"Aaaarrrrgggghhhh.... I've had it !!", I muttered in frustration as yet another canister of killie eggs arrived as little 'fur balls'.  Undeterred, I searched further and sank deepe ... such is the 'punishment' that some devout killie-keepers persevere.

whiirrrrl.... rewind back to the mid nineties...

These little jewels first caught my eye during mid '90s Aquarama show.  Set in a display tank at a German booth, I didn't know that these are killifishes but these buggers had a whole palette of every imaginable colors in one fish!  But for all intent and purposes, which I couldn't figure out despite my persuasion, these were NOT FOR SALE!  I left the show that day knowing I had to get me some!

Not knowing what a killie is, makes searching all the more difficult and being computer illiterate didn't help either!  Got sidetracked I did and had conveniently forgotten about them while pursuing other hobbies.

It was a few years later that I spotted something similar at a LFS and it was aptly labeled as "Amazon Kill Fish"... and a 'killer' it was!  They were all in one tank, some turquoise and others orangy gold, with a myriad of color patterns never seen in a freshwater fish.  I bought a few of each color, thinking that color determined the sexes and hoped to breed them.  That was wishful thinking, darn silly and left me pretty broke too as  they were expensive!!.   But try I will, fall I shall and learn I must... and these are what I know now as Fundulopanchax!

Next came along Windoze 95, the World Wide Wait and Yahuz... and suddenly I was on the internet highway, even though I was trodding along on a 14.4 modem.

By chance while searching for more killifish information, I stumbled upon the homepage of the American Killifish Association and was briefly known as AKAer #07965 in 1999.

The comradship, the sharing and the ethics upheld by the AKAers, opened a my eyes to a deeper meaning of 'species maintenance'.  In layman's lingo, it's the dedication to maintain a 'population of killies with a given location', and actively conserving that genetic heritage.

However in that time frame... when Discus, "Blood Parrots" and Arowana took centre stage in the hobby, it was also discouraging when you're the only bloke in town who dig killifishes.  There's no one to talk to and people start looking at you funny, spewing out those lengthy latiny names.  They wouldn't have understood... even if I had muttered it wrong!

I seeked out sellers and started buying eggs from faraway lands, in Europe and from USA.  Had my share of disappointment with 'half-boiled eggs' and fuzz balls... but the satisfaction and rewards came bountiful too... when one's able to raise a brood of frys, go on to spawn the young adults and further another generation.

Yessiree!!, it was fun... but still a lonely journey.  Onward I pledged and took every opportunity to infect those around me with the 'killie-bug', not many took the bait... <sigh>

whiirrrrl.... fast forward back to the present day...

Of the few who did bite... there's one bloke who bit  hard... so hard, he actually swallowed the whole thing... hook, line and sinker!  He's none other than Kwek Leong, my killie-buddy, and he has gone on to build and own Killies.Com.  With his inspirations, the 1st local Killifish forum was born and I'm his "cohort in crime!".

It is my hope that through our enthusiasm and the forum, we can bring the beauty to more hobbyists and further the appreciation of maintaining these simple beauties known as Killifish.

whiirrrrl.... back to the future... ??!!

Heh... this, we'll have to wait and see.  But meanwhile, I hope you'll keep 'em fingers wet and enjoy the visit.