Breeding Pseudepiplatys annulatus (Clown killies)
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:36 pm
Pseudepiplatys annulatus - One of my all-time favourite killi that I was desperately looking forward to breed since the first time I got my 
on them around two years back... sadly had only 2 males then so had to wait till I got a couple of juvis some 3 mths back....
A male:
P. annulatus inhabit swamps and slow-flowing forest streams in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia so it is essential to depict these conditions in our home aquaria if you intend to breed them.
Setting up the tank...
Dimensions – 12” cube
Water should be very soft and acidic…
Water parameters:
TDS – 50ppm
pH – 6
Temp – 25-26
Water movement – Slow
They don’t like much water movement so a sponge filter with minimal bubble rate is essential.
Feeding – As I always emphasise, live food is a must for conditioning fish for breeding. Feed a lot of live food but make sure to siphon off any uneaten food as they will rarely eat from the bottom.
Water changes are very important, I change 30% water every 2 days with water having similar parameters.
A pair:
Have added a piece of driftwood and few IALs to cover the bottom (helps to lower the pH and soften the water further). Also add a lot of floating plants like Amazon frogbit (limnobium laevigatum) as it will not only provide a sense of security for the adults but also a place to take refuge for the small fries
The breeding setup:
Spawning:
The adults won’t eat the small fries so the fries can be left in the tank itself. However, the larger siblings will eat the smaller fries from the next batch so it is better to separate the batches if you can manage multiple tanks.
A small fry:
The fries are very tiny given the small size of the adults themselves. For the first few days they will need infusoria so a lot of moss in the tank would be very helpful. Microworms wont be an ideal foodsource for them as they always stay at the top, so feed them vinegar ells and bbs.
Update to follow soon...
on them around two years back... sadly had only 2 males then so had to wait till I got a couple of juvis some 3 mths back....A male:
P. annulatus inhabit swamps and slow-flowing forest streams in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia so it is essential to depict these conditions in our home aquaria if you intend to breed them.
Setting up the tank...
Dimensions – 12” cube
Water should be very soft and acidic…
Water parameters:
TDS – 50ppm
pH – 6
Temp – 25-26
Water movement – Slow
They don’t like much water movement so a sponge filter with minimal bubble rate is essential.
Feeding – As I always emphasise, live food is a must for conditioning fish for breeding. Feed a lot of live food but make sure to siphon off any uneaten food as they will rarely eat from the bottom.
Water changes are very important, I change 30% water every 2 days with water having similar parameters.
A pair:
Have added a piece of driftwood and few IALs to cover the bottom (helps to lower the pH and soften the water further). Also add a lot of floating plants like Amazon frogbit (limnobium laevigatum) as it will not only provide a sense of security for the adults but also a place to take refuge for the small fries
The breeding setup:
Spawning:
The adults won’t eat the small fries so the fries can be left in the tank itself. However, the larger siblings will eat the smaller fries from the next batch so it is better to separate the batches if you can manage multiple tanks.
A small fry:
The fries are very tiny given the small size of the adults themselves. For the first few days they will need infusoria so a lot of moss in the tank would be very helpful. Microworms wont be an ideal foodsource for them as they always stay at the top, so feed them vinegar ells and bbs.
Update to follow soon...
