Moonlight Medaka's & Other Killifish?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Basically about a week ago i was at my LFS when i saw some fish which i had never seen before. They were small silver coloured fish in the freshwater tropical tanks section and were labelled "Japanese Blue Fountain Fish".

I went back home, did some research, and eventually found out that they were a type of "Rice Fish" called the "Moonlight Medaka" but couldn't find a great deal of info about them apart from that they were small, sociable & hardy fish which were suited to peaceful community tanks.

There were other very similar fish in the tank though which looked a great deal like the Moonlight Medaka's except they had fancier colourful finnage (most noticeably the tails). While doing some more research today i discovered Medaka or Rice Fish are part of the Killifish family group of fish.

So now i'm on the hunt for info on Killifish. I really know almost nothing about them- previously i was under the impression that Killifish were territorial & semi aggressive or v.aggressive fish and were best kept in species tanks. But now i've read that some types of Killifish like the Moonlight Medaka's are suitable for community aquariums ( http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Killifish/MoonlightMedaka.php )?

Some questions on Moonlight Medaka's/Rice fish;
a. Since they can be kept together, are gender ratio's important?
b. Are the males aggressive at all- is it possible to tell the difference between males & females?
c. How peaceful should the community tank be- do they do better in more boisterous community tanks with robust tank mates or do they do better in very peaceful community tanks with only laid back small super-peaceful fish for company?
d. They say they can travel between brackish water and freshwater and that they are happy in either- is this really true?
e. What is the ideal habitat for Moonlight Medaka's?

Other Killifish questions;
a. Could you name me any other peaceful community Killifish which are realistically available?

Thankyou so much for your time and any help/info is much appreciated !

 

[ricefish]

Hi Tokis-Phoenix
in answer to your questions
a. They have never been a problem in male/female heavy groups
b. very little sparring at worst
c. peaceful in community,need peaceful tank mates
d. only ever kept them in my water,hard alkaline
e. i would keep them in a cool well filtered planted set up,a shoal looks great together they have iridescent scales that sparkle,there is also a golden form

You could also have lamp eye's or clown killies both small and peaceful
and of course there are numerous different ricefish available
Fundulopanchax are larger and more colourful but can be a bit boisterous

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks for the reply ricefish !

My current fish going in the tank are;

Swordtails (male & female)
Harlequin Tetras
Cherry Barbs
Golden Barbs
Pearl Danios
Various types of Corys
Khuli Loaches
Yoyo Loaches
Clown Loaches
Clown Pleco's
Common Pleco

I might be rehoming the Yoyo Loaches, Clown Loaches & Pearl Danio's- not sure yet...

But either way the tank will be understocked with these fish and i really like the idea of having some Moonlight Medaka's and possibly some other Killifish too.

Decor-wise the tank has a natural colour freshwater sand substrate and 2 large peices of bogwood. I want to plant the tank up a lot with both real plants & fake plants and add some rounded pebbles and rocks too. Does this stocking & tank set up sound alright for Moonlight Medaka's? I'm at a big turning point in my fishkeeping hobby and its been over 1 and a half years since i last bought any fish at all so i'm looking forward to making some changes to my stocking .

 

[ricefish]

Sorry i can't advise you on your tankmates as i keep mainly species tanks,i have kept them with cory's and ancistrus without problem except egg predation

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks away though .

I think i am definitely going to get a shoal of Moonlight Medaka's for the tank and maybe some other peaceful sociable Killifish too (still looking into them). I will see how it goes. I may rehome the clown loaches & yoyo loaches as they are very boisterous and the corys & khuli loaches (which are much more chilled out) would probably appreciate having the tank to themselves anyway. I may rehome the Pearl Danio's, i don't know. I've only got 3 left and if i keep them then i need to get a few more as their numbers are too low, but while peaceful they're extremely active fish (and so i'm not sure if they'd stress out the Moonlight Medaka's with their frantic swimming).

Ultimately i want to go for a super-chilled out tank which is large and filled with a variety of small fish and lots of plants, rather than having a large tank with just a few big fish and sparse big decorations. Definitely keeping the Golden Barbs & Swordtails either way though as they have so much personality and are my favorite fish out of the lot .