Nematolebias papilliferus

This is probably one of the most beautiful South American annual killifish. This particular fish originates from a temporary pool close to a small stream of Lagoa de Maricá system (Road RJ-106) at Inoã, a small town in Maricá municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. As far as we have been told by a few Brazilian killifish breeders, this biotope is going to disappear quite soon due to new building projects in this area.

For breeding purposes, the aquarium size should be at least 25 – 30 liters for a pair or trio (1 male and 2 females). This fish is not aggressive in general, although there always will be a dominated male, and it’s not necessarily required to remove him if you keep this species in a large group in spite of occasional aggression from the dominated male. Nematolebias papilliferus are quite prolific spawners if conditioned and fed well. These fish are substrate divers when spawning. The layer of peat needs to be at least 8 – 10 cm or even deeper if you want the fish to feel comfortable while spawning. This is best placed in a custom-made spawning container, large jar or a bowl at the bottom, filled with peat moss or coir from at least the depth of the body length of the fish. Coir is the preferred medium but any other suitable type of spawning substrate can be used. The eggs are medium in size, from 1.25 to 1.5 mm, and can withstand much abuse. The eggs are not adhesive and can be seen in the spawning substrate with a bit of effort.

Please note that the eggs incubation period of Nematolebias papilliferus can take up to 3 – 4 months at 22°C – 24°C. We don’t recommend incubating the eggs of this species at higher temperatures. Always keep in mind that the incubation time depends on the surrounding temperature, substrate moisture, and other factors. Make sure you carefully check the eggs every week after 1 month of incubation to monitor the embryo development. Make sure you don’t miss the right wetting point when the eggs are fully developed. Late wetting or higher incubation temperature may result in more belly sliders. You may need to re-wet the eggs a couple of times in intervals of a few weeks. When you hatch the eggs do frequent water changes for increased fry growth rates. The fry are medium in size and can be fed with BBS or Microworms at birth. If you maintain the water as recommended and diversify fry’s food, they can be sexed out in about 4 to 6 weeks, and ready to breed at 6 – 8 weeks. Always separate smaller fry otherwise they will be eaten by larger guys. It is a good practice to split your batch of fry in a few containers holding 5 – 6 fry. This will increase your chances to get a better sex ratio (males/females) and avoid loses due to cannibalism. Always make sure your fry are sorted by size. Females are always smaller than males.

Nematolebias papilliferus grows up to approximately 6 – 8 cm (males) and 4 – 5 cm (females). Providing correct conditions the life span is around 12 – 18 months. Recommended water parameters: 0 – 5 dGH, pH 6.5 – 7.0, 22°C – 24°C. This species requires moderate lighting and live foods. Always monitor the fish condition, they are quite susceptible to bacterial attack. Their water has to be clean all the time. Perform 30% water changes weekly. This species can be successfully bred and maintained as long as you act in accordance with all the recommendations. The eggs and/or fish can be ordered at AquaFood online shop.