All fish / Nothobranchiidae

Spotted Nothobranch

Nothobranchius orthonotus

Also known as spotted killifish, red spotted nothobranchius, spotted notho, orthonotus killifish, nothobranchius orthonotus kwazulu, red orthonotus, green orthonotus, ノソブランキウス・オルソノータス, 斑点假鳃鳉

Males are stocky killifish with a bluish or greenish body covered in red spots and a red tail edged in darker colour, while females are plain brownish grey. It is one of the larger and more robust annual killifish and is kept by killifish enthusiasts for the striking males and its fascinating annual life cycle.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

6 cm

Temperature

20 to 26 °C

pH

6.5 to 7.5

Smallest tank

40 litres

Keep as

One male with two or three females

Diet

Carnivore: live and frozen bloodworm, daphnia, brine shrimp and mosquito larvae; few accept dried foods

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

1 to 2 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Coastal lowlands of southern Mozambique, southeastern Zimbabwe and northeastern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)

Breeding

An annual soil-spawner that lays eggs in a peat substrate; the peat is then dried and stored damp for roughly three to six months before rewetting to hatch the fry. Fry grow very fast on newly hatched brine shrimp and can mature within a few weeks, so breeding is quite manageable for those used to annual killifish.

Good to know

Naturally short-lived, so plan to keep a breeding line going. Males are quarrelsome and may harass females and smaller fish, so it is best kept in a species tank with plenty of cover and a lid, and it is easily confused with N. rachovii and other spotted Nothobranchius.