Furry Diary

Not furry, but we like them anyway.

Clown Killifish

Epiplatys annulatus (Boulenger, 1915)

Also called Rocket killifish, Banded panchax, Clown killi, Pseudepiplatys annulatus

SpeciesShort profile

From West Africa: coastal lowlands of Guinea, Sierra Leone and north-western Liberia, in swamps and slow streams with plenty of edge vegetation.123

At a glance the quick version

Length3.5 to 4 cm12
Sizesmall

Seriously Fish 3.5 cm SL; FishBase 4 cm TL

Peaceful nano fish
Bold banded pattern
Fairly easy to breed
1

Looks how to spot one

Scaled, tiny surface-dwelling killifish

A tiny, pale fish crossed by broad dark bands that alternate with creamy yellow ones. Males are larger and more colourful with longer fins, and some populations show yellow markings on the fins.13

ColoursCream to yellow bodyBroad dark bandsYellow fin markings in some populations1

Personality what they are like

Calm and peaceful, but shy and small, so it does best in a quiet tank with similarly tiny, gentle fish that like the same soft water.1

Daily activity how busy a day looks

A quiet fish that becomes bolder and more interesting to watch in a bigger group.1

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Needs soft, acidic water and very small foods. A mature, planted tank suits it well.1

Home where they are happiest

Minimum tank base about 45 x 30 cm (around 40 litres). Temperature about 20-26 °C (FishBase 23-25 °C), pH 4.0-7.0, hardness 1-8 dGH. Plenty of plants mirror the vegetated edges of its wild home.12

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Micropredator with a tiny mouth. Feed baby brine shrimp, daphnia, grindal worms and finely crushed dry food.1

Company who they like around

Fairly sociable; keep a group of at least 8-10.1

The story where it all began

George Albert Boulenger described it in 1915 from Sierra Leone, near the mouth of the Moa river. It has moved through several genera since and is now placed in Epiplatys.13

Fun facts for the dinner table

  1. 1

    Its species name refers to the ring-like bands around its body.3

  2. 2

    In a mature planted tank, fry can find their first meals among naturally occurring tiny organisms.1

  3. 3

    Colour details differ from one wild population to another.1

  4. 4

    It grows to only about 3.5-4 cm long.2

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List
Least Concern (assessed April 2020)2
Taxonomy
Family Nothobranchiidae; described by Boulenger in 1915 as Haplochilus annulatus; formerly Pseudepiplatys3

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Clown Killifish. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

Start a free diary

You might also like

Lyretail KillifishNorman's LampeyeLeast Killifish
our little thank-you jar

Like what we are building? Buy us a coffee.

The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.

Leave a tip

Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

  1. Seriously Fish: Epiplatys annulatus (Clown Killifish) seriouslyfish.comused for names, range, habitat, size, tank, water, diet, behaviour, group, colours, breeding
  2. FishBase: Epiplatys annulatus, Banded panchax fishbase.seused for author and year, distribution, length, environment, IUCN status
  3. Wikipedia: Epiplatys annulatus en.wikipedia.orgused for synonyms, type locality, name meaning

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.