Golden wonder killi fish

[19jimmy17]

So just earlier today I bought 2 golden wonder killI fish from petco. I am wondering if anyone knows anything about this fish I read that they can be carnivorous eating small tetras but I also read they are a peaceful community fish.

Also I was wondering if anybody knows if you can return fish live fish to petco for a refund or at least store credit.

 

[junebug]

EricV, we need your killI expertise lol!

I don't know a ton about killies, except that they are omnivores and therefore will eat fish that can fit in their mouths (endlers, small guppies, very small tetras are all likely candidates)

They don't get very big, so unless you have a bunch of nanofish, you should be okay keeping them in a community.

 

[Teishokue]

IME ~3-4inches. tend to be territorial.

if you have a male and female they tend to be okay with living with eachother better than 2 males. females have a considerable less amount of color

 

[Zachary]

Golden wonder killies are one of the larger species of killifish, and they are predators by nature, so don't keep them with anything smaller than an inch in length.

I made the mistake of keeping 2 males together in a 3 foot tank, and the larger male ended up killing the smaller one. They are very territorial toward conspecifics, however they tend to ignore other species that are too large to eat. If they are both males, I'd consider rehoming one. You should be able to return it to Petco without any problems.

Good luck with your killies! They are really interesting fish

 

[lollipopkiller]

well if you can't give them back for store credit or money back than I wouldnt give them back anyway personallly I would find someone else who would take care of them because they will probly die in the store

 

[Claire Bear]

HI 19jimmy17 and welcome. Killi's are wonderful fish-I have two tanks of species only gardenarI killifish plus two pair in my 90 gallon peaceful community tank. They are very easy care, idea for beginners, and will work in a community tank with fish their size.
However, your particular variety are carnivores and will eat small species such as tetras and even danios.
Good luck and they are very easy to tell male from female as males have fantastic color!

 

[19jimmy17]

They killed my hatchet fishes

 

[Claire Bear]

Oh no. They are aggressive but usually to smaller fish-how big were the hatchet?

 

[19jimmy17]

They were about an inch and half. I have the golden wonders in a fry net right now tell I decided what to do with them since I have at least a few small fish or shrimp in all my tanks

 

[Nikita]

Due to their more aggressive/predatory nature, I would recommend removing them for the safety of your fish. A pair of smaller, more peaceful pair of Orange Australe Killifish is a good alternative. They are great community fish, but are hard to come by. It took me a few months to get my hands on a pair of those beauties (every time they had a pair in stock, someone came and snatched them up before I could).

 

[Zachary]

They killed my hatchet fishes

Wow, that's unbelievable. I'm sorry to hear that.
I never had problems with them being aggressive towards my other fish, but then again, I never kept them with other surface-dwelling fish.

 

[Giovanni95]

Hey new to the forum and hope I'm posting right, I got a few killifish from my lfs last night and they were labeled golden wonders but they have stripes and not much of a yellow coloring compared to what I see on Google s. Can anyone help me narrow down exactly what species I have here?

If I'm guessing correctly I think this is the male and the other two are females. The bottom fin is sharper on his and he is noticably thinner.

 

[aussieJJDude]

The golden form is actually a variant of the wild form, the wild form does have brownish colouration. Type into google: aplocheilus lineatus.

If not, it may be Aplocheilus werneri... vut doubt it, doesn't have the same colouration. But I'm not particuarlly well versed on kilies.

 

[chromedome52]

That appears to be a female, as well. Males are a bright golden yellow color.

Also, it should be noted that this is a species that gets fairly large, easily 3.5-4 inches, and can be quite predatory with smaller fish.

 

[Giovanni95]

The one in the picture is noticably more colored than another in the tank but the third looks to be a mix of the two. If they're all females I'd be happy. I'm not planning on getting anything that will fit in their mouths. I am worried that one of them had been forced to the bottom of the tank and hides behind the rocks

 

[chromedome52]

Took a closer look, I don't think you have Golden Wonders. You could be right about the fish in the photo being male, but it would be a normal Aplocheilus lineatus rather than the Gold form. Occasionally you do get "throwbacks" in some of the gold populations.

