Blue Panchax Breeding Guide

How to breed Aplocheilus panchax, a widespread Asian surface killifish that lays large eggs on plants near the surface, hatching in about 12-14 days.

Overview

Aplocheilus panchax is a widespread surface-dwelling killifish of the family Aplocheilidae, native across South and Southeast Asia from Pakistan and India to the Indo-Malaysian archipelago. FishBase records a maximum length of about 9 cm and describes it as a perennial breeder, oviparous and active particularly from November to March. It tolerates both fresh and brackish water and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Sexing

AquaInfo describes males as pale yellow with a darker back and yellowish belly, an iridescent blue sheen and dark-rimmed scale markings, while females are less brightly coloured with rounded dorsal and anal fins.

Conditioning

The species is carnivorous, feeding mainly on insects in nature; AquaInfo notes it generally takes only live food but will accept dry food for variety. Conditioning is therefore done on live and frozen foods.

Breeding Setup

AquaInfo recommends breeding trays of about ten litres with the temperature raised to roughly 25 C, although the fish may also spawn in a community tank at normal temperatures. AquaInfo gives 22-24 C for maintenance, pH 6.0-7.0 and GH 8-12; floating and fine-leaved plants provide spawning sites near the surface.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

As a surface spawner the fish deposits its relatively large eggs on plants near the water surface. AquaInfo notes the eggs have a firm shell that allows them to be removed from the plants and transferred to a separate rearing container.

Egg & Fry Care

AquaInfo reports an incubation period of about 12-14 days, after which the young are easy to rear on the usual fry foods. Newly hatched brine shrimp and infusoria are suitable first foods for surface-spawning panchax fry.

Common Challenges

Adults are predatory toward small tankmates and fry, so the fry are best raised away from the parents. As a surface fish it is an accomplished jumper, so a tight cover is essential.