🐠 Beginners Guide to Shipping Live Fish Safely If you’ve ever bought fish online—or even tried selling some—you’ll know it’s a bit of a minefield. I’ve seen too many people get dead or stressed fish in the post because the seller didn’t know what they were doing. So let’s fix that. Here’s my guide on how to ship live fish safely, step by step. 🚫 Buyer Beware: Why Fish Arrive Dead I recently...
How to Set Up a Killifish Tank for Semi-Annual Mop Spawners This guide is based on the setup method shown in the YouTube video linked above. It’s designed specifically for semi-annual mop-spawning killifish — simple, cheap, and proven over years of breeding. 1️⃣ Tank Size & Basic Equipment Ideal Tank Size 30 cm x 18 cm x 18 cm (roughly 12″ x 7″ x 7″) Larger or slightly...
Killifish / Fundulopanchax gardneri – How to Hatch & Breed Steel Blue Killifish Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel Blue Killifish) is one of the best beginner-friendly killifish — hardy, productive, and beautifully colored. Native range includes: Nigeria Cameroon Specifically from river systems in southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. Temperament – Peaceful? Not Always. Although often...
Killifish / Aphanius dispar – How to Hatch & Breed Arabian Killifish Today we’re looking at Aphanius dispar, commonly known as the Arabian killifish — a hardy, adaptable species from the Middle East. This species naturally occurs in: Egypt Israel Jordan It’s one of the most adaptable killifish you can keep — but there are a few tricks to getting the eggs to hatch reliably. Buying &...
Today I’m talking about Ophthalmolebias bokermanni — an annual killifish from Brazil with a Latin name that’s not exactly easy to pronounce. If you’re new to annuals, this is important: Don’t just tip the eggs into water the day they arrive and expect them to hatch. This species has an incubation period of 4 to 6 months, and how you store the eggs during that time makes all the difference...
I recently received another batch of annual killifish eggs — this time Xenurolebias pataxo. These eggs were collected on the 16th of April, and the incubation period for this species is roughly 2–3 months. So technically, I shouldn’t even have been looking at them for another four weeks. But here’s where experience (and curiosity) kicks in. When Eggs Don’t Follow the Rules While checking the...
The third bag of eggs I received was Hypsolebias sertanejo – another annual killifish, and like most annuals, patience is key. This species has an incubation period of 2 to 6 months. The eggs I received had already been in peat for around two months, so they were potentially close — but not guaranteed. First Inspection – Not Ready Yet I had a quick look through the bag and couldn’t see any eyed...
Here’s another annual killifish I’ve been working with – Spectrolebias brousseaui. A stunning little species, but I’ll say this straight away… not one for beginners. Incubation – Patience Is Everything The incubation period for Spectrolebias brousseaui is at least 3 to 5 months. The batch I was dealing with had only been collected about a month earlier, so realistically I knew they wouldn’t be...