If one is hiding near the bottom, you either need more space or more surface cover. Or both.

 

[Redshark1]

The fish that is hiding may be stressed and may die. But I'm sure you realise that. If I could provide for two but couldn't provide for three I would take one back to the shop.

 

[Giovanni95]

Redshark1 I was thinking the same thing. I was going to give them a few days to settle before contacting the fish store. I know you can't avoid all casualties in this hobby but I'd rather not have blood on my hands so I will definitely be taking that one back to the shop if they can't share the space. Does anyone have experience keeping them with other fish? If so what kind because I was thinking panda Cory and shrimp

 

[Giovanni95]

I'm trying to get good pictures of them so someone can help me indenting the sexs but they move so much

 

[Piaelliott]

The fish will be way too big for your 10 gal tank. Fishbase.org recommends at least a tank 80 cm, approx 30 in. long.
The fish will be about 4 inches long, any tankmate should be at least half the size. Look at the huge mouth!!!

 

[Giovanni95]

The guy at the store assured me three would be ok in the ten gallon tank. I'm wondering if I should even keep any of them now.

 

[Piaelliott]

The guy at the store assured me three would be ok in the ten gallon tank. I'm wondering if I should even keep any of them now.

The guy in the store wants to sell fish. I always do my own research, fishbase is very reliable. I think keeping those three in a 10 gal will cause a lot of heartache. Just look at the size of the fish when full grown

 

[Giovanni95]

thank you everyone for your input and after some research I have decided to take them back. I hope they find a better forever home while I find something more appropriate for a ten gallon planted tank.

 

[TTK]

I recently bought a fish. The name tag of the fish was golden wonder killI but the one on display looked a bit different. I’m wondering if it’s just a female or if it’s a different species.

Anyone know what type of fish this is?

 

[Snailerator]

I recently bought a fish. The name tag of the fish was golden wonder killI but the one on display looked a bit different. I’m wondering if it’s just a female or if it’s a different species. View attachment 578050

I'm pretty sure that's a different species.

 

[86 ssinit]

That’s not a golden wonder. Good looking fish but I don’t think it’s even a killifish.

 

[TTK]

I think it looks good too but I just wanna know what type of fish it is and it’s care needs.

 

[86 ssinit]

I’m guessing but it may be some sort of barb.

 

[coralbandit]

Red tailed Chalceus I think ?

 

[TTK]

Thank you

 

[Feohw]

Looks like a pink tail chalceus to me. They can get big. Pretty sure its quite aggressive too and likes groups - though some keep them singly.

 

[Snailerator]

Yes. It's a chalceus.

 

[TTK]

Thx

 

[Coptapia]

Pink Tailed Chalceus, C. macrolepidotus.

 

[Loachlover357]

It's pretty. It's kinda similar to my white clouds and my stray red fin tetra. They're right though Red/pink tailed Chalceus, looked it up and it looks just like that.

 

[FishAndDoom]

So, after going through quarantine I added two juvie golden wonders to my 20 long. Each are about 2-21/2 inches long and have settled in nicely. My remaining Colombian tetras have ignored them and my molly, after investigating them has left them alone. This is my question:

I'm fairly sure I have one male and one female. While I'm not particularly looking for them to breed, would everyone be a bit happier if I added a second female to the mix? I definitely have space in the tank, I just want everyone to be as happy as can be.

 

[mimo91088]

I can't speak to that. But I will say make sure you have a tight fitting lid. I had one with like a 3/4" gap and that was enough for mine to end up on the floor.

 

[FishAndDoom]

I can't speak to that. But I will say make sure you have a tight fitting lid. I had one with like a 3/4" gap and that was enough for mine to end up on the floor.

