BLUE PANCHAX KILLIFISH (Aplocheilus panchax)

The hardy Blue Panchax is one of the oldest Killifish to be kept by aquarists, a favorite in the hobby since the beginning of the 20th century!

The lively Blue Panchax Aplocheilus panchax is one of the best known and most popular of the killifish species. This is because they are inexpensive, colorful and hardy. What more could you want in an aquarium fish? They can be kept in a community setting with moderately peaceful fish of the same size or larger, though they may snack on smaller species. If you plan on keeping more than one, they need a fairly large aquarium (at least 20 gallons) as the males can get quarrelsome.

The Blue Panchax Killifish comes from a large area in Southeast Asia and because of this large distribution, it comes in many different color schemes. The basic coloration is an iridescent blue body with a black spot on the dorsal fin. Some races will have varying amounts of red or orange on some of the fins. The body coloration may include small spots of yellow, green, red or orange. One of the most popular varieties, the Orangetail Killifish seen in the picture above is from India and has a bright orange tail.

There are simply tons of common names this species is called and some of them are common names used for other killifish species as well. Just a few of them are Blue eye Killifish, Java Medaka, Spotted Medaka, Spotted Ricefish, Blue eye Killi, Lead head Killifish, White Spot Killi, and Silver Head Killifish. Then there are common names for color varieties, like the Orangetail Killifish discussed above.