Palmqvist's notho

Nothobranchius palmqvisti

Also known as Palmqvist's killifish, Palmqvist's nothobranch

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 6.0–7.0
Adult size: 2 in (5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Native to coastal seasonal swamps and marshes of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania near the Indian Ocean.
Family: Nothobranchiidae

Overview

Keep one male with two or three females in a 40 litre species tank at 22 to 27 C and pH 6.0 to 7.0. Males are quarrelsome, so run a single male unless the tank is large. Feed meaty live and frozen foods including bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia, and blackworm. Spawn it over peat or a soft substrate and store the eggs damp to carry the line forward.

In the wild

It lives in intermittent freshwater swamps and marshes on the coastal plain that flood in the rains and dry back afterward. Males are turquoise with red scale edges and a red tail, while females are plain. Provide a dark, planted species tank with a soft base and a tight cover.

Good to know

Like all coastal nothos, Nothobranchius palmqvisti is an annual whose eggs wait out the dry months buried in the mud. It has been used in population genetics work because it is widespread along the Tanzanian coast. In a stable aquarium it can live up to about two years.