Daget's Killifish Breeding Guide

How to breed Epiplatys dageti, the red-chinned panchax, a non-annual West African killifish that spawns in mops or fine plants, hatching in about 11-14 days.

Overview

Epiplatys dageti, the red-chinned panchax, is a peaceful surface-oriented killifish of the family Nothobranchiidae from West Africa, where AquaInfo records it from southwest Liberia, southern Ivory Coast and western Ghana in rainforests and mangrove swamps. It is a non-annual species reaching about 5.5-7 cm.

Sexing

AquaInfo notes males are more brightly coloured and grow larger than females, and in the monroviae form show an orange-red marking under the chin that females lack.

Conditioning

The fish are surface feeders that take live insects, fruit flies and Daphnia and ignore sinking foods. AquaInfo advises feeding the parents plenty of high-quality food such as black mosquito larvae and brine shrimp before spawning.

Breeding Setup

AquaInfo recommends placing spawning mops or fine-leaved plants such as Java moss in a breeding aquarium of about 40 by 30 cm. A temperature of 21-23 C produces balanced sex ratios, while higher temperatures favour males. AquaInfo gives pH 5.0-7.0 (6.0-6.5 preferred), a normal temperature range of 20-27 C and GH 5-8.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Eggs are deposited among the mops or plants. As a plant-spawning, non-annual killifish, the species spawns over an extended period rather than in a single burst, so the spawning medium is checked and the eggs harvested regularly.

Egg & Fry Care

AquaInfo reports the eggs hatch at about 21 C after roughly 11 to 14 days. Fry are first offered infusoria, then freshly hatched brine shrimp and other small foods once they are large enough.

Common Challenges

Incubation temperature skews the sex ratio, so 21-23 C is used for balanced broods. As a surface fish it is a ready jumper, so a tight cover is essential.