I killie proofed it before they were added. All potential points of escape were covered in saran wrap and taped down.

 

[mimo91088]

I killie proofed it before they were added. All potential points of escape were covered in saran wrap and taped down.

Good on you! I figured with mine "eh, people are exaggerating. How can a fish aim good enough to make it out here?". That learned me. Lol

 

[FishAndDoom]

Good on you! I figured with mine "eh, people are exaggerating. How can a fish aim good enough to make it out here?". That learned me. Lol

I had some Aphyosemion australe a while ago, learned my lesson with them. Lol

 

[mimo91088]

I had some Aphyosemion australe a while ago, learned my lesson with them. Lol

Lessons learned the hard way are the ones you learn the fastest lol

 

[Mandy627]

Yes golden wonders need at least two females per male or they will get tired from the males constant advances. They like alot of plants too. I have a 20 long with 1 male and 5 females. The females are not yellow, and have a rounded analfin. The males have a sharper analfin, and usually have bright yellow display.
female with bright red lining, no yellow.

 

[Nobody]

I have a pair in my 240L tank, with the male being about that size. I'm told they will have to move out eventually as they will get big enough to eat my tetras (luckily I have a spare 120l). Though at the moment they don't pay any attention to them.

I don't find that the male harasses the female all the time. They hang out together but are often doing their own thing.

 

[Mandy627]

I have a pair in my 240L tank, with the male being about that size. I'm told they will have to move out eventually as they will get big enough to eat my tetras (luckily I have a spare 120l). Though at the moment they don't pay any attention to them.

I don't find that the male harasses the female all the time. They hang out together but are often doing their own thing.

That is great, good to have a back up option if they decide to treat tetras like a snack.
I will also add that since the male is juvenile, he may not have his mating schedule down yet. You may need to add another female if you notice the one you have has torn fins or is always hiding from him. When I first started years ago I had 2 (male and female)and they got along, after a month or two he got pretty rough when he tried to mate and that is when I started adding females. Just a heads up that their relationship may change a bit. Males like having options too.

 

[86 ssinit]

I’ve had a pair for about 5yrs in a 90g. They got to about 3-4”. They stay on the top of the tank and will prey on other top swimming fish. Did fine with just 2.

 

[Mandy627]

I’ve had a pair for about 5yrs in a 90g. They got to about 3-4”. They stay on the top of the tank and will prey on other top swimming fish. Did fine with just 2.

Yes they dont like other fish that share same niche in tank, I always have them in species only, or in tanks with bottom dwellers. That's awesome you kept a pair that long, the male must have been a sweet heart.

 

[86 ssinit]

Yeah unfortunately his days are numbered. The female died over the summer. Don’t think they’re supposed to live this long. Here’s a pic. He’s been laying on the bottom a lot lately .but it’s a community tank and they were fine. Minus the fact that they ate my fork tail rainbows that is and a pair of 3/4” bosemani rainbows I made the mistake of adding before they were big enough.

 

[Mandy627]

Yeah unfortunately his days are numbered. The female died over the summer. Don’t think they’re supposed to live this long. Here’s a pic. He’s been laying on the bottom a lot lately .View attachment 766415but it’s a community tank and they were fine. Minus the fact that they ate my fork tail rainbows that is and a pair of 3/4” bosemani rainbows I made the mistake of adding before they were big enough.

Yes 5 years is old, very old actually. I have one that is almost 4 and he is an old man. And yes, I have made the mistake of adding fish that way too before they were big enough. Expensive killifish dinners to boot.

 

[Nobody]

I'm wondering if they will be able to eat adult harlequin rasboras or flame tetras. I think those are the 2 at risk in their tank.

 

[86 ssinit]

They probably won’t. Both of those fish swim in the middle of the tank and the wonders swim on the top so they should be safe. Over the years my tank had serpae tetras and they were never bothered. Also buying wonder new they will be small.