Malta Aquarist Society

I keep Aphanius mento outdoors all year. Yesterday I wanted to check how many survived the Winter. I caught them all and transferred them to a new 2 feet tank containing the same water. I have about 20 of them, with only 4 males. To my astonishement my biggest male ( more then 4 years now) is still alive. I have some photos to share with you. The fish in my hand are all alive
 

 Aphanius mento outdoors ( After the Winter season) 

 Two females

 Biggest male

 Small male
 

Very good Jon. Nice male you've got there.

Are you going to keep them indoors or you're still going to leave them outside?.

 No I'll leave outdoors. Now I'll feed them a lot as the females start to fill with eggs.  As the temperature rises they will  spawn. I have to add  some plants and spawning mops.

 Very interesting jtheuma, keep us updated about the outcome.

Last week I introduced some cabomba and duckweed( given to me by Jason) in the aquarium. I also have a water lily (given to me by czammit about 3 years ago) in a pot. This will start to grow leaves this month.

Thanks for the update Jon.  If you want, i have more Cabomba & Duckweed, as both grow quite fast.

Do they need some salt with the water and where did you keep them outdoor?

 B.Sammut I keep mine in two 60cm glass aquaria outside in our veranda. I don't any salt with them. By the way why salt?

Because some killifish need salt with the water like aphanius fasciatus. What is the setup of the tanks?

 Just a few cm of gravel at the bottom and a lot of hair algae which grows in direct sunlight. I don't add salt to their water. If you have other questions just let me know.

Do you have a filter in aphanius mento tanks? Because I'm interesting to breed coldwater killifish.

Talking about Killies, can somebody name a few Killies that can be kept outdoors in Malta, apart from the Aphanius mento?.

 No I use no filtration nor aeration in their tank. All I do is that I remove 10 litres of water and then it fills with rain water. Then in Spring I make a water change every week or two.

There are other Aphanius species which can be kept outside like Aphanius anatoliae, Aphanius dispar, Aphanius apodus, Aphanius sirhani ( which is a very nice striped fish). These are not as common as Aphanius mento although Aphanius dispar is bred here in Malta too and also not as hardy as the mento.

Then if you want a more colourful fish you may want to acquire some American flagfish but also they aren't that common in local fish shops. 

Are you going to keep them outside?  

I would like to keep something on the roof all year round. I don't know yet, but I wish to keep a planted tank & some fish, that are capable to survive in the Maltese winter.

If I would keep them in the fish room, they'll be quite ok, as it's nearly always 21/22 Deg.Cel. in winter.

 You could opt for the rosy barbs like Martin has , they have really nice colours.