fish room more presentable  :Grin: )

For the PVC type, I plan to put sponges on the input. Also pieces of plastic at the ends to keep the water in contact with the pumice longer (if necessary)  :Grin: . They aren't much to look at but the light fixture in front covers most of the view.

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## TyroneGenade

I feel like such a twit! Seeing your photos jogged my memory and I recalled that I had photos of Henri De Bruyn's setup readily available... See http://tgenade.freeshell.org/saks/archive/1_5_2001.pdf for an article by him on this subject. He has solved your "contact time" problem.

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## mozaqua

Tyrone,

Thanks for the link. Really the amount of pumice is very shallow, so the filter looks to be working well, so far. If I change the dimensions, I might have to make it more complicated. For now it is really as simple as possible.  :Grin: 

Oh, if you look at the black PVC, it has two holes in the sides where the water squirts out. Thus spreading it around the filter medium. In pic. 1 the air is only connected to the left side.

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## mozaqua

> Mosiah, I'm sure you can find overhead filters driven by powerheads. These are quite popular in our region and some are designed with perforated bottoms for even water distribution. Alternatively, large electrical trunking (casing) with end caps or ends folded inwards and sealed with silicon is also do-able.
> 
> For air-powered water lift, a smaller diameter acrylic tubing is much more efficient than a larger one.
> 
> Show us pics of your PVC overhead wet-dry!!!


Ron,

Do you have any pics of this "electrical trunking", not sure what you mean. Looking for a cheap alternative, since I need to make many small filters for my 22L Killi tanks, and 50L shrimp tanks. I have seen the overhead wet/dry filters, but the only ones I saw included the pump in the kit. I don't want the pump since I am using air only.

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## stormhawk

@SCOPE:

I tried looking up info for you, but there's zero info on this fish on a key West African killie site. I think it's known more as Poropanchax brichardi now, but taxonomy on killies keep changing constantly. In any case, they are apparently subsceptible to stress during moving.

If you're planning to ship them here from Taiwan, I believe your mortality rate might be fairly high.  :Knockout:  It is a beautiful little lampeye. According to breeding info, the eggs are large, but fry tiny. Similar breeding habits as per other lampeyes.

I remember something when I used to have P. normani fry. They'd be large but have really tiny mouths. If you're used to fry needing infusoria and smaller organisms for the first 2-3 days, then raising P. brichardi fry shouldn't be an issue.

An excerpt about this little killie I found on the web:




> Aplocheilichthys (Congopanchax) brichardi are the most striking of the lamp-eyed killifish. Like all lampeyes, they need to be fed on a regular basis and do not fare well at holding stations in Africa or during shipping. By the time the tiny fish (adult size is 1 inch) arrive here, they are often emaciated and can only be saved with large amounts of live brine shrimp and other tiny live foods. The males display fantastic metallic blue bodies and deep red fins, whereas females are less strikingly colored. These tiny fish are best kept in a group of at least six in a species tank or with other tiny soft water species. It took many years for this species to be exported again in 2006, and only a small number have been brought to North America and Europe; but this should be sufficient for killifish enthusiasts to establish it in the hobby.


From here:

http://www.fishchannel.com/setups/fr.../new-fish.aspx

I guess just treat them the way you would with Clown Killies.  :Wink:

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## multifaciatus

They are pretty easy to spawn. Mop spawners, I just fattened up the female and changed out the mop (christmas moss) every few days. Tough little fish, my female survived getting squished in the packing bag, thought she was dead at first, then she swam around in an L shape for a while. I had to hand feed her at the surface for a long time, and I was going to put her down but she managed to pull through. So I bred them in a one gallon with one L-shaped female and two males. I got about 40 babies. pH 7.0, temp 78

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## SCOPE

Glad to hear that. i am currently trying with 2 pairs. Will try to updates on any progress.

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## h3ng

> Glad to hear that. i am currently trying with 2 pairs. Will try to updates on any progress.


hi, where you buy, or you got any pair can sell it to me .?.

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## RonWill

> hi, where you buy, or you got any pair can sell it to me .?.


 H3ng, you might want to take a queue number for F3 fry...

Joe, what was the landed mortality rate and did you drip acclimatize the newcomers? Sincerely, my best of luck with those little jewels and do keep us posted! [I've got my ears glued to this thread!]

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## SCOPE

> H3ng, you might want to take a queue number for F3 fry...
> 
> Joe, what was the landed mortality rate and did you drip acclimatize the newcomers? Sincerely, my best of luck with those little jewels and do keep us posted! [I've got my ears glued to this thread!]


i handcarry back 10pcs...left 5pcs after 2nd day...lucky to got 2 pairs last till now. i will update further till the fishes are condition well.

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## RonWill

wah... that's 50% mortality man... 

Joe, I'm curious how the _Congopanchax_ were 'prepared' and packed for shipping, ie. did the fishes 'fast' to minimize waste produce during transit, any medication in the packing water, were breather bags used, etc.

I recall shipping _annulatus_ to the UK a long time ago and had them packed singly in little breather bags. Arrived alive, hungry and stressed but otherwise healthy. Then again, these were home bred, home raised and were robust specimens (ANNs are also known to fair badly during transport)

Can you describe the setup these buggers are in? Plants? Diet? Spawing mops??? Mops are easy to do once you get the hang of it.

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## RonWill

> So I bred them in a one gallon with one L-shaped female and two males


 I just noticed the size of the breeding container... only one gallon? Gee... that's kinda small isn't it? Are you using sponge filtration or letting plants do the work?

