Ahl's Killifish Breeding Guide

How to breed Fundulopanchax gardneri ahli, a semi-annual West African killifish whose eggs hatch in water in 14-21 days or after about 3-4 weeks of peat drying.

Overview

Aphyosemion ahli is an old aquarium name for a member of the Fundulopanchax gardneri complex (Nothobranchiidae) from West Africa. Seriously Fish describes the steel-blue killifish F. gardneri as a switch or semi-annual species: its eggs withstand a period of drying but will also incubate and hatch when permanently submerged in water. Adults reach about 50-55 mm standard length.

Sexing

Seriously Fish notes that males grow larger, are more brightly coloured and develop more-extended fins than females. The plainer, shorter-finned females are easily told apart.

Conditioning

The fish is primarily a micropredator feeding on small aquatic crustaceans, worms, insect larvae and other zooplankton, so it is conditioned on small live and frozen foods. Tropical Fish Hobbyist recommends generous live-food feeding before spawning.

Breeding Setup

Seriously Fish advises stocking two or three females per male so that no single female is harassed. Eggs are deposited among live plants, aquatic mosses or synthetic mops, while some breeders use a small tray of peat that is removed and dried after spawning. Seriously Fish gives 20-26 C, pH 6.0-7.5 and hardness of about 18-179 ppm.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The species spawns more or less continuously. Seriously Fish advises removing eggs daily because the adults will eat any they find. Eggs from mops can be picked off and incubated, or the peat tray can be lifted and dried.

Egg & Fry Care

Under water, Seriously Fish reports eggs normally hatch in 14-21 days depending on temperature, while about 3-4 weeks is the standard dry-storage period before wetting the peat to trigger hatching. The fry are free-swimming almost immediately and can be offered Artemia nauplii, microworm and similar as first foods.

Common Challenges

Egg predation by adults makes daily egg collection worthwhile. Choosing between water and dry incubation depends on convenience; dry-stored eggs can be timed to hatch together by wetting them all at once.