Aphanius villwocki

One year old male of Aphanius villwocki from my broodstock

The original six juveniles of this species came from its type locality, the spring at Pınarbaşı close to Emirdağ in Central Anatolia. This long living and large growing Aphanius is already at FSJF since seven generations. One male had lived for five years! At FSJF, they spawn in their second summer when kept cold over winter. I have best experience with them in larger tanks as the 100x100 cm tanks and, in contrast to other Aphanius, they much prefer to spawn in the algae on the wall of the tank and not in the free floating algae. Also, larvae seem to be very vulnerable to predatory water beetles, which are common at FSJF. For some years, I had problems to get good numbers of eggs despite my broodstock of 20 pairs. This species preys strongly on its eggs, even when enough mosquito larva are in the tank. I use netted algae mops as spawning substrate successfully. Before, I pick eggs out of the algae in May and June almost every day. Juveniles have been given to several enthusiasts.