Nothobranchius furzeri

Background

Nothobranchius furzeri is an annual killifish found in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It occurs in small freshwater pools south of the Save River and north of the Incomati River, and inhabits basins of the Limpopo, Changane, Chefu, Mazimechopes and Vaneteze rivers. It is commonly found with N. rachovii and N. orthonotus. North of the Save River, N. furzeri is replaced by the recently described N. kadleci.

N. furzeri is a fairly robust species, growing to 3”. The body color is generally light turquois with a red reticulation, although solid red strains exist. The anal fin is red, and the caudal has a black margin with a red or yellow sub-marginal band depending on locality.

It is often stated to be the shortest-lived vertebrate species with a life span of 12 weeks in nature. However a 2005 paper by Michael LePage found the coral reef pygmy goby Eviota sigillata lives only 8 weeks. In the aquarium, N. furzeri can live up to 6-8 months, but shows signs of decline around 5 months.

Aquarium Care

Like most species of Nothobranchius, N.furzeri will tolerate a range of conditions with a preference for neutral to moderately alkaline water

with a temperature range of 75-78 F. Salt may be added to the water at a rate of 1 tbsp per 5 gallons up to 1 tsp per gallon. I generally find this unnecessary as long as the tank is kept clean. I change 50% of their water every 10 days and haven’t had problems with velvet.

Keeping N. furzeri does pose some challenges compared to other species of Nothobranchius. I’ve found to be most successful with them I need to keep them in a larger than typical aquarium. I keep most of my nothos in groups in a 20 gal long. N. furzeri is kept in a 33 gal. Both sexes can be aggressive. If they are raised together in a group, they seem to do well. But if they are separated for a short time, they must be kept separate and supervised during spawning. They also eat quite a bit more than other species. I feed them live black worms, frozen bloodworms, and chopped red worms and cocktail shrimp. Ideally they should be fed multiple times per day. Feeding has been the biggest challenge with keeping this fish for me.

Breeding and Raising Fry

N. furzeri is a prolific breeder and getting them to spawn doesn’t present any difficulties as long as they are well fed and have clean water. Peat and Coir both work well as a spawning media, I use a fairly large amount in a margarine tub. They can be messy spawners and using a dish with a hole cut in the cover may help.

Incubation typically takes 5-7 months. I’ve hatched large numbers of fry as early as 2 months so it pays to check the eggs monthly. I typically will hatch fry in a large margarine tub, which I will lower into a ½ filled 5 or 10 gallon tank depending on how many fry have hatched. Fry can take newly hatched brine shrimp nauplii on hatching. The fry tank is filled daily until full after the first week. After that I do 80% water changes weekly. They grow very quickly, showing signs of sexual maturity at only 4 weeks. For me, females initially grow more quickly than males, which catch up and surpass the females in size.

Nothobranchius furzeri has become one of my favorite killies. It’s somewhat challenging, but not so difficult it can’t be maintained long-term. With a little extra care and attention, they can be easily kept and are very rewarding.