This species from Peru represents one of the most beautiful species of killifish. It was known in the hobby for quite a long time under the name of Pterolebias peruensis. They are typical seasonal fishes. In the aquarium, they might become up to 1.5 years old, but in the wild they will never reach such an age. The species is restrictet to primary woods in the north of Peru. The intraspecific variation is very high, and it is possible to distinguish each male from an import from another by coloration and pattern.
These fish are bottom divers and spawn in the ground. The eggs need about 10 months to develope. Although keeping and breeding of the species is not really difficult, it takes a lot of patience to be successful.
Killifish do not fit for community tanks in general, because they cannot show to advantage there. A. peruensis do not like flake food. Thus they should be fed with frozen and live food.
For our customers: the fish have code 342803 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply to the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Apholebias: from the anterior part of the word Aphyosemion and from Lebias; Aphyosemion is a genus of killifish from Africa, which is somewhat similar to Aphyolebias. Lebias is an ancient fish name, which was formerly used for what is now Aphanius. The word is part of many genus-names of South American killifish. Pterolebias: from ancient Greek for “wings” and from Lebias: “winged Lebias”. Lebias is an ancient fish name, which was formerly used for what is now Aphanius. The word is part of many genus-names of South American killifish. peruensis: means “comes from Peru”.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
