Fundulopanchax gardneri is commonly known as the Blue Lyretail killifish. There exists at least a large number of different subspecies, such as Fundulopanchax gardneri garneri and Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus. Within each subspecies, you can find a rich assortment of geographical strains. Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus can for instance come from Innidere, Jos Plateau, Lokoja, Makurdi and Misaje, and there is also a variant called P82. This article is about breeding Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus from the Jos Plateau
Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’
Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’ is a mop-spawning semi-annual killifish native to Nigeria in the western part of central Africa. This variant grows to be around 6 cm as adult and the males are very beautiful with red spots dotted over a sky blue body. The fins are blue and decorated with red striping and a yellow border. The female Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’ have a drab brown coloration with dark brown spots and a pale belly. Females are normally shorter and wider than males.
The native environment for this fish is streams, pools and ponds located in both forest and grasslands. Mimicking this type of habitat in the aquarium means keeping the water slightly acidic (i.e. somewhat below pH 7) and the temperature in the 23-26 degrees F range. There is no need for strong water movements, but an air stone is recommended to keep the oxygen levels up.
Getting your fish to breed
A 2 ½ gallon aquarium is big enough to work as breeding aquarium for Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’. Place the couple in the aquarium and make sure that conditions are ideal. A large water change (40-60%) should be carried out once a day. Provide your fish with a varied and nutritious diet that contains live food and high-quality flake food. Feeding large amounts of meaty food, such as brine shrimp, seems to cause bigger spawns.
Add a spawning mop the aquarium and wait for the couple to notice it.
All subspecies of Fundulopanchax gardneri are two-week mop-spawning killifishes and Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’ is certainly not an exception. The amount of eggs laid per day can vary dramatically, from just a few to more than 30. The female will normally release her eggs during early morning and late evening. A ‘Jos Plateau’ egg is about 3 mm in diameter and sports a clear to light amber coloration.
Caring for the eggs
Different breeders have different techniques and one popular, although time consuming, method is to hand pick the eggs from the spawning mop and place them in a separate bowl. If you are gentle when handling the mop, most eggs will make the transfer without being damaged. A bowl with 2 cm of water is enough to incubate the eggs. Perform a small water change a few times a week using water from the aquarium in which the eggs were laid. As the egg develops it will become increasingly darker, and after a while you will be able to see dark eyes through the shell.
If you notice any white eggs, they should be removed as soon as possible. Fertilized eggs are clear or amber colored, while unfertilized eggs turn white after a while. Unfertilized eggs will serve as breeding grounds for fungi and bacteria and must therefore be eliminated from the rearing bowl. The easiest way is to use an eyedropper.
Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus ‘Jos Plateau’ eggs normally need two weeks of incubation if the water temperature is kept at 24 degrees C. Set up a good rearing aquarium and use an eyedropper to move emerging fry. A newly hatched ‘Jos Plateau’ fry will be less than 5 mm in length and have a small yolk sac or no yolk sac at all. It will be free-swimming almost from start and can be fed microworms and newly hatched brine shrimp. Perform small water changes after each feeding season to remove any leftover food.
If you provide your fry with nutritious food, they can exceed 10 mm in length within three weeks. At five weeks of age, the fry can be 2.5 cm long. Even if some fry are bigger than others, they can still be house in the same aquarium because cannibalism is rare among ‘Jos Plateau’ fry.
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