I was at the store today and saw a pair of what was labelled as Banded Panchax. They looked like Killifish. I searched it tonight and found nothing (although we all know common names stink). A search of Panchax revealed some fish. They are indeed related to Killifish. I found no pictures resembling the ones I saw though. Does anyone have Panchax? Do you have any comments on them you would like to share? Has anyone ever heard of a Banded Panchax?
hello Ecopit. Generally "panchax" is a term used for the aplocheilus species. they are a killifish and spend most of their time topwater. There are also some other species of killies called panchax from time to time that are from the genus's epiplatys, pseudepiplatys, pachypanchax and a few others that escape me right now. for something called "Banded panchax", the most commonly found would be aplocheilus lineatus. These are generally sold in their cultivated form "golden wonder killi" and have a more golden color. The wild coloration has black vertical bars on the body. Do a google image search for this species and find some with stripes to see if that's what you saw. They get around 4+ inches fullgrown and will eat anything that falls on the surface or fish they can fit in their mouths. Another fish that may get that name will be epiplatys dageti. These are smaller, around 2", and normally have a red or brown/black stripe running under their chin and have vertical black stripes on the body. the male will get a short extension to the bottom of the tailfin and some have some yellow coloration to some of their fins. Another fish that could get that name would be pseudepiplatys annulatus. This is commonly called the clown killifish or rocket panchax but I could see it getting the "banded panchax" name. These have a body with brown and creme vertical bars and the male's tail will have blue and red and have a spear shaped tail similar to a kribensis male. These don't get to 2" long and need a more acidic water than the others. A good source for killi information is www.aka.org where you can join a mailing list or view the forums there on the website. there is also some information given there. For the photos of those fish I mentioned, I'd use www.google.com and click on the image search, those come up with the best photos in my opinion but can get some odd pictures brought up with the right ones. I have all 3 of these fish currently so if you figure out what they are and want more information on them, you can feel free to email me personally at snakeskinnerkyle@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your questions. I never know how long it'll be before I can recheck this forum. cya, KYle
