Stowaway killiefish

[SANND]

I requested 2 upside-down catfish and somehow got a lyrietail? killiefish as well. I've tried taking a picture of it but it just won't come out so anyone can see what it is. It's kind of a pale yellowish color.

Anyway, my question is, what do I do with it? Does it need a mate? Can he/she co-habitate with the upside-down catfish? I have another tank full of danios or a couple of 20 gallons that aren't set up at the moment.

I've tried googling for information but I must not be searching the correct words cuz I'm not finding a plethora of information.

(edited to correct my ****e spelling!)

[Pure]

Killies are great fish. He should be ok on his own. Just make sure you feed plenty of frozen foods (if he won't take flake) and have a tight fitting lid.

[FishGeek]

Killiefish are not too aggressive. They can be housed in a community tank. They dont require another Killie but you can if you want. What an Awesome stowaway!!!

Hey Pure!!! Ya beat me!!!

[FroggyFox]

lyretail is usually how its spelled...and I'm thinkin like most fish the lyretail doesn't matter with its care...just search for killifish.

We dont have any great profiles of them in our profiles...so if you DO get a good pic of it you should write up a profile There is one...but no more information than Pure and Guppy just gave you.

Nice surprise

[pp01862]

Could that killi be a common "golden wonder"? I have 4 golden wonders and they are great. They do seem to enjoy staying close to one another. Give them freeze dried baby shrimp for a nice treat, they will enthusiastically eat it. Hope you have a lid on your tank, I had one find it's way out even WITH a lid on, guess it got out through where the cutout for the filter is. I hate to pick favorites, but the killi is one of my favorite fish, so enjoyable to watch.

[Osiris]

Definitely sounds like a Golden Wonder or Yellow Panchax. Most killifish are referred to by their scientific name on websites so it can make finding quick info a little harder if you don't know it. Yours is probably a aplocheilus lineatus gold.

[SANND]

I think you might be right Osiris. Looking at pics, it appears that I have a male. He's really fun to interact with already. He's learned that I'm a reliable food source so he comes begging when he sees me at the tank. he's even started eating bloodworms straight from my hand.

I'm finding conflicting minimum tanks size for them thought. Our profiles say 5 as do several other sites, but just as many say 20. any opinions from some of ya'll that have actually kept them?

[hyunelan2]

They don't get huge - I think the larger tank size is mainly a recommendation if you're keeping a group where there might be some territorrial sqaubble. I keep 4 of them (2 M, 2 F) in my 46g. The dominant male will sometimes chase the other male, but they do no harm to each other, and usually just hang out in a group of 4. I know you could keep a M-F pair in a 5g and probably have no trouble, as that's the size many people use for breeding them, but I would say probably have 5g per killifish for adequate room for them.

[SANND]

Thanks for the info