Six Barred Panchax Killifish

Rarely offered surface-dwelling species from West Africa. Both sexes are strongly patterned with dark vertical bands, the males develop longer more colourful fins. Best kept in a planted aquarium with similar sized peaceful species.

Feeding

These fish require a good variety of meaty frozen foods, as in the wild they are known to take insects and insect larvae from the water’s surface. Bloodworm and white mosquito larvae are preferred, but they will also enjoy vitamin-enriched brineshrimp and daphnia.

Breeding

A chosen conditioned pair should be acclimatised to a softwater breeding aquarium furnished with large clumps of fine leaved plants and floating plants. Some aquarists prefer to condition the male and female in separate tanks prior to bringing them together in the breeding aquarium. The eggs, which are of quite a large size, will be deposited amongst the plants near the water’s surface. From here it is easy to transfer them to another growing-on tank so that the parent fish do not predate on them (alternatively, carefully remove the parent fish from this aquarium once spawning has ceased). The eggs usually number between 100 and 150, but up to 250 have been reported from one spawning. These eggs can be expected to hatch within 11-14 days (temperature dependant) and the young offered finely powdered ‘first foods’ and newly hatched brineshrimp.

• Common Name – Six Barred Panchax
• Origin – Western Africa
• Diet – carnivorous
• PH Range – 4 – 7
• Temperature – Tropical 26°c – 28°c
• Breed Type – Egg Layer
• Maximum Size – approximately 8cm
• Sex – Un-sexed