Nothobranchius kafuensis Care Guide
Nothobranchius kafuensis is an annual killifish from the Kafue and upper Zambezi rivers in Zambia, with an electric-blue body and orange-red fin margins.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Nothobranchius kafuensis is an annual killifish of the family Nothobranchiidae, native to Zambia. Males show an electric-blue body with orange-red fin margins. According to FishBase, it is an annual species adapted to seasonally drying pools.
Taxonomy
- Family: Nothobranchiidae
- Genus: Nothobranchius
- Scientific name: Nothobranchius kafuensis
Habitat
FishBase records the species from the Kafue River and the upper Zambezi River in Zambia. It is a freshwater, benthopelagic, non-migratory fish of tropical climates. The seasonal pools it inhabits fill during the rains and dry out completely afterwards.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 40 L
- Temperature: 22-26 °C (72-79 °F)
- pH: 6.5-7.5
- GH: 5-15 °dGH
- Adult size: 4-6 cm
- Lifespan: 1-2 years
Diet
The species is a carnivore, with a trophic level of about 3.2 reported by FishBase. In the hobby it takes live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, Daphnia and brine shrimp, fed about twice daily.
Compatibility
It is best kept as a single male with several females in a quiet species tank, and should not be combined with aggressive tankmates.
Breeding
Nothobranchius kafuensis is an egg-burying bottom spawner. FishBase reports an incubation period of about 5 months in moist substrate before hatching when re-wetted, and notes that the species is difficult to maintain in captivity.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern, assessed in December 2018.
Kafue Killifish (Nothobranchius kafuensis) Breeding Guide
Overview
Nothobranchius kafuensis is an annual killifish from the Kafue River and upper Zambezi River in Zambia. FishBase records it to about 6 cm, benthopelagic and non-migratory, with a preferred temperature of 22-28 °C, and notes it is difficult to maintain in the aquarium. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2018). Adults perish when their floodplain pools dry, while their eggs persist in the substrate.
Sexing
Males show an electric-blue body with orange-red fin margins, while females are smaller and plain. Keep one male with several females in a quiet species tank.
Conditioning
As a carnivore it should be conditioned on small live and frozen foods such as daphnia, bloodworm and brine shrimp. Strong, regular feeding maintains continuous egg output over the peat.
Breeding Setup
Provide a small species tank with a container of soft peat for spawning. As a bottom spawner the fish bury eggs in the substrate, diving into a layer of fine peat or coir. Soft water and subdued light keep the group settled.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
The fish spawn by pushing into the peat and depositing eggs within the medium through the day. The egg-bearing peat is collected and gently squeezed to a damp consistency before sealing for the long incubation this species requires.
Egg Diapause & Hatching
FishBase records an incubation of about 5 months for this species, so the damp peat is stored for a correspondingly long dry period while the embryos develop and may rest in diapause. After incubation the peat is flooded with soft, cool water, triggering the embryos to hatch on detecting submersion. The long incubation makes patient, stable storage especially important.
Common Challenges
Given the long incubation and the species' reputation as difficult, storage moisture and temperature must be kept stable for months. Eggs that do not hatch on the first wetting can often be re-dried and wetted again after a further rest period.