Re: The evil that is my Killi

[Dave Salovesh]

In >,
Ben > opined:

> Anyone else have killifish that eat other fish?

I call mine Mr. Killie and Ms. Killer, and I got them their own tank
after I lost two forktail rainbows to her. Plus, I think she might be
gay 'cause she shows no interest in the gorgeous Mr. - no courting
dances, no eggs.


--
Dave Salovesh

[Jim Brown]

Most killi's prefer live foods. In addition, you have been subjected to the
'big fish eat little fish' situation. They aren't being evil, they are just
doing what is natural.
OTOH, I could only get good spawns from the blue gularis with heavy feedings
of guppies.

Jim


Ben > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> So about 6 months ago I bought some killifish (4, 2m/2f) from Petco.
> They all thrived for a while and died off periodically. Now I'm down to
> the last female. If she isn't the most evil fish I've had in a while, I
> don't know who was. I've bought ghost shrimp and she ate them. That's
> fine, they didn't cost that much. Yesterday I went to a store that
> gives away "2 free fish of the day" and they were giving away Pearl
> Danios. You know what, before I went to bed, she'd eaten both of them.
> I know this (besides the buldge), she had a tail hanging out of her
> mouth. She's an evil pig! :-) She is happy and healthy though. I
> don't really want to get anymore fish until she passes as I think I
> prefer smaller fish (which I'm assuming she'll eat).
>
> Anyone else have killifish that eat other fish?
>
> Thanks,
> Ben
>

[Jak Crow]

On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 11:42:10 -0400, Ben > wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>So about 6 months ago I bought some killifish (4, 2m/2f) from Petco.
>They all thrived for a while and died off periodically. Now I'm down to
>the last female. If she isn't the most evil fish I've had in a while, I
>don't know who was. I've bought ghost shrimp and she ate them. That's
>fine, they didn't cost that much. Yesterday I went to a store that
>gives away "2 free fish of the day" and they were giving away Pearl
>Danios. You know what, before I went to bed, she'd eaten both of them.
> I know this (besides the buldge), she had a tail hanging out of her
>mouth. She's an evil pig! :-) She is happy and healthy though. I
>don't really want to get anymore fish until she passes as I think I
>prefer smaller fish (which I'm assuming she'll eat).
>
>Anyone else have killifish that eat other fish?
>
>Thanks,
>Ben

Which kind of killis? I have 4 Wonders and they're getting along with
the rest of my fish just fine, though they're about all the same size.

[Ben]

Jak Crow wrote:
> Which kind of killis? I have 4 Wonders and they're getting along with
> the rest of my fish just fine, though they're about all the same size.

Couldn't tell you. They're generic ones I got a petco... I looked
online and couldn't find a good pic. It's a white yellow with metallic
yellow looking fins.

Ben

[Jak Crow]

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 11:13:12 -0400, Ben > wrote:

>Jak Crow wrote:
>> Which kind of killis? I have 4 Wonders and they're getting along with
>> the rest of my fish just fine, though they're about all the same size.
>
>Couldn't tell you. They're generic ones I got a petco... I looked
>online and couldn't find a good pic. It's a white yellow with metallic
>yellow looking fins.

Do they look like tetras or or are they kind of cigar shaped with flat
heads and a wide mouth?

[Ben]

Jak Crow wrote:

> Do they look like tetras or or are they kind of cigar shaped with flat
> heads and a wide mouth?

More cigar shaped with flat heads and wide mouth.

-Ben

[Jak Crow]

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:33:41 -0400, Ben > wrote:

>Jak Crow wrote:
>
>> Do they look like tetras or or are they kind of cigar shaped with flat
>> heads and a wide mouth?
>
>More cigar shaped with flat heads and wide mouth.

Ah. Sounds like the same as mine. The biggest one I have right now is
only about an inch and a half, and most of my fish are about the same
size. Mine don't bother with the smaller fish I have though, but I
keep them well fed with frozen foods. They'll eat flakes too. I have
heard that they can get aggressive, but usually when they get to about
3 or 4 inches.

[Ben]

Jak Crow wrote:

> Ah. Sounds like the same as mine. The biggest one I have right now is
> only about an inch and a half, and most of my fish are about the same
> size. Mine don't bother with the smaller fish I have though, but I
> keep them well fed with frozen foods. They'll eat flakes too. I have
> heard that they can get aggressive, but usually when they get to about
> 3 or 4 inches.

Mine's about 3 inches give or take. When I got it, it was much smaller.
I'm proud that she is doing well. I won't get rid of her. Any idea
what their life span is?!? :-) I guess I'll just have to invest in
larger fish.

-Ben

[~Vicki ~]

Killfish are a single species fish. Don't mix them with other fish or
they will kill them.

Vicki

[Ben]

~Vicki ~ wrote:
> Killfish are a single species fish. Don't mix them with other fish or
> they will kill them.

Like I said, it's odd cause I bought them from a community tank. (it
had at 3 other species in the tank, 2 of which were much smaller). It
never bothered anyone until recently.

