Plumed Lyretail Breeding Guide

How to breed Fundulopanchax filamentosus, a West African killifish that spawns on plants or mops, with eggs incubating in water over roughly six weeks.

Overview

Fundulopanchax filamentosus is a Nothobranchiidae killifish from Togo, Benin and Nigeria, where it lives in swamps and the swampy parts of shallow rainforest brooks. FishBase records a maximum length of about 5.5 cm and describes it as a bottom spawner with around 1.5 months of incubation, in which one male spawns with several females.

Sexing

Males carry the strikingly extended filaments on the upper and lower caudal lobes and are the larger, more colourful sex. As in plant-spawning killifish generally, females are plainer with rounded fins.

Conditioning

The species feeds on worms, crustaceans and insects, so it is conditioned on small live and frozen foods. Tropical Fish Hobbyist recommends generous live-food feeding of plant-spawning killifish before spawning.

Breeding Setup

A small spawning tank with live plants or mops is used, with one male and several females per FishBase's polygamous note. FishBase gives 21-23 C, pH 6.5-7.2 and hardness up to about 10 dH for the species. Tropical Fish Hobbyist describes mops of dark nylon yarn placed in calm water.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Tropical Fish Hobbyist describes plant-spawners aligning alongside one another and depositing adhesive eggs on plant or mop fibres. Eggs can be handled a few hours after spawning because of their protective chorion.

Egg & Fry Care

Eggs are stored in a tray of established water with daily water changes; no antifungal treatment is needed with regular changes. FishBase cites about 1.5 months of incubation for this species, within the two-to-six-week range Tropical Fish Hobbyist gives for plant-spawners. Newly hatched brine shrimp can be fed from the first day, with plant matter providing microorganisms for the smallest fry.

Common Challenges

FishBase notes the species is very difficult to maintain, so stable soft water and a steady supply of live foods are important. Synchronising hatching via the forced-hatch method described by Tropical Fish Hobbyist reduces fry size mismatch.