Rainbow Lyretail Killifish

The Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish  is an extremely colorful, peaceful fish whose small size makes it absolutely perfect for the nano or planted aquarium. Native to stagnant swamps and slow-moving waterways in Nigeria and Cameroon, this colorful fish is excellent for aquariums with very low water flow or, under the correct strict maintenance schedule, no water flow at all. As with many killifish species, males are more colorful and have elongated fins compared to females.

The Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish occupies the top level of the water column almost exclusively. It is not afraid to jump, so it must be kept in an aquarium with either a lid/hood/canopy or at least a significantly lowered water level. It will not eat or bother ornamental plants and it will appreciate the cover, especially with floating plants. The Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish is possibly compatible with other peaceful fish and invertebrate species that thrive in low water flow, but only if those species will not outcompete the Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish for food and are too large to be considered prey for the killifish. Also, other fish species will eat most of the fry of the killifish when spawning occurs, so other tankmate species are not recommended if breeding is desired. While many killifish are kept in pairs, this is not absolutely necessary for the Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish, and some aquarists report the best luck when keeping multiple females per male.

The Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish is not a particularly picky eater, though it requires a varied diet of mostly meaty foods supplemented with some algae and microfauna. It is primarily a micropredator and it feeds at the top of the water. It may initially ignore floating dry foods, but will typically accept them in time. Appropriately sized frozen foods such as Tubifex, Daphnia, and Artemia will usually be accepted, and bloodworms can also be used as long as they are a manageable size. Live foods are the excellent for the Two Stripe Lyretail Killifish, and it will gladly accept fruit flies and live specimens of the aforementioned frozen foods.