-Ben

[~Vicki ~]

I could be very wrong Ben, but every book I have on fish say the same
thing about Killfish. And that is not to mix them with other types of
fish. They may do just fine when they are young, but as they grow they
show their full colours. (no pun intended)

Vicki

[Blue Gourami]

(~Vicki ~) wrote in message >...
> I could be very wrong Ben, but every book I have on fish say the same
> thing about Killfish. And that is not to mix them with other types of
> fish. They may do just fine when they are young, but as they grow they
> show their full colours. (no pun intended)
>
> Vicki

I have a full grown pair of golden wonder killies (Aplocheilus
lineatus "gold") in a 108 gallon tank with, among others, a school of
pearl danios and about a dozen shrimps (Amano and rainbow). I
introduced them last April and, so far, they have not eaten any of
their tankmates. I count everybody on a regular basis, just to be
sure. At first, it looked like the male was eyeing the danios and he
was occasionally splashing around, as if he wanted to lunge at them,
but he did not seem to be trying very hard; the danios were not even
scared and continued to swim around as if nothing had happened. The
male had now given up and he just pesters the female... Before I put
them in this tank, they were by themselves in a smaller tank and I got
some fry from them. In the big community tank, I suppose any baby will
end up as a tasty snack for someone else.

[Jim Brown]

~Vicki ~ > wrote in message
...
> Killfish are a single species fish. Don't mix them with other fish or
> they will kill them.
>
> Vicki
>

Au contraire!!
Yes, killis are often maintained in single species tanks for ease of care
and propagation.
OTOH, most are excellent community fish if their requirements are being met.
That includes not many enjoy flake food, the tank must have a full cover,
and the usual consideration is given to interspecies compatibility.

Jim

[Jak Crow]

(~Vicki ~) wrote in message >...
> I could be very wrong Ben, but every book I have on fish say the same
> thing about Killfish. And that is not to mix them with other types of
> fish. They may do just fine when they are young, but as they grow they
> show their full colours. (no pun intended)
>
> Vicki

That's not 100% true. There are a variety of killis first of all. The
ones we're talking about are panchax. They are fine in community tanks
with fish that are of similar size. I have 4 in a 50gal with
swordtails and platties that are bigger than they are with no problem.
They aren't aggressive toward the other fish at all and hang around
with some guppies I have too. They will eat very small fish though,
but that's par for the course.

[Jak Crow]

On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 21:21:34 -0400, "Jim Brown" >
wrote:

>
>~Vicki ~ > wrote in message
...
>> Killfish are a single species fish. Don't mix them with other fish or
>> they will kill them.
>>
>> Vicki
>>
>
>Au contraire!!
>Yes, killis are often maintained in single species tanks for ease of care
>and propagation.
>OTOH, most are excellent community fish if their requirements are being met.
>That includes not many enjoy flake food, the tank must have a full cover,
>and the usual consideration is given to interspecies compatibility.

My gold wonders love flake food. Well, they love just about any food,
but definitely they like flakes.

[Blue Gourami]

> My gold wonders love flake food. Well, they love just about any food,
> but definitely they like flakes.

Mine too. When they were in a tank by themselves, I spoiled them and
they insisted on frozen blood worms, refusing all flakes. Then I
transferred them to the big community tank (where I feed flakes in the
morning and either flakes or more meaty stuff, such as frozen
bloodworms, frozen brine shrimps or freeze-dried tubifex, in the
evening) and I told them they could either go hungry or start eating
flakes. Well, it took them only two days to decide that flakes tasted
pretty good after all!

This summer I am also trying a new food for my golden killis: house
flies. I even got a fly swatter just so I could get fresh fly meat...
I then use tweezers to float the fly in front of the fish, who eagerly
pounces on it.

Any danger in doing that? Parasites, for example?

Blue Gourami

[Jim Brown]

Blue Gourami > wrote in message
m...
> > My gold wonders love flake food. Well, they love just about any food,
> > but definitely they like flakes.
>
> Mine too. When they were in a tank by themselves, I spoiled them and
> they insisted on frozen blood worms, refusing all flakes. Then I
> transferred them to the big community tank (where I feed flakes in the
> morning and either flakes or more meaty stuff, such as frozen
> bloodworms, frozen brine shrimps or freeze-dried tubifex, in the
> evening) and I told them they could either go hungry or start eating
> flakes. Well, it took them only two days to decide that flakes tasted
> pretty good after all!
>
> This summer I am also trying a new food for my golden killis: house
> flies. I even got a fly swatter just so I could get fresh fly meat...
> I then use tweezers to float the fly in front of the fish, who eagerly
> pounces on it.
>
> Any danger in doing that? Parasites, for example?
>
> Blue Gourami

Flies are a perfectly natural food. The only problem would be if the flies
had been sprayed with some insecticide before entering your house.

Jim

[~Vicki ~]

I have a book that said any insect (especially house flies) which have
not had any pesticides on them are great for fish. In the spring when
the inch worms are all over the place, I feed them to my fish. I also
give them ants which they relish. I have a friend who gives his Oscar
live crickets to eat.

In nature fish eat all kinds of insects so what is a nice juicy fly to
them.

Vicki