There is no doubt that orange Australe killifish are loved by almost everyone. Especially when they are tropical freshwater fishes.
A popular species among aquarists, the tiger barb is a species that has been in the aquarium trade for quite some time now.
The creature has a stunning appearance, but it behaves in a shy manner. The Aphyosemion Australe is one of the best house plants that you should consider if you’re considering keeping one.
Killifish native to the lowlands of Africa in particular, Aphyosemion Australe is commonly referred to as the Lyretail Killi.
Despite the fact that in its lifetime it can reach a maximum size of only 2.5 inches, keeping it in an aquarium of ten gallons is sufficient even though a larger aquarium is always preferable.
Providing the water environment for the fish in the tank is well controlled, they can grow well in the tank environment.
Features
It is no secret that the Aphyosemion Australe has adorable characteristics, and one of them is that it is not only peaceful but also very adaptable to a captivity environment, as long as it is kept properly.
Additionally, Lyretail Killis also thrive well in a variety of aquarium climates and they can be expected to live for an extended period in their tank of up to 5 years.
Aphyosemion Australe resides in areas where there are low streams and swamps – a habitat that is ideal for the species. There is a considerable amount of settled water in the environment that helps make it possible for Aphyosemion Australe to have consistently available food sources.
As a result, we also have to consider invertebrates, crustaceans, and small insects that serve as indicators of what foods should be fed to this species.
Shades Of Color
There are diverse colors of Aphyosemion Australe so you can have different colors of Lyretail fish if you like in your aquarium since they have a stunning appearance.
Among the common colors you may find are orange, gold, chocolate, and if you are lucky, you may even come across those exquisite albino lyretail fish.
Additionally, this characteristic makes aquarists more curious about the appearance of the next generation as the Aphyosemion Australe that they will be breeding in their tanks.
Aquarists are very interested in the orange fish of this breed. Orange makes them really excited in the soul when watching it in the aquarium.
How They Behave
It is generally accepted that Aphyosemion Australe, the Lyretail Killi, is a shy and peaceful species even if kept in captivity.
It is thanks to this behavior that Aphyosemion Australe is able to co-exist with compatible tank mates among a community aquarium.
Additionally, it enables aquarists to select from a much wider range of species for their community tanks on a flexible basis.
Physique
In general, Lyretail Killifish have bright colors with flat heads and wide mouths, and they are characterized by their distinctive flat heads.
It can also be recognized by its caudal, anal, and dorsal fins that have extensions, which makes Aphyosemion Australe one of the easiest fish to identify.
As well as having a brighter coloration and bigger size, the male Lyretail fish even have an extension to their fins that makes them larger than the females.
Requirements & Setup for Aphyosemion Tank
Aphyosemion Australe has a very compact size, which allows it to fit inside a fish tank of up to five gallons with ease.
The 10-gallon or even a 20-gallon tank will allow you to create the most appropriate and flexible tank environment for a pair of Lyretail Killie if you are keeping more than one.
I think this would simply lend a broader range of options to how you can design the aquarium at the end of the day.
Aphyosemion Australe should be kept in a tank with dense plantations to mimic its natural environment as much as possible. There are two options for setting up the bottom of the aquarium.
You can either use a gravel substrate or dark sand. For the vegetation, it is possible to use finely-leaved plants. However, it is highly advisable to create shelters out of driftwood or other materials, such as pieces of pipe or plywood.
We used dense plantations for the primary purpose of providing this shy species with a place to shelter and to diffuse the light the species receives.
In regards to diffusing aquarium lighting, there are some plants like water hyacinth or water lettuce that would do a great job. The items can also prevent Aphyosemion Australe from jumping out of the tank if the tank is filled with them.
In order to protect your aquarium at this point, if you do not plan on using floating plants, you better use the tightly fitting aquarium cover.
To prevent Lyretail Killie from becoming stressed in the community aquarium, the most important thing you need to do is concentrate on the ideal tank setup.
Because Aphyosemion Australe is one of the hardier species, it is actually able to thrive and adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions.
As a rule of thumb, the pH value should be kept between 5.5-7.0, the temperature should be maintained between 70-89° F and the hardness should be kept at 18-179 parts per million. You can now introduce your Aphyosemion Australe to your aquarium in a smooth manner.
Tank Companions
If living harmoniously in a community aquarium, aphyosemion australe or luretail killies do well, especially with other peaceful fishes. Aphyosemion australe is an aggressive species which is best avoided as well as any species making Aphyosemion Australe fit into its mouth. Some great ideas you might like to consider include:
- Loricariids
- Characins
- Rasboras
- Small Corydoras
- Dwarf Cichlids
- Anabantoids
The species in those families may not be suitable for Aphyosemion Australe as they are classified according to their phylogenetic family.
If you are adding Lyretail Killie to your community tank with other species of tank mates, you will need to further research the interactions and specific behaviors that they display.
