Simpsonichthys constanciae

These are an nice, easy to keep peat spawner. When full grown they are roughly 2" long, or least mine are. They are a nice stocky fish, shaped more like a crappie than the standard killie.

I spawn these in a 3-5 gallon tank with lots of java moss and some gravel on the bottom. I put about a 1/2" of fine peat in the bottom of a 1 pint deli container, then fill it up to the top with well soaked long strand peat, and place that in one corner.  The fish will disappear into the peat to spawn, and it seems to go on for days. Once I see that they have started spawning, I leave the spawning container in the tank for 10 days to 2 weeks. Then I carefully take it out and start the drying process. I tip the container over so the water runs out until the peat is moist but not wet. Then the container (hopefully full of eggs), goes into a plastic fish bag, tied at the top, and placed in my storage box for 2-3 months. Label the bag well, because as you get more and more fish and bags, you will lose track of what is in each bag and when to add water for hatching.

I have never seen the eggs in the peat. When the fry hatch, I start them out with a micro worms for the first week, adding a little baby brine shrimp after a few days watching to be see if they are being eaten. When the fry have grown for a week or so, I drop the micro worms and just go with the baby brine shrimp.

The fry will be ready to start breeding themselves in about 4-5 months.