# I unexpectedly own a killifish



## Malawi Mac (Aug 20, 2004)

Anybody know anythiing about Killifish?

On Friday evening, I bought what I thought were six young dwarf neon rainbows (Melantoneia praecox). But when I got the bag of fish home, I had only five rainbows. The sixth fish is a killifish; I think it is probably a blue gularis because that is the name that was written on the tank where my rainbows came from.

It's not very big - .5 to .75 " long. No color to speak of. I don't know if that means its a female or a juvenile not yet exhibiting color.

I know nothing of these fish. I dug out my old Exotic Tropical Fishes book. Prefer pH on the acid side. Prefer live foods. Supposedly aggressive, although that could refer to behavior towards other killies.

None of these is really compatible with any of my existing setups. My tap water is hard and alkaline. I don't feed live foods.

I can't return the fish. The store is nearly 300 miles away.

If the fish can adapt to my water and be satisfied with flake food, dried tubifex & krill, and frozen brine shrimp, and live peacably with other non-killies, I may try to raise it. Otherwise I need to get rid of it somehow.

Anyone have any advice?


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

I have a bit of experience with Killifish. Most of the "information" from old books is inaccurate, to be polite. There are a lot of myths about Killies.

Assuming that it is _Fundulopanchax sjoestedti_, the Blue Gularis (I doubt this, will explain further down), the first thing to know is that it won't stay small for very long. This is one of the larger species, and they can reach 6+ inches. They are not picky eaters, he will eat whatever he sees the other fish eating. When he gets big enough, he may try to eat the other fish, too. However, anything bigger than large guppies will likely be safe. The aggression on this species is mostly toward their own kind and other similar Killifish. They do not require the soft, acid water, though it's better for breeding them. Of course, with only one fish, you're not going to be doing any breeding.

There's a good chance that your fish is actually _Fundulopanchax gardneri_, as these are often sold commercially as "Blue Gularis". They only get about 3.5 inches, but are even easier to feed, maintain, and breed than the real Blue Gularis. I've seen them being kept in community tanks with Rainbows, dwarf Cichlids, and other types of fish. Very hardy, will survive with tough fish without being a bully. The small size of your fish suggests that the Killies were breeding in the store tank, which is extremely unlikely with true Blue Gularis, but very possible with _gardneri_.

Both of these are going to be a bit slow and subject to fin nipping from fast moving Malawi Cichlids. I would not keep them with those fish.

Try to get a picture and post it, if it's showing color at less than an inch I doubt that it is a Blue Gularis. Doesn't make it impossible, but a picture would best settle the question.


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## Malawi Mac (Aug 20, 2004)

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I won't keep it with Malawi cichlids.

I have a 75 with some large community fish (Boseman rainbows, congo tetras, a bala shark). I am also in the process of converting my 29 into a community tank for smaller species (I have harlequin rasboras, zebra danios and now praecox rainbows growing out in various tanks).

Sounds like it should be OK in one of these tanks depending upon its size.

I don't think it's showing any color. It's kinda hard to see since the growout tank where it's being housed is on the bottom shelf of a metal wrought iron stand and thus far from eye level, and the light for the tank is not verty bright.

One more question - do these fish harm live plants? My 75 is heavily planted.


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

Killies are absolutely safe with plants. Only a handful are vegetarian, such as the Florida Flagfish, and they prefer hair algae to true plants.


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