# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Killifish >  Killifish - can these be found in SG

## SCOPE

Hey, bro,
i saw some of the wild caught killifish in R.O.C wild list
i am getting interested on their colors and may buy some. 
Before buying, i would like to check with Killifish experts here 
specie as below:
Epiplatys dageti monroviae
Fundulopanchax gularis
Fundulopanchax sjoestedti
Aphyosemion australe Hjersseni Orange
Aphyosemion striatum


are these commonly found in LFS here or able to buy in SG?

Thanks in advance,
Joe

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## exotic_idiot

Hi bro joe, how are you? I don't see any much killies breeder locally or maybe there are.. Seems that killies been very limited, you can only find males for sale but no females even if have also mix up don't know which is which species. I saw few weeks ago at c328 both males and females but they don't label names, if you ask them they also don't know??? 

Does the wild caught killies costs very expensive at ROC?
If possible why don't you bring them in? Not very expensive and within my budget I might get a few pairs from you.

Let's start the fever going and hopefully can poison more people into killies hobby.
Try get those easier to breed ones, because I'm a newbie in them.
Thanks

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## RonWill

Joe, I regret to say that with the exception of the few local killie-keepers, you'd be hard pressed to find them at LFS. Jian Yang, aka Stormhawk, used to maintain our *SG Killifish Census 05* and although it's outdated, it's still acceptable for reference... yes, we used to have that many species amongst ourselves in the little red dot.

For now, I believe that fellow-forumer, Kai (Bybloz), has _Fundulopanchax nigerianus_ Innidere and possibly a few more.

My backup is still trying his darnedest to maintain a few _Chromaphyosemion splendopleure / bitaeniatum_ populations like the Ijebu Ode, Ekondo Titi and Tiko Green (orange pheno).

Another friend might have the _Aphyosemion australe_ Orange but I'd need to check.

Of the killies you're interested in, 
_Fundulopanchax gularis & sjoestedti_ is the same fish. It's probably the largest of the killies you listed but also very majestic. This bugger gets my vote!!

_Aphyosemion australe_ Hjersseni Orange.
Possibly another orange variant and easy to breed. Well conditioned Chocolate AUS, in their full dress of finnage extensions, is also a sight to behold.

(dug up this old Angelfire link of my 'photo tank').

_Aphyosemion striatum_
I maintained the Lambaréné population for a while. Beautiful killies but will do better in lower temps.

I know I'm not much help now but if you were active during the 2nd killie gathering, things might have been better. Even with egg orders, be warned though... it's addictive!!

*BTW, I still wished that AQ admins/mods can provide the index to my old gallery at Killies.com, which holds pictures of every killifish I've kept. It will really make reference to killie species so much easier instead of searching for image links in the archive!! 

EDIT: Knowing where the parent directory will be a great start... eg;
http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/SPL_Moliwe/ ... the main index @ http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/ doesn't work!!*

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## Zeth

beutifull pic

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## exotic_idiot

> _Aphyosemion australe_ Hjersseni Orange.
> Possibly another orange variant and easy to breed. Well conditioned Chocolate AUS, in their full dress of finnage extensions, is also a sight to behold.


Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale at near my place... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males. Why do killifish attracts so little interests in breeding them?
I can't see the reason why anyone won't be attracted by their beauty.. :Smile:

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## SCOPE

> Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale at near my place... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males. Why do killifish attracts so little interests in breeding them?
> I can't see the reason why anyone won't be attracted by their beauty..


i was very attracted by them many years ago when i first saw them in ECO CULTURE - AZMI shop....
i guess there are always "stock" issue to spur the market. When people cannot find the fishes, how to start the "fire" of their passion for these?
i got to buy eggs from Aquabid....i guess that is only source. Not all the eggs will hatch too

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## RonWill

> Hi ronnie, i think i saw something for sale... brighter orange but a pity they only sell males


Exotic, you might be referring to these? (BTW, what's your name? I really hate to call you an idiot... don't blame me... look at your nick!!  :Blah: )

_Aphyosemion australe_ Orange


_Aphyosemion australe_ Gold


Note: Sometimes Angelfire messes around with hotlinks and if images doesn't show, go directly to the Photo Tank page.

As to why only males are sold, we have ourselves to blame. Imagine a tank in the LFS, filled with killies of both sexes. Males are colorful, females are drab by comparison. For non-breeders who want to brighten up their planted tanks, chances are only the males are sell-able. Let's be honest here... how many breeders are there amongst us and who else will buy the females?

I had the same issues when I consigned young pairs or trios to EcoCulture and I did insist on them being priced as such; pairs or trios. If you want only a male, you still pay for a pair or a trio. My main intention was to minimize that species being lost to the hobby. At least there was a chance that somehow, somewhere, someone still have killie fry in their tanks!

