9 replies to this topic

[BTDarters]

All,

I would like to announce that our Western Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus menona) have spawned/are spawning!  I captured these specimens a couple of weeks ago and fattened them up with live blackworms and live brine shrimp.  Now I do have to say that I only have 3 eggs to date, but the females are still fat and will hopefully lay some more eggs in the next couple of days.  Here are some pics of my setup and the fish.

 P6020008_BDKF_tank_800x716.jpg   126.88K   3 downloads
This is the tank.  It's an Aqueon 26-gallon bow-front.  The background is in-tank and takes up about 6 gallons of water.  So the effective volume of the tank is about 20 gallons of fluid.  The plants in the middle are either Sagittaria or Vallisneria.  I haven't figured out which yet.  The plant on the right is a swordplant (Echinodorus sp.).  I didn't have the spawning mop in in this picture.  It's currently hung right in front of the intake pipe.  Maybe not the best spot, but they used it.


 P6020012_L_BDKF_tank_657x800.jpg   115.53K   2 downloads
Side shot of the tank.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but in person, the background looks like it actually goes back behind the tank.  It's really cool!


 P6020016_BDKF_among_weeds_800x600.jpg   134.75K   2 downloads
Here are the killies.  The fish on the left is a female.


 P6020021_BDKF_among_weeds_800x600.jpg   107.02K   2 downloads
Close-up of one of the females among the weeds.


 P6030038_BDKF_among_weeds_800x600.jpg   118.92K   1 downloads
Not the best picture.  The fish on the left is a male, on the right a female.


 P6050016_BDKF_male_800x600.jpg   78.95K   2 downloads
Picture of one of the males.  Note the yellow in the anal fin and the stripes in the dorsal.  Cool, huh?


 P6050009_L_BDKF_eggs_800x600.jpg   122.22K   2 downloads
Here are the eggs.


Hope you've enjoyed the pics.  I'll be writing my spawning report soon.  Thanks for checking-out my post!

Brian

[mikez]

Very cool! If they're like easterns, the babies should be big and hardy.
I wouldn't be surprised if they are putting eggs in those live plants too.

[BTDarters]

That's cool!  I hope they are.  The eggs are so big, the fry will probably take microworms right from the start.  The literature I have says that they will hatch 11 days from the day that they were laid.  So I've got a few days before the babies hatch.  I really hope they make it!

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489

[mikez]

I think you'll be pleased with how big and hardy the fry are [assuming they're like easterns].
They are big time egg eaters. Swap that mop out frequently to save eggs. They don't seem to lay all the eggs at once, more like a few at a time.
Actually, pretty much text book killie spawning.

[farmertodd]

I've never seen a "fired up" male.  Very pretty.

Todd

[BTDarters]

Thanks, guys!  The killies are still spawning.  I'm having trouble getting non-fungused eggs, though.  At night when I go to pull the mops, it seems like most of the eggs are fungused.  Any suggestions to avert this?

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489

[mikez]

sorry, no experience with fungused eggs.
I may get fungused eggs but I guess snails eat them [have seen it]. I just pull the plants and put them in a established tank. Fry appear soon after.  No special care, don't actually look too closely at the eggs.
If lots are bogus, could the male be shooting blanks, or not shooting at all?

[keepnatives]

farmertodd, on Jun 10 2009, 07:43 PM, said:

I've never seen a "fired up" male.  Very pretty.

Todd

The larger 3-3.5 inch males in breeding condition around here are awesome looking fish.  Even more blue on flanks and fins are very yellow with blueish white edges as I recall.  They seem to be in breeding condition throughout the summer.  Males can be very scrappy with each other and drive the females hard in the aquarium. On a nice sunny day the big males are easily spotted in shallow , sandy shorelines of ponds and lakes when the sunlight hits them.  Have found some in brackish areas of NJ that were incredible.  Unfortunately whenever I've tried keeping them they would whittle themselves down to one dominant male that would eventually wear out all the females.  How large do the western ones get Brian?

[BTDarters]

I'm not sure how big the males eventually get.  This is the first bunch of Western Bandeds I've really had.  I'll have to do some more research.

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489

[mikez]

From what I've read about easterns, the males can breed for three or more years, growing all the time.
That's in line with what I've observed of different size class males all in breeding color. I've seen males about 3.5 -  4 inch, females bigger.

Not sure if my observations are relevant to your westerns.