most popular killifish

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fish48

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The Golden Wonder Panchax -Aplocheilus lineatus is the most popular killifish seen in lfs
a very pretty fish at least the males are,

A young male still got a bit of growing to do

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I don't think Golden Wonders are anywhere near the most interesting killie, but they breed in large numbers, get large and are perfect for the trade, ever since the colour mutation forms started being produced. The wild fish isn't nearly as colourful, though it's a beauty in its own right.

In second place, we have the killie that got me hooked when I saw it in a pet store: Fundulopanchax gardneri. I'd say next to golden wonders, they are the killie I see the most in stores. I've seen them in a few places this year so far, but the chains don't carry them.

makurdi1 (559x640).jpg
 
Wait... l read they're brackish water?
A natural side interest to the aquarium hobby is the collection of native fish. If you can collect native Killifish , or any fish , you will learn more about fish by observing them in the wild. Don't ever pass up the opportunity if you have it. You don't have to bring them home , you can just watch them .
 
Valencia are severely endangered, and extinct in many places they were once found. I would serious investigate the legality of looking for them before I moved on that one.
 
I would like to find the original wild type Aplocheilus lineatus. How can such an old fish be so rare ?
One fish I have never once seen in the North American hobby, and I have looked for it, is a platy. Yup. Xiphophorus maculatus, the original, wild type platy. Once the hobby began to hybridize them, and line breed for colour, the original fish wasn't commercial anymore, and is one of the rarest fish in the hobby. I know the Dutch have them, but they do things right. In North America, we don't have much of a fish breeding culture, and we buy. Real platys don't sell.
I've seen them in Belize...
lineatus, the real golden wonder, have also fallen off the the radar. A lot of fish have. I've wondered if given the centralization of purchasing because of the large corporate pet chains and their limited choices offered, combined with the pursuit of hybrids and long finned, colour form 'fancy' mutant fish, if future hobbyists will ever be able to discover the wonder their grandparents thought would always be there. Fish are going extinct faster than independent high quality retailers are, and we're looking for flowerhorns and glo-fish.
We'll see.

I have seen fantastic underwater shots of lineatus, taken by aquarists in India.
 
A natural side interest to the aquarium hobby is the collection of native fish. If you can collect native Killifish , or any fish , you will learn more about fish by observing them in the wild. Don't ever pass up the opportunity if you have it. You don't have to bring them home , you can just watch them .
l never said l wouldn't look for them if they where brackish. l just wanted to know where to look lol... And heyy... brackish water... why not 😂
*(MTS is real)
 

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