Blue Lyretail Killifish care guide
Blue Lyretail Killifish (Fundulopanchax sjoestedti) — minimum tank 60 L, temperature 20-24 °C, pH 6-7.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
The Blue Lyretail Killifish (Fundulopanchax sjoestedti) is a large West African killifish with brilliant blue-green flanks, red spotting and elongated lyretail caudal fins in males.
Taxonomy
- Family: Nothobranchiidae
- Genus: Fundulopanchax
- Scientific name: Fundulopanchax sjoestedti
- Common synonyms: Steel Blue Aphyosemion
Habitat
Native to seasonally flooded forest swamps and slow tributaries of southern Nigeria and Cameroon, in soft, acidic and often tannin-stained water.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L (15.9 US gal)
- Adult size: 8-12 cm
- Temperature: 20-24 °C (68-75 °F)
- pH: 6-7
- GH: 2-8 °dGH
- Water flow: low
- Lifespan: 2-3 years
Diet
A predatory carnivore. Offer live or frozen foods such as bloodworms, mosquito larvae and small earthworms; will accept high-quality pellets after training.
Compatibility
A semi-aggressive species. Keep one male with multiple females in a heavily planted species tank. Other tankmates should be robust and similarly sized; avoid small fish and shrimp that will be eaten.
Breeding
A non-annual egg-depositor. Eggs are attached to spawning mops or fine-leaved plants; incubation lasts roughly 2-3 weeks. Some populations tolerate brief diapause.
Blue Lyretail Killifish Breeding Guide
Overview
Fundulopanchax sjoestedti is a large West African killifish from Nigeria and Cameroon and a substrate spawner. Its eggs can be incubated in water or dried in peat, giving the breeder a flexible choice of method depending on the spawning medium used.
Sexing
The male is the larger, more brightly coloured fish, with extensions to the caudal, dorsal and anal fins. Females are smaller, plainer and rounder in the belly.
Conditioning
Separate the sexes into conditioning tanks and feed a varied diet of live and frozen foods, then select the best male and the plumpest females for spawning. Suitable spawning conditions are around 74-77 F (about 23-25 C) and pH near 6.5, though the species can breed up to pH 8.0.
Breeding Setup
The spawning medium can be a layer of peat moss on the floor of the aquarium, spawning mops, or clumps of fine-leaved plants such as java moss, with peat moss considered the most productive method. A trio can spawn in an aquarium as small as 15 by 8 by 8 inches.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Being a substrate spawner, the pair drives the eggs into the peat or plant clump at the bottom. After spawning the keeper recovers the eggs from the medium for either water or dry incubation.
Egg & Fry Care
Eggs can be incubated in water (with methylene blue) and will hatch in 21 days or so depending on temperature. For dry incubation, peat moss is dried on newspaper for 2 or 3 hours, then stored in a plastic bag at 70-75 F for 10-12 weeks before wetting induces hatching. The fry have no visible yolk sac and can be fed brine shrimp nauplii or microworm from hatching.
Common Challenges
Choosing the correct dry-storage duration is important, as eggs wetted too early or too late hatch poorly. Maintaining stable storage temperature and avoiding fungus in water-incubated eggs are the other key points.