Clown Killifish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a small group, where they spend almost all their time near the surface. They have tiny mouths, so feed small foods like micro pellets, crushed flake, daphnia, baby brine shrimp, and mosquito larvae. They want calm water at pH 6.5 to 7.5 and a cool to moderate 20 to 26 C, and a tank of around 55 liters is plenty. They are peaceful, so pair them only with other small, gentle fish, ideally in a nano or species tank.

In the wild

Clown killifish live in shallow, slow streams, swamps, and forest pools in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The water is soft and slightly acidic, shaded by overhanging plants, with little flow. Recreate that with a gently filtered, heavily planted tank, plenty of floating plants up top, and a tight lid since they jump.

Good to know

Epiplatys annulatus is in the family Nothobranchiidae and is one of the smallest killifish, reaching only about 3.5 cm. It is an egg layer that deposits eggs among fine-leaved plants, with the fry hatching after roughly ten to fourteen days. The striped body and the red and blue tail markings make it easy to recognize.

Did you know

The tail is the giveaway, with a blue and red pattern that has earned the nickname rocket killifish from the way the fins flare out. That bright tail shows best against dark substrate and tannin-stained water.

Related species

• 

  Red-chinned panchax

  Epiplatys dageti

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)70–75°F (21–24°C)

• 

  Six-barred panchax

  Epiplatys sexfasciatus

  3.9 in (10 cm)20 gal (75 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Red-striped killifish

  Aphyosemion striatum

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)70–77°F (21–25°C)

• 

  Two-striped aphyosemion

  Aphyosemion bivittatum

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Red-seam Killifish

  Aphyosemion calliurum

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Golden lyretail killifish

  Aphyosemion australe

  2.4 in (6 cm)10 gal (38 L)70–75°F (21–24°C)