In my early days of killie keeping, there were no such options and I often pass on a species when I don't see any females. Sadly, those females that were 'bundled' with the colorful males were often of another species. Heck, I was a newbie then and could only trust the LFS. No surprises that I didn't manage to breed any of my store-bought killies.

As to why nobody wanted to breed these jewels... many reasons.
Unlike bettas, cichlids or guppies which are very prolific throughout the year, killifishes are not and for non-annuals, they breed best during the monsoon season; ie. low temps.

Some don't like the idea of collecting and incubating eggs. Too troublesome going through the effort and waiting just to get fry. Unfortunately, for annual-species's eggs to develop properly, incubation in peat is mandatory.

Lastly, nobody wants to breed them because nobody wants any!! Heck, to encourage local hobbyists to start killie-keeping from eggs/fry, I tried selling groups of fry at very affordable prices... pathetic response.

Even when I initiated species maintenance programs, it attracted more free-loaders via PMs than the genuinely interested. For those that did try, Lady Luck wasn't on their side. Heh...what more can I say??
Species maintenance - Chrom. BIT 'Ijebu Ode'

Species maintenance - Riv cylindraceus 'Al Castro strain'

Species maintenance - Chrom. splendopleure 'Moliwe'

Species maintenance - Aphyosemion striatum Lambaréné

Species maintenance - Chrom. BIV 'Funge'

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## RonWill

Joe, there were usually no less than 3 species consigned to Azmi and I did work very closely with him because he's one of those who actually bothered to have proper names to proper fishes.




> When people cannot find the fishes, how to start the "fire" of their passion for these?


 No offense, but this is a lame reasoning especially when there are online sources. It's limited by the extent to which individual hobbyists are willing to take in acquiring the species.

Aquabid is a good source but do get from the reputable sellers. Pillet (from France) is one of them if you're into annual species but what were the problems you encountered? I'm willing to help you along with your next lot of eggs. Just let me know.

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## SCOPE

> Joe, there were usually no less than 3 species consigned to Azmi and I did work very closely with him because he's one of those who actually bothered to have proper names to proper fishes.
> 
> No offense, but this is a lame reasoning especially when there are online sources. It's limited by the extent to which individual hobbyists are willing to take in acquiring the species.
> 
> Aquabid is a good source but do get from the reputable sellers. Pillet (from France) is one of them if you're into annual species but what were the problems you encountered? I'm willing to help you along with your next lot of eggs. Just let me know.



no worry. What i really means is that at that time, beside Azmi shop which you people name the Killifishes right to the location (which is quite quite useful to serious hobby people), other source is just annual species we sometimes found from C328. i means quality killisfish source in sg is really limited.

Yes, i got a lots of eggs from Pillet before and his egg hatch rate is one of the best.

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## RonWill

Joe, what species did you get from Pillet? Hope you didn't miss the _Simpsonicthys magnificus_. One of my first annuals when I started the hobby and IMHO, still one of the prettiest!!


The _Simpsonicthys fulminantis_ is another stunning eye popper! :Grin: 


but... if you spot any _Terranatos dolichopterus_ eggs for sale, gimme a holler!! I might want to try this one again. My previous attempt yielded all boys but a very very interesting looking killie and the incubation period alone is about 4 months in our climate!!!

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## SCOPE

woah! swee! this really poison me back to killies. i will check on his list again for these.

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## RonWill

ok good... I've done my job. Joe, now go and get more eggs!!  :Laughing: 

For those still asking "where can I buy killies", I humbly suggest you guys pool your resources together, write to the seller directly and do a group order, like what we did in old Killies.com to save on consolidated shipping. Spreading out the species will help form a safety net lest some bags fail.

There will always be unpredictable hatch rate, mysterious fry death and whatnots but that's part of the journey. Along the way, you'll find camaraderie and friendship, and that's the beauty of killie-keeping.

I'll be here to help where I can but you folks need to get ya butts off the fence and do something about it.

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## vinz

> ...
> 
> *BTW, I still wished that AQ admins/mods can provide the index to my old gallery at Killies.com, which holds pictures of every killifish I've kept. It will really make reference to killie species so much easier instead of searching for image links in the archive!! 
> 
> EDIT: Knowing where the parent directory will be a great start... eg;
> http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/SPL_Moliwe/ ... the main index @ http://www.killies.com/forum/albums/ doesn't work!!*


Sorry Ron. Got busy.

I'll go look at into it again.

