6 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Males squabble; keep one male with several females in a covered, planted tank.
368 species in our list are a good match.
Males squabble; keep one male with several females in a covered, planted tank. It can eat tiny fish.
Live and frozen foods such as bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia; also accepts flakes.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are larger, more brightly coloured and have longer fins; females are smaller and plainer.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-layer (mop spawner) · Moderate
Lays eggs in plants, moss or spawning mops (or a peat tray). The eggs survive a period of drying but also hatch if kept under water.
One male with 2-3 females.
Small 20 L tank with a spawning mop or peat and soft, slightly acidic water.
Warm, soft water and plenty of live food.
Eggs hatch in 14-21 days kept in water, or after about 3-4 weeks stored in damp peat. Fry swim at once and take Artemia nauplii and microworm.
Feed baby brine shrimp and microworms from day one.
A West African killifish from Nigeria and Cameroon, described by Boulenger in 1911 and named after Capt. R. D. Gardner, who collected the first specimens. The common aquarium forms are among the easiest killifish to keep and breed.
George Boulenger described this killifish in 1911. It is one of the hardiest and most widely kept African killifish, with many named population forms.
First described by George A. Boulenger in 1911.
15 facts checked with sources
Boulenger, 1911. Older books use Aphyosemion gardneri. Seriously Fish lists three nominal subspecies (lacustris, mamfensis, nigerianus); 'steel blue' is the name of the species in general, not only of F. g. nigerianus.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus Fundulopanchax · Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Legacy had no family. Some authors (e.g. Costa) put African killifish in a wider Aplocheilidae; FishBase and Catalog of Fishes use Nothobranchiidae.
FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneri · Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genus FundulopanchaxFishBase 6.5 cm TL (total length); Seriously Fish 5.5 cm SL (standard length), roughly the same fish. Legacy 7 is slightly above both.
FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneri · Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Within Seriously Fish's 20-26 °C.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish) · FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneriExact match with Seriously Fish.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish) · FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneriLegacy had no hardness; Seriously Fish 1-10, FishBase 5-8.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish) · FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneriSeriously Fish gives no tank size. FishBase 60 cm length; 60 x 30 x 30 cm = 54,000 cm³ = 54 L. Legacy 40 L.
FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneriOne male with two or more females = at least 3.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Moderate overall, but among the easiest killifish.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Legacy 'Nigeria and Cameroon' is correct, just less precise.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish) · FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneriExact colours vary a lot between populations and strains (gold, albino, locality forms).
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Adults eat their eggs, so collect them daily (Seriously Fish).
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish)Legacy said 10-14 days in water; sourced figure is 14-21. The legacy egg count (20-50 per week) was not found in any source.
Seriously Fish: Fundulopanchax gardneri (Steel-blue Killifish) · FishBase: Fundulopanchax gardneri