The second species I brought home from the Southwest Area Killifish Event is Pachypanchax omalonotus. Two weeks ago, I talked a little about Pachypanchax playfairii. P. omalonotus is a cogener (member of the same genus) and closely related to P. playfairii, but distinctly different.
The common name is the powder blue panchax. It is more difficult to find and has different coloration than P. playfairii, and it doesn’t have scales that stand up. the powder blue is located on the fins only, at least on my pair. also on mine, the color is more of a navy blue.
One fish (I think the male) is dominant in the tank and constantly chases the other one. I was nervous about the smaller fish being stressed to death, which happens, so I added an inverted coconut half-shell with a small door to the tank. This allows the smaller fish to get out of sight, improving its chances of survival. Once she discovered the shell, I find her looking out the opening quite often.
This is another mop spawner and is supposedly safe to leave the fry with the adults. I haven’t added a spawning mop yet, but I plan to do that withing the next few months. I want them to get over the stress of being moved first.
