Delta Killifish(Aphyosemion deltaense)

This beautiful killifish is a great addition to any advanced hobbyists collection. There are a few captive bred color varieties but it's hard to improve on something that is naturally this colorful. The Delta Killifish pictured above is a wild caught male.   The Delta Killifish is one of the killifish species from Africa that lives in waters that may dry up completely during the dry season. For this reason, some people consider this to be an annual species but they will live longer than one year if their home waters do not dry up completely. Its eggs are able to exist for extended periods out of the water, insuring the survival of future generations. Since this type of killifish is generally not long lived, they are best kept with the intention of breeding them.

Distribution : 

   The Delta Killifish was described by Radda in 1976. Originating in Africa, they are found in swamps located between the delta of the Niger River and the Warri region of Nigeria. 

Status:  
This fish is not listed on the IUCN red list.

Description:  
The Delta Killifish are extremely attractive. The body is elongated with long broad well-developed fins, and round scales. The head is flattened on top and the mouth upturned, they have no barbels. Males are the most brightly colored. Their background color can variable, light greenish bluish or a tan to light brown. There are dark reddish spots running along the center of the body, forming a broken line that extends through the tail. Another dark reddish line runs horizontally through the bottom lobe of the tail fin. There can be lines or spots run diagonally through the upper lobe as well as spotting on the upper portion of the body. The horizontal lines are accented with edging in a lighter blue-green or cream. The fins and tail are orangish to orange-red and the dorsal fin can also have dark red spots. The coloring of the female is more subdued with fewer colored spots.

Size - Weight :
   This fish will reach about 4 inches (10 cm), but females are about 1/2 the size of males.

Care and feeding :   

The Delta Killifish are carnivores. They will eat most smaller sized fresh, frozen or dried foods but will look their best and will be more likely to breed if fed mostly live or frozen items.
   This fish is a bit demanding to keep so it is not recommended for the casual hobbyist. Because of their relatively short life span of 1 to 2 years, they are best suited for a single species tank that is setup with breeding in mind. If you succeed with breeding them, it would be fine to keep some of the excess males in a community tank so you can enjoy their bright colors. They will do fine in smaller tanks of only 5 to 10 gallons. For breeding, brackish water is suggested.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:  

This is a species that will swim in all parts of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:   

Temperature: 75 - 84° F (24 - 29° C)
   Hardness: 2 - 12° dGH
   Ph: 6.5 - 7.2

Social Behaviors:  

The Delta Killifish are not aggressive towards other species but sometimes the males will fight with each other. The best setup would be one pair per tank.

Sexual Differences:   

The males are brightly colored. Females have little or no color, shorter fins and are usually about ½ the size of the males.

Breeding/Reproduction:   

The breeding tank for Delta Killifish should be a 5 to 10 gallon bare bottom tank filtered by a small sponge filter. Brackish water is suggested. The water temperature should be kept at a constant temperature between 75° and 78° F (24 - 25.5° C). Plants or spawning mops should be included but these are not for specific breeding purposes. They are there to give the female a place to occasionally hide and rest.
   The Delta Killifish is considered to be a substrate spawner. The best way to accomplish this is with a bowl filled with clean, untreated peat moss. The fish will dive into the peat to spawn. Once the eggs have been laid, remove the peat and dry it mostly but not completely on some newspaper. Then place the moss in a plastic bag, seal it and place the bag in a dark area that has a constant temperature of about 78° F (25.5° C). In 3 to 4 months, place the moss in a small tank containing clean water and the eggs should hatch in 1 to 4 days. Feed the young baby brine shrimp until they are big enough to handle larger foods.

Availability:  

It may take some work to find this fish. A few Delta Killifish are wild collected but these numbers are relatively small. If your local fish store is not able to get some for you, try contacting your local killifish club. It is possible that some of their members may be breeding them.

source :http://animal-world.com