Colourful killifish 'peaceful and easy to breed'

Advice has been offered to enthusiasts on keeping killifish.

Killifish can make a colourful and easy-to-keep addition to any aquarium.

Practical Fishkeeping explained people should be able to find a type of killifish suitable for the majority of fish tank conditions, although they prefer soft water to tapwater.

The temperature should be maintained at between 21 and 24 degrees C (70 to 75 degrees F) and at least one-third of the water should be changed on a regular basis.

They can make good tank inhabitants because they get on well with other quiet, mild-mannered fish, while they are easy to feed and will be happy on a diet of tropical fish flakes.

It is a good idea to keep the fish in fairly large tanks, as it can be interesting to see different groups interact with each other. It is also important to keep tanks covered at all times, as killis can jump out.

Even though they are common fish found in shallow tropical waters all over the world, the website noted they do not currently seem to be particularly popular among fishkeepers, although there is no reason for this to be the case.

Recommending some different types, the publication stated Asian panchax like the Golden wonder are very hardy and will happily eat the majority of foods. However, they can grow bigger than other varieties of killis and enthusiasts must take care to ensure they do not eat other types of smaller fish.

These could be the perfect purchase if people want to try their hand at breeding, as this process can be easy if they are given their own tank decorated with plenty of plants.

It also suggested the Blue lyretail or Gardner's killifish. Although they do not get on well with other fish and need their own tank this can be small with an aquarium 45cm (18 inches) in length being sufficient.

"They might only appeal to a small part of the fishkeeping hobby, but those people that do devote a tank to them never regret it," the website stated.

Posted by Christopher Neil
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Saturday, 18 Feb 2012, 12:00pm