Breeding Fact Sheet No. 25

Pachypanchax sakaramyi. Holly 1926.

This rarely seen killi fish is a native of Madagascar, as is Pachypanchax omolonotus. It is found at an elevation of some 500m near the village of Sakaramy (where else??) in the northern part of the country. It is a more colourful species than P. omolonotus with which it is speculated to be closely related.

It seems to be fairly undemanding in regard to water requirements the pair I had were quite happy in a mix of tap and rain water giving a hardness of around 100 G. They take quite readily, dried, frozen and live foods. They spawn in a mop but egg production is not excessive. I find one or two eggs per day and on some days none at all. As with most eggs that are laid in mops, I remove them on a daily basis and store them in a small floating container. I only obtained five eggs before the female decided that she no longer wanted to participate and promptly died! Cause of death was unknown but she appeared to have twisted her body somewhat violently. Of the five eggs, three fungused, one melted away and the last hatched. The egg hatched after 12 days. The fry was large and quite capable of taking newly hatched brine shrimp as a first food. Growth was quite rapid and it quickly need larger food. Chopped tubifex and flake foods were soon accepted followed by frozen bloodworm. This one solitary fry has grown and wonder of wonders, it's a female! So the task now is to successfully spawn and raise a few more. This is a very beautiful species of killifish that is well worth keeping. Add to that, the fact that they are quite rare in the hobby and likely to remain that way as export of all fish from Madagascar is not permitted.

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