AG Cynolebias

 
 
 
 

As a member of the AG Cynolebias I feel that EVERYONE should write a little article, so I will take my turn. The article will be set up in three little parts.




My Fishroom


Conditions and technical support:

My fishroom is 160 cm long and 190 wide cm and 200cm high, totally isolated no windows so most conditions can be controlled, lighted by one 36 watt TL which burns from 18:00 to 7:00. Heated by the central heating of the house the temperature is between 19 and 23 Celsius in the winter depending on the place (height) in the fishroom and the time of the day. In the summer when the temp. in the fishroom raised above 25/26 Celsius a little homemade airco hold the temp. in the right range, because of the isolation I only need about 50Watt/C, it is a 300 watt unit, so I can drop the temp from 32 Celsius to 26.

My Fischroom

Nearly all my Killi-tanks are 24x40x15cm, in the back is a 9cm wide biological sandfilter with a airlift. As plants I use floating fern (water sprite) on the surface and peat on the bottom One one side there are 5 shelves 155cm long and 45cm wide with 6 tanks each. Above every 3 tanks there is an 18 watt TL which burned from 23:00 to 1:00. On the other side there are all kind of plastic tanks and 2 "big" ones 75long 40wide 35high The conditions in the tanks differ from extreme 1-2 dH (100-150µS, pH 4.5) for Adamas formosus to normal (350-400µS, pH 6.5) for most Cynolebias. The water I use is tap water 700µS , pH 7.8 mixed with RO water 90µS, 7.2 and acid to make suitable water 350µS, pH 7.0




Terranatos dolichopterus


I have try to get the Terranatos for years but, not until nearly a year ago, I never managed to get a couple. But then on one of our 2 monthly KFN meetings Jan Willem Hoetmar was selling Terranatos, I bought a trio and took them to home where they died after a week, but I had some eggs!! I store the eggs at 26 C, near the Artemia and wait. Not very satisfied with this try, I like to have some adults to, I phone Jan Willem and make a appointment to buy another pair. So I drove together with my brother to Breukelen, just less than one hour drive from my home, talked with Jan Willem admire his fishroom and the fish he raised and just before we left he catched a trio of Terranatos and give those to me and wished me better luck with this trio. I also took a 10liter barrel with the same water as he used for his fish and at least success!

The fish still lives (march 98) and the eggs from the first fish gives me 20 fry which grown up nice. All the articles I read about the fish told it is very shy and easily scared, that is also the case in my breading tanks, when I enter the room the fish raced through the tank nose to the bottom and then diving in the peatfibres at the back of the tank.

These observations of their behavior and some discussion with another KNF member who told me that Terr. can be found in a kind of pits and not swallow pools gives me the idea to set up one of the "big" tanks for the Terranatos. I put a layer of sand and a kind of wall from stones in the tank, behind the stones a 5cm layer of oak leaves , a little filter with a layers of sand and peat granulate and some plants completed the setup.

After a week or two the waterconditions where 22 C, 250 µS and pH 6.7 in my idea the right conditions for the fish, I put 15 Fish in there new tank and after a few days they feel at home.

The fish is swimming mostly near the bottom and even near the front but not shy at all! I can even knock softly against the front and they will move a little toward the heap of leaves but that is all. They try to spawn against the sandbottem, just like Notho's, so I place some jars filled with peat in the tank but the still try the bottom. I think that to get eggs I will have to catch some couples and put it in a smaller tank with glass bottom and a spawning jar but that will be another story. I hope I can maintain the specie for a longer period of time, and spread the offspring in the hobby.





Friendship in the hobby


It has always a hot item in the KFN (Dutch Killyfish) what price to ask for a pair/trio of fish or a bunch of eggs, in my opinion nobody can pay my efforts, care and time I spend on raising those killy's. So why should I try to get rich from people I regard as nearby (KFN) or far away (AG-Cynolebias) friends. All I asked is friendship and care for the fish and willingness to maintain species not really loved by a lot of Killi breeders who look for more colors. I will send eggs to ANYONE with the same attitude as me without asking for money, as I have done in the past and other members of the AG have done to me. I don't believe I will ever make money out South American Killies and I don't want to make money from people I regard as friends. I believe that by using the Internet we have got the opportunity to contact other Killi breeders in a very direct way and we should take full advantage of those possibilities and not throw away friendship for money.

Written by Fred van Rooijen

23 march 1998




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