Nothobranchius boklundi Luangwa Valley ZAM 09-2

Nothobranchius boklundi is a relatively new species of annual killifish from Zambia discovered by Jorn Boklund in 2009 in the Luangwa river valley.  It is part of the N. brieni species group and is similar to N. kafuensis.  It is differentiated from N. kafuensis by coloration and morphological characteristics. 

N. boklundi has an overall blue iridescence to the body and red reticulation with a blue or orange-red caudal margined in black.  The dorsal and anal fins are heavily spotted with red and may be yellow to red with some blue iridescence and no marginal bands. 

I obtained eggs from Bob Morenski in the summer of 2010, and a small number were ready to hatch in late October.  The fry are large enough to eat newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms.  Raising the fry posed no unusual problems, although I did have some mortality.  In N. kafuensis males often grow much more rapidly than females.  I did not have that problem with N. boklundi, and both sexes grow at about the same pace.

I usually breed in groups in a 20 gallon long tank.  They’ve turned out to be quite prolific and not aggressive at all.  Their diet is the same as it is for most of my fish: BBS, frozen bloodworms, live white worms, live blackworms, chopped redworms, daphnia, grindal worms, and dried foods.  I perform 50-80% water changes every week.  

Every two weeks I change the spawning medium.  Currently I’m using coir (ground up coconut husks) and I like it better than peat so far.  Incubation takes 4-9 months, but it’s important to watch the development of eggs from all species.  It’s the only way to be certain they’re ready to hatch.  After hatching I transfer the fry to a ½ filled 2.5 gallon tank.  I re-dry the medium, check for eggs, and re-bag and store the eggs for another month or two. 

I routinely get fairly large hatches of fry.  I have never seen a red form of the species other than in pictures, and have heard the same thing from everyone I've talked to who breeds this species.  If you are getting males with red caudal fins, please let me know!  I'd love to get that diversity in my strain.