fish · Nothobranchiidae
Red-chinned panchax
Epiplatys dageti
Wild range: Coastal lowlands of West Africa, from around Monrovia in southern Liberia through southern Côte d'Ivoire to southwestern Ghana. Recorded drainages include the Saint Paul, Saint John, Cess, Cavally, Sassandra, Bandama, Agnébi, Comoé, Bia, Tano and Pra (FishBase; Seriously Fish; AquaInfo; IUCN). (Africa)
At a glance: Red-chinned panchax care
Compiled reference information. Review the care notes and original sources below.
What temperature is listed for Red-chinned panchax?
The compiled profile lists 20.0–27.0 °C for Red-chinned panchax (Epiplatys dageti). Check the original sources below for context and differing recommendations.
What tank size is listed for Red-chinned panchax?
The profile lists a minimum tank volume of 20.0 US gallons (75.7 liters). Volume alone does not establish suitability; consider dimensions, group size and other inhabitants alongside the full care notes.
What pH is listed for Red-chinned panchax?
The compiled profile lists a pH of 6.0–7.0. Review the cited care sources alongside the other water parameters in this profile.
Natural habitat
A small, hardy surface-dwelling killifish from West Africa and one of the oldest killifish in the hobby (first exported from Monrovia in 1908). It has a flat head and an upturned mouth for picking insects off the surface, and five or six dark bars on a brownish to olive-green body. Males of the commonly sold Monrovia form have a bright orange-red chin and throat and an extended lower tail lobe. It is easy to keep and breed, and a classic first killifish.
Where they are found
Catalog primary Epiplatys dageti Poll, 1953 (Catalog of Fishes valid; ITIS TSN 165813 valid; GBIF 4284376 accepted; FishBase), family Nothobranchiidae. Type locality: a swamp near Port Bouët, 18 km from Abidjan, southern Côte d'Ivoire. Two forms are in the hobby. 'E. dageti monroviae' Arnoult & Daget, 1965 is the red-throated form with 5 bars, from Monrovia, Harbel, Robertsport and Tabou, and is the form usually sold as Red-chinned panchax. 'E. dageti dageti' has 6 bars and no red throat. Aquarium literature and ITIS still use these subspecies names, but Seriously Fish treats them as not currently valid and includes both under E. dageti. They interbreed freely, so they are one species, not a trade-name ambiguity. Keepers label fish by collection locality (e.g. Monrovia, Harbel, Aboisso, Grand Bassam, San Pedro, Port Bouet) to keep bloodlines pure. For decades the red-throated aquarium fish was misidentified as Epiplatys chaperi (Sauvage, 1882), a separate species, after Boulenger confused the two, so older books may call it 'chaperi'. The older name Poecilia sexfasciata Peters, 1864 also applies to this fish but can't be used because it is preoccupied by Epiplatys sexfasciatus (Gill, 1862). Other listed synonyms: Aplocheilus dageti, Lycocyprinus sexfasciatus. Size: Seriously Fish 45 mm SL, FishBase 6.0 cm TL; the British Killifish Association reports aquarium males up to about 6.5–7 cm. IUCN: Least Concern (Dankwa & Olaosebikan, assessed 30 Nov 2019, published 2020; previously LC in 2010).
Aquarium care
Keep a group in at least a 20 US gal / 75 L tank, ideally a long one about 75–80 cm wide (Aquariadise and TankBud 20 gal; AquaInfo 80 cm or more for a group of seven; Seriously Fish gives a 60 × 30 cm base, about 54 L / 14 gal, as the minimum, with smaller tanks used only for breeding). Keep it at 20–27°C (Seriously Fish and Aquarist Atlas tolerate up to 30°C briefly; FishBase and TankBud suggest 21–24°C as ideal), pH 6.0–7.0 (it tolerates down to 5.0) and soft to moderately hard water, 5–12 dGH. Use dim lighting, dense planting and plenty of floating plants such as Ceratopteris, Salvinia or frogbit, over a dark sand substrate with driftwood and leaf litter. It dislikes current and surface disturbance, so an air-driven sponge filter is ideal. It jumps readily, so a tight-fitting lid is essential (Seriously Fish; Practical Fishkeeping; AquaInfo; Aquariadise).
Feeding
A surface micropredator that eats insects and small invertebrates in the wild. It takes floating flakes and small pellets, but it feeds mainly at or just below the surface and ignores food that sinks quickly. Give live or frozen food daily: Artemia (brine shrimp), Daphnia, Moina, grindal worm, mosquito larvae and wingless fruit flies or small crickets. Crustacean foods and colour-enhancing flakes bring out the male's red throat (Seriously Fish; Practical Fishkeeping; AquaInfo).
Compatibility
Peaceful with other species and a good community fish alongside similar-sized, calm fish that stay lower in the water, such as small characins, Corydoras, small loricariids, peaceful barbs or dwarf cichlids. Leave the surface layer to the panchax. Keep a group of at least six, ideally with two or three females per male: males spar and display but rarely do real harm, and larger groups are less shy. It will eat fry, very small fish and baby dwarf shrimp. Older fish can become less tolerant, and lively surface-swimming tankmates are a poor match. Keep it in a species tank if you want to raise fry (Seriously Fish; Practical Fishkeeping; AquaInfo; Aquariadise; TankBud).
Breeding
Easy to breed. In a mature, densely planted species tank, fry often appear at the surface without intervention. For larger numbers, set up a small breeding tank (about 40 × 30 cm) with an air-driven sponge filter, dim light and spawning mops, Java moss or floating-plant roots, and add one male with two or more well-fed females. Move the mops or plants to a rearing tank every few days, because the adults eat eggs and fry. Eggs hatch in 10–14 days. Keep incubation at 21–23°C for a balanced sex ratio, because warmer water gives mostly males. Feed the fry infusoria or rotifers at first, then newly hatched brine shrimp and microworm. Keep snails and shrimp out of the breeding tank, as they eat the eggs (Seriously Fish; AquaInfo; Practical Fishkeeping; British Killifish Association).
Sources
Compiled from multiple independent care sheets — not copied from a single site.