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## exotic_idiot

> Exotic, you might be referring to these? (BTW, what's your name? I really hate to call you an idiot... don't blame me... look at your nick!! )


Hi ronnie, I did remember teling you my name before? Pm you before regarding "grindalworms" i'm that same guy don't think anyone else will want to misuse my nick(Exotic_ixxxx) HAha :Laughing:  My name is always on the signature maybe a lot of pattern here & there can't see clearly.
Anyway you can call me Ben. Hello Ronnie... :Grin: 




> As to why only males are sold, we have ourselves to blame. Imagine a tank in the LFS, filled with killies of both sexes. Males are colorful, females are drab by comparison. For non-breeders who want to brighten up their planted tanks, chances are only the males are sell-able. Let's be honest here... how many breeders are there amongst us and who else will buy the females?
> 
> I had the same issues when I consigned young pairs or trios to EcoCulture and I did insist on them being priced as such; pairs or trios. If you want only a male, you still pay for a pair or a trio. My main intention was to minimize that species being lost to the hobby. At least there was a chance that somehow, somewhere, someone still have killie fry in their tanks!
> 
> In my early days of killie keeping, there were no such options and I often pass on a species when I don't see any females. Sadly, those females that were 'bundled' with the colorful males were often of another species. Heck, I was a newbie then and could only trust the LFS. No surprises that I didn't manage to breed any of my store-bought killies.
> 
> As to why nobody wanted to breed these jewels... many reasons.
> Unlike bettas, cichlids or guppies which are very prolific throughout the year, killifishes are not and for non-annuals, they breed best during the monsoon season; ie. low temps.
> 
> ...


Very well written BRAVO... :Smile:  To be a breeder is not easy. Time, effort & $$$ and most importantly passion. No point talking to someone who don't understand or don't even care right? I readed a bit of your links(As too much need more time) mostly the forumers are inactive and some didn't even update the statics... 
Waste your goodwill in the end. :Crying:

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## RonWill

Heelllloooo Ben  :Grin:  (I need new bifocals!!),
Goodwill is never lost and passion is not difficult when you have these in your tanks!!

_Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum_ "Majitam"


Time and effort I could spare but when one gets chin-deep, you can feel the $$$ pinch. For anyone going into it, be selective... be very selective! (my hindsight is 20/20... it's my foresight that's screwed!  :Laughing: )

Vinz, thanks for looking into it. PM me once the 'parent directory' links are sorted out. Much appreciated!!

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## RonWill

oh... and before I forget, American Killifish Association (AKA) used to have a mailing list before their forum was up but there are tons of information in the list's archive.
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/

...and for those who're not aware of AKA...
http://www.aka.org/

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## SCOPE

> Heelllloooo Ben  (I need new bifocals!!),
> Goodwill is never lost and passion is not difficult when you have these in your tanks!!
> 
> _Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum_ "Majitam"
> 
> 
> Time and effort I could spare but when one gets chin-deep, you can feel the $$$ pinch. For anyone going into it, be selective... be very selective! (my hindsight is 20/20... it's my foresight that's screwed! )
> 
> Vinz, thanks for looking into it. PM me once the 'parent directory' links are sorted out. Much appreciated!!


woah!...these are real beauties! What i great sight!

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## exotic_idiot

Wah ronnie, i can't see... _Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum_ "Majitam"..
My company block the pics... Sad :Sad: [Got to wait till i got home]
I guess not everybody's foresight is good?

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## SCOPE

> Wah ronnie, i can't see... _Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum_ "Majitam"..
> My company block the pics... Sad[Got to wait till i got home]
> I guess not everybody's foresight is good?


too bad....bro, you got to wait till you are back home.
Years ago, i was very excited over this specie when i first saw them at Azmi shop. You can describe them as super stunning

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## exotic_idiot

Is this really freshwater fish??? Amazing colours and finnage..!
Wow really an eye opener for me[newbie]..

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## SCOPE

> Is this really freshwater fish??? Amazing colours and finnage..!
> Wow really an eye opener for me[newbie]..


Bro, 
in my opinion, only killifish may match those colors of the marine fishes

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## exotic_idiot

> Another friend might have the _Aphyosemion australe_ Orange but I'd need to check.
> _Aphyosemion australe_ Orange


Hi ronnie, so have you check with your friend already whether he have this? I just went to my nearest fish shop *again only males for sale* ask the uncle help me order a pair, i think also very difficult because i ask him how you normally order the fishes? He replies "I just told my suppliers i want killies" no name nothing? How he knows how to order a pair?
Is this annual or non-annual ones?
Thanks

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## RonWill

Ben, I've been busy but no, have not asked my friend yet nor do I know his asking prices.

_Aplocheilus, Aphyosemion, Chromaphyosemion, Epiplatys, Fundulopanchax, Gularopanchax, Paraphyosemion, Rivulus, Scriptaphyosemion_ and some others are non-annuals.

