Red-seam Killifish

Care at a glance

Overview

The red-seam killifish is a small, peaceful West African species that suits a quiet, soft-water tank kept as a pair or as one male with a few females. Males show fine red edging on the fins and can spar mildly, so gentle planting and cover help. Feed live and frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp, bloodworms and blackworms, which it prefers to dried food. It stays mostly in the middle water among plants. Unlike the annual killifish it needs steady warmth rather than a cool season. A tank of 75 liters or larger is ample for a small group.

In the wild

Aphyosemion calliurum comes from the coastal rainforest of southern Nigeria and nearby West Africa, living in small, shaded forest streams, pools and swampy margins. The water is soft, acidic and warm, stained brown with tannins and dimly lit under the canopy. Recreate this with a densely planted, gently filtered tank, leaf litter or peat, subdued lighting and warm water from about 24 to 28 C. Keep the pH on the soft, acidic side, roughly 6 to 7.5. It is a warm forest fish, not a temperate one.

Good to know

The red-seam killifish is a member of the killifish family Aplocheilidae and reaches about 5.5 cm. It is a non-annual species from permanent forest waters, so it does not need a dry season to breed. Instead the pair lay eggs among fine-leaved plants or spawning mops over an extended period, and the eggs hatch in water in around two weeks. Breeding is of moderate difficulty: the spawning itself is straightforward, but raising the small fry and staggered hatches takes some care.

Did you know

Although it belongs to the killifish, the red-seam killifish lives in permanent forest streams rather than seasonal pools, so its eggs develop straight through in water and never need the long dry rest that annual killifish depend on.

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