New fish,need ID please!

robby1619 · Post by **robby1619** » 15 Mar 2007, 17:27

I got 4 of these and have little knowledge about them.
Any idea what i got here?

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 15 Mar 2007, 17:46

Sorry - there doesn't appear to be any pictures (?)

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 15 Mar 2007, 17:49

A-ha I see it now, though i haven't got a clue

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 15 Mar 2007, 18:21

This a female Aplocheilus panchax. This a common SE Asian killiefish. Used to be commonly kept but not seen very often anymore as it has fallen out of favor with killiefish keepers with access to so many much more colorful species.

There is a possibility it may be a female Aplocheilus lineatus, plain wild type of the now common Golden Wonder Killie that has become very popular.

They are both so variable and the females so similar but normally A. lineatus females have a series if vertical bars beginning in th middle of their bodies to their caudal peduncle. These are never present in A. panchax but can fade when A. lineatus is frightened.

Before catfish there were killies. AKA member since 1968.

robby1619 · Post by **robby1619** » 15 Mar 2007, 18:41

Thats the ones i got.
Thank you very much

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 15 Mar 2007, 20:24

I'm glad you now know what it is. The common name for it is Blue Panchax. They are very easy to breed. A pair just needs a 2 gallon well covered tank. They are very skilled jumpers.
Provide them a floating spawning mop made out of acrylic yarn and feed them live and frozen foods. They lay large tough very adhesive eggs among the strands of yarn. Usually 5 t0 15 eggs per day. Every other day you pull the mop and pick through each strand of yarn and pluck the eggs off with your fingers. Place the eggs in a sandwich sized plastic continer with an inch of water in it. Add a drop of acriflavine or 5 drops of methylene blue in the incubation container and keep the container in a place that stays about 75 degrees F. The eggs begin to hatch between 12 and 15 days after they were laid.
Change the water in the hatching container with water from the breeding tank after 5 days to get rid of the anti-fungal dyes. You should be able to see the developing embryo by then with the naked eye or a magnifying glass. You will soon see eyes staring back at you and they will begin hatching in about five more days. The fry may be left in the hatching container for a week and they are able to eat microworms or brineshrimp right after hatching. Move them to a small aquarium of less than five gallons and filled with about six inches of water. It is also a good idea to add a small clump of Java Moss. It will provide some cover and help keep the water sweet. Use a small sponge filter or airstone, too.
They grow fairly fast. No heater is needed if you keep them at ~approximately 72 degrees F.

I haven't seen these in years. They are among the best of the beginner killies to try raising.

robby1619 · Post by **robby1619** » 18 Mar 2007, 09:18

Thanks for the info mate,apreciate it a lot

I have them in an 20G tank and with them there are 4 Leopard longfin-danios and 2 Apistos(male and Female)Will they eat the eggs?
I will have to see if i can breed them!
Few more pics,BTW how do you see the sexes?

Thanks

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 18 Mar 2007, 15:42

Now that you posted photos of these killies showing their normal color they are actually Aplocheilus lineatus, Normal wild type color form, not the Gold wonderkillie color form.
Theses get up to four inches and are predatorry upon all fish they can swallow. If you hang nylon mops in the community tank you should still be able to harvest eggs from the mops maybe fewer than you would if they were kept in their on tank. Very easy fish to raise. Reasearch this species for more details. These are a more aggressive fish than Aplocheilus panchax, but generally won't bother fish they can not swallow whole.