_Aphyolebias, Austrolebias, Campellolebias, Gnatholebias, Leptolebias, Maratecoara, Micromoema, Paludopanchax, Fundulosoma, Nothobranchius, Simpsonichthys, Spectrolebias, Terranatos_ and some others are annuals. Some with short incubation period and some.... you can grow a beard while waiting!!

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## exotic_idiot

Thanks for the information.
Possible to pm me if you ask your friend? As i guess most likely hard to find a pair in sg?
I do see 2 different types of killies at elise point? Maybe joe would like to go down have a look? It's at aquastar. If i'm not wrong they have females.

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## RonWill

Ben, I've checked with my friend and he doesn't have enough female AUS to pair up for trade. Not sure if he'll be interested in those from Elise Point but I've highlighted the thread to him.

My backup have some stable populations of Chrom but mostly juvenile.

For those who don't read very well, all I have left are a trio of _Chrom bitaeniatum_ "Ijebu Ode". *Nothing to swap, sell or give away, so do not PM*. Such messages will be cheerfully ignored.

I will, however, chip in my thoughts if questions are posted here. Thank you.

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## vincent

> Ben, I've checked with my friend and he doesn't have enough female AUS to pair up for trade. Not sure if he'll be interested in those from Elise Point but I've highlighted the thread to him.
> 
> My backup have some stable populations of Chrom but mostly juvenile.
> 
> For those who don't read very well, all I have left are a trio of _Chrom bitaeniatum_ "Ijebu Ode". *Nothing to swap, sell or give away, so do not PM*. Such messages will be cheerfully ignored.
> 
> I will, however, chip in my thoughts if questions are posted here. Thank you.


Just for those who wandering who is "My backup" it me.
Some of you who know me from Show and wild Betta but more in wild Betta.
Im in show circuit for IBC Area 6 and BCS.

I have kept some of Ronnie killies for some years, many which i had not much luck.
All my Simpsonienthys had too many male or female and could not get them started again so all is now history.

The greatest lost was last year and year before, i had a bad bout of Velvet.It wipe out many(hundreds) of fries and breeders.
These lost is due to time and over confident(when you had some breeding like rabbits,one tent to be more ....).

Out of the 6 sp of Chrom. what is left are "Ijebu Ode" and Tiko "Green"

I also have some Nothobranchius from Thailand, which i am now breeding.

Some day i will expand my collection of simp and chrom,still scratching from itches lah.

What is available for swap is ijebu ode (Breeders) for anything that would interested me or with location coded sp.

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## exotic_idiot

Haha Hi vincent, great to know you. So far I have not have any killies to trade yet but maybe next time I have and will inform you.
I'm also interested in wild bettas.

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## stormhawk

A little late, but I used to maintain that census for Singaporean killie keepers. If anyone requires further information regarding the killifish, in particular the Aphyosemion or the SAA groups, I can help you out.

Be wary of getting eggs off Aquabid. Sometimes these sellers come from temperate countries, in the midst of seasonal changes, and do not pack the eggs well. I've received eggs from a "pro" breeder in Japan, with zero hatch rate. So take good care if you're purchasing from Aquabid.

My personal favorite will always be Aphyosemion hera. If anyone in Singapore can get their hands on this beautiful killifish, I wish you luck. Here's a photo of my previous male, to provide some "poison".  :Grin: 



Aphyosemion hera Bengui&#233; ARK 1-2/96 male.

The female is by far, one of the most beautiful of any Aphyosemion species. I don't think I still have a photo of the female, but here's one I found of a pair off Google:



Picture from www.apk.pt, the Portuguese Killifish Association. Female is the lower fish, and extremely colourful when most killie females are drab.

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## SCOPE

My personal favorite will always be Aphyosemion hera. If anyone in Singapore can get their hands on this beautiful killifish, I wish you luck. Here's a photo of my previous male, to provide some "poison".  :Grin: 



Aphyosemion hera Benguié ARK 1-2/96 male.

The female is by far, one of the most beautiful of any Aphyosemion species. I don't think I still have a photo of the female, but here's one I found of a pair off Google:



Picture from www.apk.pt, the Portuguese Killifish Association. Female is the lower fish, and extremely colourful when most killie females are drab.[/QUOTE]



unique coloration of the killie female...nice
Is this very rare specie?

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## stormhawk

Not exactly rare, just seldom encountered in the hobby. It is apparently easy to maintain, according to the Europeans. But it requires somewhat cool water. I had no problems keeping them. They are fairly easy going. Takes live and frozen foods, ignores pellets and other dried foods.

The female's colouration is unique among Aphyosemion species. Lower body half yellow, reminds me of Fundulopanchax avichang, another interesting species.  :Smile: 

Since you visit Taiwan every now and then, perhaps you can try and find this fish. If I'm not wrong, there are a few Taiwanese killie keepers. Other place to find this fish would be in Japan and Germany.

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