Identity and search names
- Common name
- Golden wonder killifish
- Scientific name
- Aplocheilus lineatus
- Other names
- Striped panchax, Golden wonder panchax, Gold panchax
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Killifish
- Origin
- India and Sri Lanka; the golden form is a captive colour strain
- Review outcome
- PASSED
Environment and housing
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- Usually 8–10 cm total length
- Expected lifespan
- About 3–5 years
- Minimum housing
- At least 110 L with a fully sealed lid and long surface area
- Temperature
- 20–26 °C
- pH
- 5.5–7.8
- Hardness or minerals
- Soft to moderately hard
- Salinity
- Primarily freshwater; some populations tolerate brackish conditions, but routine salt is unnecessary
- Lighting
- Moderate lighting with floating cover and open surface lanes
- Social structure
- Keep a compatible pair, trio or structured group with visual cover and more females than males
- Placement or swimming zone
- Surface and upper water
- Temperament
- Confident surface predator; males can be assertive
- Compatibility
- Use fish too large to swallow and able to tolerate its confident feeding; do not combine with nano fish or fry
- Habitat structure
- Long covered aquarium with floating plants, open surface lanes, gentle-to-moderate flow and no escape gaps
Feeding and nutrition
- Diet
- Insectivore and small-fish predator taking insects, crustaceans, worms and quality floating foods
- Feeding frequency
- Offer varied floating or suspended foods once or twice daily and monitor female condition
Breeding and reproduction
- Breeding or reproduction
- Non-annual egg layer that deposits adhesive eggs among floating plants or mops; eggs do not require a dry peat incubation
- Parental care
- No parental care; adults may eat eggs or fry
System demands
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
Detailed husbandry
- Identity scope
- This profile covers the domestic golden form of Aplocheilus lineatus. It is a non-annual plant spawner and must not be confused with Aplocheilus panchax or other panchax sold under loose trade names.
- Adult size and space
- Usually 8–10 cm total length. At least 110 L with a fully sealed lid and long surface area. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression and waste production rather than sale size.
- Social structure
- Keep a compatible pair, trio or structured group with visual cover and more females than males
- Placement or swimming zone
- Primary zone: Surface and upper water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding and refuge.
- Feeding ecology
- Insectivore and small-fish predator taking insects, crustaceans, worms and quality floating foods
- Feeding plan
- Offer varied floating or suspended foods once or twice daily and monitor female condition
- Water stability
- Maintain 20–26 °C; pH 5.5–7.8; hardness/minerals: Soft to moderately hard. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact number.
- Adult projected load
- Plan capacity for Keep a compatible pair, trio or structured group with visual cover and more females than males at the documented adult size (Usually 8–10 cm total length) in At least 110 L with a fully sealed lid and long surface area. Include feeding intensity, territorial behaviour and breeding growth rather than counting sale-size juveniles.
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
- Habitat structure
- Long covered aquarium with floating plants, open surface lanes, gentle-to-moderate flow and no escape gaps
- Compatibility plan
- Use fish too large to swallow and able to tolerate its confident feeding; do not combine with nano fish or fry
- Breeding plan
- Non-annual egg layer that deposits adhesive eggs among floating plants or mops; eggs do not require a dry peat incubation Parental care: No parental care; adults may eat eggs or fry.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine new fish in a separate cycled aquarium with dedicated equipment. Match temperature and mineral chemistry gradually, confirm feeding and normal respiration, and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. A secure lid is mandatory, and any fish that fits in its mouth is potential prey. Do not apply annual-killifish dry-incubation methods.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Main risk
- A secure lid is mandatory, and any fish that fits in its mouth is potential prey. Do not apply annual-killifish dry-incubation methods.
- Overridable warnings
- A secure lid is mandatory, and any fish that fits in its mouth is potential prey. Do not apply annual-killifish dry-incubation methods. Any override must still preserve adult space, social welfare, stable chemistry, oxygen and filter capacity.
Welfare and risk
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. A secure lid is mandatory, and any fish that fits in its mouth is potential prey. Do not apply annual-killifish dry-incubation methods.
- Main warning
- A secure lid is mandatory, and any fish that fits in its mouth is potential prey. Do not apply annual-killifish dry-incubation methods.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Sources
Source note
Current identity or scope, husbandry, system-demand, welfare and Australian biosecurity evidence checked; active retired-source links removed; all AquaNexus wording is original.
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Aplocheilus lineatus — Current accepted-name, synonym, family and habitat check
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Aplocheilus lineatus — Accepted-name, synonym and taxonomic-placement cross-check
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Striped Panchax risk summary — Native range, aquarium trade and introduction-history evidence
- IUCN Red List search — Aplocheilus lineatus — Conservation-status and wild-provenance cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list — Current South Australian possession and trade restriction cross-check
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Current Australian live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning