These are killies that I got for 99 cents each about 1 1/2 months ago. I've never had killies before - they're pretty cool fish. Have no idea what type they are! Sorry for the blurry photo - they are hard to photograph because they're always moving!

{{gwi:376202}}

They're very cool, Sky.
Where did you get them? I understand that some Killies only last 2 seasons.

-andy

ugh - actually at a horrid pet store. They're fish dept is the pits, but they sell fake plants at a pretty good price. Umm... I have to look up the name of the store because I can't recall the name off hand!

It's a pet store (multi-pet) on Long Beach Road...going towards Long Beach. It's called Pet something!! argh. I can't remember the name. Ummm.. It's right on the corner and you can see it from the road - across the way from that garbage dump (which is now a huge hill!)

Still, a diamond in the rough, right?
I know that location...but never visited that store. I'll have to check it out someday...just to see if I get lucky like you did.

-andy

No diamond in the rough!! Although it seems they're trying to "improve" their fish dept by NOT letting people net their own fish.

ugh - no... they have fish crammed into tiny tanks. Like I said, I usually go their just for plants and bird food... but I came across those killies for 99 cents! And they really were so pretty! Looked like they were just put in, too.

Oh - and I've bought baby koi there, too (and now, overwinter have tripled in size!!)

I keep getting the name mixed up with the store I like on Rockaway - Petworks. I got some really pretty sailfin mollies there! At other stores they were charging like $9-$10 for sailfins. At Petworks I got them for $3.49!! And large ones, too!! And most of the fish people know their stuff (not all, but most seem to!)

...just a lucky find then. Not a lot of fish stores keep Killies. I guess because of their unique requirements and the fact that they are short lived.

-andy

Hey ...

I use to live in Long Island ... what about Killies in the local rivers ??? ... would be a cool brackish tank ... from what I remember they had ferocious feeding habits.

Good Day ...

Those fish are called Golden Panchax and they are a Killi but get larger and dont need the acid water that other members of the killi family do. They will get about 4 inches long and the males can be rather snappy to other fish..oh and they will eat other fish too so be careful of their tankmates!

Thanks for the info... they ARE growing pretty big! Hopefully they won't get big enough to eat any of their tankmates (I'm thinking even at 4" long, the small fish (neons and tetras) are larger than their mouths will be!)

Another former Long Islander checking in here. While I never kept freshwater killies, I did have a lot of fun as a kid keeping local saltwater fauna in small tanks for awhile, & then letting them go.

I had the usual assortment of saltwater killies, minnows, spearing/silversides, pipefish (these were by far the best - like unwound seahorses), sponges, tiny crabs, even the occasional baby snapper blue - you name it.

I've done that too, breezy. It's really fun. If you grab a rock from the water, chances are you'll have barnicles too. That's a lot of fun!

Where abouts on the Island were you? And...why did you leave? Taxes? Traffic? both???

-andy

I always wanted to keep an Eel and some Blue Claw crabs !!

I was from East Rockaway / Lynbrook .... Mill River.

Good Day ...

That would be fun. We catch Blue Claw out of the bay all the time.
When did you leave LI?..and why? We consider leaving every time we go on vacation or see a movie that takes place somewhere in New England. Maybe it's the 'grass is always greener' syndrome...but everywhere else there's less traffic, crime, and taxes. Not to mention the housing prices!

-andy

But you get all that SNOW up north!! Ack!! I'm not sure I can deal with more snow than we get in this area!! Of course Hawaii always sounds good to me!! ;)

I know...but I'm afraid that my kids won't be able to afford a house here. I don't want them to have to move away!

-andy

I moved at a borderline age ... just starting college .. the whole family moved as well ... even had cousins out here ... good thing too ... all of my family cousins and all did the house and built in pool thing ... back in the late 80's early 90's one could do that for 150 K ... now the same set up 350 - 400 K ...

I liked Hawaii ... but the humidy is a killer ... even indoors ... your always wet ... bet there would be some great aquarium keeping out there ... very cool ocean type place ... but what to do for work ???

Long Island seafood is the best !! That I miss ... I don't miss the taxes ... out here they are in an uproar over $750 a year taxes !! ...

Good Day ....

... the last time I had Blue claw crabs to eat was pre 9/11 .. carried them on the plane .. in a box all 10 dozen live !!! ... I wonder if thats still legal ????

Good Day ...

Here's a good site for killi information: http://aka.org/modules/tinycontent3/

Browse through the galleries, some of these fish are drop-dead gorgeous!

Not all killies are annual fish, so not all require incubation in peatmoss before they'll hatch.

The American Killifish Association also has a mailing list. If you really want to learn about killifish, you should subscribe.

I converted my outdoor 180 gal pond to saltwater one year [I live on the Great South Bay]. Was cool until the brown alge took over. The killies would go into a feeding frenzy, the water looked like it was boiling. Man they go crazy. It was a short lived experiment.

That's cool James.
Picturing the water bubbling makes me think of going to the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. Ever go there and feed the trout?

-andy