Water conditions: Moderately soft and acidic, 20-23^oC

Spawning Method: Long term (fry appear with adults)

Breeding problems: Poor fry survival rate

Sex ratio: Almost all females

Breeding difficulty: Easy

Success: Very successful

Other Comments: Could have been kept warmer, my acidic conditions might be incorrect, as one of my females has had fin rot or fungus problems. A heavily planted tank (java moss and watersprite, in this case) will yield plenty of fry, but if they don't have a place to hide, they will likely be eaten by the adults. These have been fed mostly crushed pellets (trout chow), as well as worms, daphnia, and scuds when available. I'd had at least dozens of these make it to adulthood from my original trio. Fun fish, very pretty.

Breeder: Cliff Miller, Seattle (1 years experience with this species)

Water conditions: Moderately hard and alkaline, 20-23^oC

Spawning Method: Long term (fry appear with adults)

Sex ratio: Roughly equal

Breeding difficulty: Easy

Success: Fairly successful

Other Comments: I recently got the killie bug again after a long absence. I have watched my father recently raise a fair number of oeseri in a 10 gallon aquarium with an undergravel filter and a large ball of Java moss, so when a pair from a different bloodline came up at auction, I picked them up. They were young, but sexable, and that was two months ago. My setup was even more simple than my father's, as I took an empty and clean 10 gallon aquarium and filled it half way with 2/3 RO water and 1/3 softened water, threw in a huge clump of Java moss and some Riccia, and let the fish fend for themselves. The light on my tank stand is very bright (almost as bright as saltwater setups might use), so I assumed that the plant growth would adequately consume nitrates and oxygenate the water without the need for mechanical filtration. The fish have been raised almost exclusively on Drosophila melanogaster, with the very rare frozen bloodworm or brine shrimp. I have yet to change the water, and have simply topped off the tank as water evaporates. The water is very clear at all times, although the Java Moss is almost solid in the tank, and Riccia covers about 1/2 the top. I have recently noticed an absolute explosion of frye in the tank (no, I haven't been overly observant), with what I expect to be 30-50 frye at 1/8-3/16 inches long darting around and eating fruit flies from the top of the tank. My guess is that the dense plant cover is allowing a large percentage of the frye to escape predation. While I don't know that I would recommend using no filtration and no water changes, I think the method of raising oeseri in a heavily planted tank is one that even a novice killie keeper could find success with. However, I definitely believe that having D. melanogaster available as a staple is a "secret" to success with many of the killies. Hey, if it worked for Jorgen Scheel, why change it?

Breeder: Midwest USA (1 years experience with this species)