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Kryptolebias marmoratus

Started by Guest_Subrosa_* , Jul 15 2012 03:44 PM

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#1 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 15 July 2012 - 03:44 PM

I just acquired a few eggs of this most interesting native (although mine are of Puerto Rican origin) Killie. To those who don't know it's a species which consists of mostly self fertilizing hermaphrodites along with an occasional male, but no females! What this means is that most of these fish, kept by themselves will lay fertile eggs! These came from a researcher in South Africa who apparently uses them in his research and occasionally makes a few extra eggs available. They just arrived yesterday, 22 of them in individual little vials like the ones used to test for DNA! They're set up in water with a bit of salt added, 1 tsp per 6L as per supplier instructions. He maintains them a bit saltier, but gets better hatching at lower salinities. I understand that they can be kept at a a wide range of salinities, from fresh to marine. Fwiw here's a pic:

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#2 Guest_Auban_*

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Posted 15 July 2012 - 04:03 PM

i dont know whats more impressive: the fact that they can self fertilize, the fact that they can survive for two months out of water(fresh or salt), or the fact that you managed to get some eggs.

that fish is a complete oddity!

please keep us posted on their progress.

#3 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 15 July 2012 - 06:55 PM

The self fertilization and salt tolerance kind of reminds me of a molly. And they can live out of water breathing air through their skin? Woah. What an odd fish.

Edited by EricaWieser, 15 July 2012 - 06:59 PM.

#4 Guest_njJohn_*

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Posted 15 July 2012 - 09:23 PM

What kind of killie do they run those TV commercials for(havent seen it in a year or so)? Kinda like the Sea Monkey deal. I think they only live one season.

#5 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 15 July 2012 - 09:37 PM

D'oh! I knew I'd heard of this before! There's a fellow grad student at my school, Wake Forest University, who studies them. When I was wandering around the hallways one time I saw a poster with his leaping fish study on it. He used cameras to capture their jumping movements. There aren't very many fish that climb trees.
http://sicb.org/meet...ils.php?id=1058
I ran into him one day when we both volunteered to help at an event and he's a really nice person. He breeds them too.

Edited by EricaWieser, 15 July 2012 - 09:39 PM.

#6 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 06:02 AM

What kind of killie do they run those TV commercials for(havent seen it in a year or so)? Kinda like the Sea Monkey deal. I think they only live one season.

Haven't seen the commercials but probably one of the easier annual species like Nothobranchius patrizii or Simpsonichthys whitei.

#7 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 06:04 AM

D'oh! I knew I'd heard of this before! There's a fellow grad student at my school, Wake Forest University, who studies them. When I was wandering around the hallways one time I saw a poster with his leaping fish study on it. He used cameras to capture their jumping movements. There aren't very many fish that climb trees.
http://sicb.org/meet...ils.php?id=1058
I ran into him one day when we both volunteered to help at an event and he's a really nice person. He breeds them too.

I wasn't aware of self fertilization in Mollies. I know that females can retain sperm from a single breeding and bear several clutches over a period of months, but I always thought a boy was needed there at least sometimes!

#8 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 06:57 AM

I wasn't aware of self fertilization in Mollies. I know that females can retain sperm from a single breeding and bear several clutches over a period of months, but I always thought a boy was needed there at least sometimes!

'Mollies' is a big name for a lot of fish. There is a species of molly that is like this but not all of them are. I am referring to Poecilia formosa. More info: http://classic.the-s.../display/55611/

#9 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 08:56 AM

Yeah, gynogenesis, allotriploidy, certain Poecilia and Poeciliopsis populations/species have developed some strange strategies for reproduction with all-female species that may or may not use the genetic material from sperm contributed by males from closely-related sexual species. The concept of "sexual parasite" is just BEGGING to be the basis of a truly cheesy sci-fi movie.

#10 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 10:06 AM

Ah I see. It's amazing and that strategy goes even higher up the evolutionary ladder into amphibians and even reptiles. There are several all female species of salamanders that form different hybrid species by breeding with males of a third species, and some of the Whiptail Lizards in the SW use parthenogenesis. Life does tend to overcome obstacles!

#11 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 01:38 PM

The concept of "sexual parasite" is just BEGGING to be the basis of a truly cheesy sci-fi movie.

... starring a long-haired crazy professor from a deep south university ...

#12 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 02:02 PM

... starring a long-haired crazy professor from a deep south university ...

Long haired? It must have grown A LOT since I saw you last! :biggrin:

#13 Guest_njJohn_*

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Posted 18 July 2012 - 10:12 AM

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack, but....
http://www.getmybff.com/

Heres a link for the mail order egg tv comercial.

#14 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 July 2012 - 02:58 PM

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack, but....
http://www.getmybff.com/

Heres a link for the mail order egg tv comercial.

They show several different species there, including one that I highly doubt is in the kit! The all yellow fish is an aquarium strain of Aplocheilus lineatus, which doesn't lay eggs in peat but spawns among plants. The eggs of that species do not naturally go through a dry period and I can't imagine they'd survive one. I'm no expert on Nothos but I believe there's a palmqvisti and a rachovii shown. All Nothos are easy to raise once they hatch, but some are definitely a lot harder to keep going. And the fish can live longer than a year in captivity, although two years would be an event!

#15 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 02:54 PM

Update! Eggs started hatching yesterday, 5 fry so far. Feeding on something in the water from my daphnia buckets. Here's a cheesy cell phone pic of the first hatchling with a unhatched egg for comparison:

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#16 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 10:08 PM

These are cool fish. I got one (some? I don't recall) at an aquarium club auction a few years ago and they've been breeding for me. Not a lot, but enough to keep a few around. They are not much to look at, but are some of my favorites. I keep them in brackish water with my endler's livebearers.

#17 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 04:57 AM

They're supposed to be really predatory on their own eggs and young and getting any kind of production requires a bit of effort to separate the eggs as quickly as possible.

#18 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 11:30 PM

Their tank has enough cover for a few eggs here and there to be missed.

#19 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 06:53 AM

Update: All 15 viable eggs have hatched, all young feeding well on newly hatched mosquitos.

#20 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:50 AM

Update: Lost one fry, by far the smallest of the group. Most individuals are now taking smaller Grindals, although I find I'm vacuuming the really big worms when I change water. Growth is very noticeable, albeit not even. I'll be splitting them into 2 groups tonight to avoid cannibalism. I'll get some new pics then.