Killer killie?

[coral333]

My wife brings home a golden wonder "killer" killie, after a couple of months I seem to be missing some of the smaller species (mainly danios and neons). I blamed it on my raphael cat. Well one day while feeding the fish this is what I see in the tank, he now resides in a 2.5 gal by himself, and gets the occasional guppy fry treat.

[loach<3r]

I happen to have a soft spot for Aplocheilus lineatus (Golden Wonder Killi, or GWK). The most I've had at once is 4 in the same tank. They seem to be happier in a group, I did notice them acting more aggressive when I only kept one at a time. Granted they will eat fry if you leave them in the tank, but when I added smaller fish none of them got eaten. I also kept shrimp in the tanks with my GWK's in a community tank, so I think they should be ok with other fish. Keep in mind the tank is well planted so small fish have a lot of places to hide. GWK's (@ least in my tank) tend to hang out near the surface, if you feed well I don't see why they would bother chasing down the fish hiding at the bottom. Many killis need alot more space then 2.5 gal. I saw some GWK's at PetSmart today and their recommendation is at least 5 gal, and even this is low. I've read that GWK's can grow up to 7" (mine were close to 5", so a 2.5 gal tank will definitely stunt the little guy.) I would suggest you get a pal for your killi and put them in a bigger tank.

Hope this helps.