78 °F is approximately 25.5 °C, which is possible during the year-end monsoon season but can be a challenge to maintain this range throughout the year without a chiller.

What are you feeding the reversed trio? BBS, grindals...?

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## TyroneGenade

Some photos of these guys, by Paul Wu of Taiwan, can be seen here: http://rb5killifish.blogspot.com/

Quite attractive little guys.

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## rb5_wu

Yes, as Tyrone posted, I have one batch of brichardi in my hand now., about 50 individuals.
According to importer, the survival rate was only about 25% after these fish were just newly imported.
Few days later when the survival fish were much stable, I was so lucky that the individuals I got were healthy and in perfect condition.
Few weeks later after I bought them home, they started to spwan without problem.
I use regular tap water to keep them with only an air-lift filter.
To avoid the infection of velet which easily attacks not only Nothos but also lampeyes in my experience, I add some salt into the tank.
I am not sure if this step is necessary for brichardi or not, but at least they are still in good condition now.
Like many of you guys said, a floating mop is a good way for them to spawn.
But the eggs were found not only in the upper region but also in the lower region of the mop.
Till now, I don't think brichardi a difficult species to keep and to breed, as long as they are in good condition after travelling in long distance and time.
They even can eat artificial fish feed without problem, as many lampeyes do.
The major difficult of breeding lies in the preparation of initial food for the newly hatched frys.

Paul Wu

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## stormhawk

Hi Paul,

Experience with the Poropanchax fry tells me that the fry are large upon hatching, but have pretty tiny mouths. Is this the same with the brichardi fry?

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## rb5_wu

> Hi Paul,
> 
> Experience with the Poropanchax fry tells me that the fry are large upon hatching, but have pretty tiny mouths. Is this the same with the brichardi fry?


Yes the eggs and frys are large compared to their tiny parents (2-3 cm), but I still think they are small.
I feed the frys with water from my water lily tank (I think there must be microorganisms inside), vinegar eels, and green-algae powder.
I lost my stock of paramecium, or I think it should be a perfect food for the frys.
Don't even think about using BBS for the frys.
BBS is used as one of the major food for the adults.

Paul Wu

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## stormhawk

Ouch, no wonder people said they were a pain to breed (in this case raising the fry). 

Time for me to restart my vinegar eel culture.

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## RonWill

JianYang,
From Paul's description/observations, raise the fry as you would for _Dario dario_ and _P. annulatus_, and you'd do just fine.

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## TyroneGenade

For annulatus I separate the fry by size and keep 2-3 fry to a 2L plastic tub with Java moss and Riccia. This seems to work well. After about 2 weeks I can feed the annulatus BBS.

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## WildPERU

> @SCOPE:
> 
> I tried looking up info for you, but there's zero info on this fish on a key West African killie site. I think it's known more as Poropanchax brichardi now, but taxonomy on killies keep changing constantly. In any case, they are apparently subsceptible to stress during moving.
> 
> If you're planning to ship them here from Taiwan, I believe your mortality rate might be fairly high.  It is a beautiful little lampeye. According to breeding info, the eggs are large, but fry tiny. Similar breeding habits as per other lampeyes.
> 
> I remember something when I used to have P. normani fry. They'd be large but have really tiny mouths. If you're used to fry needing infusoria and smaller organisms for the first 2-3 days, then raising P. brichardi fry shouldn't be an issue.
> 
> An excerpt about this little killie I found on the web:
> ...



Your idea about treating them like clown killies is apt. They are very stress-prone, so once you have them settled and eating well, I would set them up in a quiet part of the fishroom with a tank ful of Java moss , dimly lit and moderate current. Be sure to screen the filter intake if you use a HOT filter! Peat and Oak leaves for a substrate are a good choice as the presence of tannins and the humic acids given off help mimic their natural condition. I kept then at 22C, and fed frozen rotifers, live BBS and powered dry food ( flake). a great first food for the fry is APR (powdered rotifers), this is the same stuff I was feeding Pantaodon stuhlmanni fry (these things make Betta fry look like whales) with good success. The parents ignore the babies. 5-10% water changes every 2-3 days worked well. The presence of a current really seemed to make a difference. THey became much more active and came out more IME. Not too much current though! Not like for Procatopus!!!  :Grin:  I keep my Procats. like little trout in very strong current. THis would not be appropriate for these little guys. 

Even with all this coddling they only lasted two generations. I don't know why??? I think they need huge swarms of fish with them to truly feel at home. And they may just be short-lived in the wild. Who knows!?!?! I waited nearly 15 years to finally see this fish. I am hopeful that we can someday find tank-raised ones bred like the Normani, but perhaps they are a bit like Discus in that the tank raised ones will prove to be hardier than their wild caught counterparts, IDK. Great fish though!! It was worth the wait.

Best,

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## RonWill

_Congopanchax brichardi_ sighted @ GC. Guess who already dipped net into the tank??!!! Not many left orh...  :Roll Eyes:

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## stormhawk

Too puny for me!  :Very Happy:

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## RonWill

erm... puny??!! JianYang, you meant to say, "too challenging to keep it alive" issit???  :Grin: 

Let's just say that whatever species that's slowly surfacing is just the tip of the iceberg... probably the same one that sank the Titanic!!  :Roll Eyes:

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## stormhawk

Raiding time I guess?  :Very Happy:  I need some ramshorn...  :Grin:

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## RonWill

Ramshorn on Defcon 1. Since my last experiment blunder, I don't have enough of them. Will sms you when I have extra.

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## stormhawk

I raided C328 for them instead..  :Laughing:  Nice Congopanchax brichardi at GC though. Too bad I'm not a lampeye freak.

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