I also think that sharing the ones that do the same sort of diet would be a really good idea.
Asphyosemion Australe and put them at large in their hiding places, making them reluctant to come out and feed.
However, tank mates will not necessarily be able to survive in shady, densely planted environments, but they could adapt to such environments.
Some resources will allow you to extend your knowledge and options when it comes to the tank mates of Aphyosemion Australe.
Get in touch with the local experts or check out specific forums that deal with Lyretail Killie specifically.
Considering that there are many different suppliers, you would be well served by your research.
Digestion Of Aphyosemion Australe
Phyosemion Australes are scavengers – they eat animals and carrion, which means that they won’t chew on the plants that you place in the community tank.
It is recommended that you feed them with baby brine shrimp, cyclops, larvae of mosquitoes, and daphnia because they are small in size.
In addition to their love of meaty foods, they must be made to fit the killifishes’ mouths so that they do not have a problem chewing.
Asphyosemion Australe isn’t just socially shy, but it also keeps this very behavior in their feeding time as well.
It is possible Lyretail Killie will hide rather than come out to eat the foods you have provided if the tank mates are very boisterous.
It is at this point that you would need to do visual feeding in order to verify if your fish have obtained a fair share of the food in the community tank, and even a visual feeding would be extremely helpful at this point.
Recommendations For Breeding
It is relatively easy to breed Aphyosemion Australe due to their adaptability and general ease of maintenance.
Although you need to understand their spawning behavior and employ the appropriate methods to ensure the process is successful without disturbances, you will need to understand their spawning behavior first.
There may also be some changes in the tank environment that are necessary.
When the spawning season comes around for Aphyosemion australe, you’ll tend to need a separate breeding tank for the fish.
There is a smaller aquarium known as the spawning tank or the hatchery tank that is used by aquarists instead of the community aquarium.
It would also be necessary to utilize air-powered filtration filters as a way of maintaining the best water conditions in order to allow the killifish to spawn.
As Aphyosemion australe is an egg scatterer species, they would be more likely to lay their eggs at the bottom of the tank as it would be more favourable to these species.
If you want to spawn your fish in a peat moss tank or in a tank with fine substrates, you can spread a layer of peat moss on the bottom.
During their spawning time, it is important to recreate the natural environment as closely as possible to ensure that eggs are not damaged.
The bare-bottomed setup was also inspired by the commercial breeders, in that the egg collection and cleaning can be done comfortably, later on, so you could use the same setup.
In this way, the tank can be used with different breeds while being fully reusable. When you are taking care of killifish, sometimes it can be considered as if you are taking care of two aquariums.
In order to prevent them from being stressed out, which may cause them to fail to mate, you need to remove the lights during spawning time.
The males and females must be removed from the community tank when spawning time comes so that they can be placed in the spawning tank that has been prepared for this process.
Whenever you take care of these plants, you should maintain a constant water temperature of 70-75°F and a pH of 6.0 – 6.5.
In addition to this, female Aphyosemion Australe eggs can hatch from 30 to 40 per day, and these eggs can be kept for a few weeks.
The eggs need to be removed and then placed in a moist layer of peat moss in a small container to incubate.
In the event that the eggs are infected with fungal growth or velvet disease infection, they need to be saved immediately as soon as the infections are detected.
Make sure the incubating tank is filled with water from the spawning tank. Make sure that you treat the water with a few drops of fungus preventative and that the tank is left unlit until you have done this.
Until the eggs hatch, you must keep the incubating tank dark and warm until the egg hatches.
It should only take about twenty days for the eggs to hatch with the correct temperature setting. If the eggs have not hatched within a timely manner, you can lightly aerate the water.
After the fry has hatched, you can add drops of liquid fry to the incubating water, or use green water for feeding the fish.
It is not necessary to start feeding baby brine shrimp as soon as the Aphyosemion Australe fry is swimming around freely in the tank.
Maintain good water quality and provide partial water changes every day to keep the fish happy and healthy.
They will then be relocated into the community tank once the water quality has improved.
Video About Orange Australe Killifish
FAQs
How long does an orange australe killifish usually last?
2 years.
How can they live with the other fish?
I would recommend keeping this species with other peaceful and shy animals.
How many eggs per spawn of orange australe killifish?
There is no evidence that the male of Aphyosemion australe lays the eggs, as the female can lay up to 30 eggs a day.
Annette M. Chaney is an experienced marine biologist with over 20 years of experience as an aquarist and fishkeeper. She started her first aquarium at a young age, filling it with frogs and goldfish obtained from the ten-cent pet store.
Annette grew up caring for and breeding African Cichlids, which led to a hobby in high school that doubled as a profitable means. Attending Reed College gave her time to solidify herself as an accomplished aquarium caretaker with an eye for sales. After that, from 2009 – 2013, she studied at Roger Williams University – one of the most prestigious universities for Aquaculture and Aquarium in USA. She is the founder of AquariumCircle since 2010.