Plant Spawning Killifish

By Clint Norwood

Plant Spawning Killifish are usually spawned in one of two main methods, the Natural Method and The Mop Method.
 

The Mop Method

        The Mop Method uses a mop made of about 25 to 50 strands of yarn tied together, sometimes with a cork or some other kind of floatation device attached. Conditioned breeders are added along with a mop or two to an otherwise bare tank and left for a period of about two weeks. The eggs are picked daily, off the strands of yarn, carefully by hand, and placed in a small covered container such as a petri dish or well cleaned baby food jar. Watch the eggs and remove any that might fungus up, to prevent contaminating the other eggs. In a few days you will notice the eggs beginning to "eye up", develope. They should be ready to hatch in about two weeks.
 
        The individual fry have the inconvenient habit of hatching at slightly different times, so it might be a weeks difference between the time when the first fry hatches and the last fry hatches. The fry are placed into a rearing tank of their own and fed small live foods such as baby brine shrimp and /or micro worms from the first day. They can be gradually weaned over to other more conventional foods such as flakes, freeze dried and frozen fare starting at about one month of age.
 

The Natural Method

        The Natural Method is a lot easier than the Mop Method. The only drawback being that a lot of the Plant Spawning Killifish are ferocious fry eaters and won't allow much success with this method.
 
        To set up a pair or group of Killifish for the Natural Method you need a well planted tank preferably with an under gravel filter or other gentle type filter. Just allow the breeders to do what comes naturally. In about 2 weeks you should be seeing some fry swimming around. You can leave them in the tank with the adults or remove them to a rearing tank of their own. Or a third possibility is to remove the adults to a new spawning tank and allow the fry to grow in this tank. This natural spawning tank needs to get a shot of baby brine shrimp or microworms every day for maximum success. This is a treat for the adults but almost a necessity for the fry.