Killifish – Golden Topminnow Fundulus chrysotus

Description

The Golden Topminnow are a very magical looking little fish and should inhabit the surface area mostly. They are not too active. Golden Topminnows can suspend in 1 spot for a period of time with little movement so they should not draw the attention of many predator fish. They are truly amazing to watch in a aquarium or even above in a pond. Males can sure put on a display show to court the females. Best to stock these fish in numbers to avoid any fin nipping. You can easily stock 1 fish for every 2 gallons in a community tank along with other fishes with no fear of overstocking. The Golden TopMinnow will absolutely do best in these larger colony groups. Be sure to stock floating plants such as Frogbit, Anacharis, Hornwort, Cabomba as suggestions for their habitat and as a food source. Golden Topminnow will feed off of pest snails (hooray) and leave your good snails alone! They will enjoy nibbling and pruning your fine-leaved aquatic plants such as the Cabomba and Hornwort. This is great because these plants will reproduce quicker than the fish can eat. Supplement feed with Freeze Dried Bloodworms, and to bring out color naturally use New Life Spectrum Ultra Red. In your pond, Golden TopMinnow will eat Water Beetles, Midge Flys, May Flys & Mosquito Larvae. (hooray again!)

The Golden Top minnow is a small surface feeding fish that tends to reproduce late in the spring season and on into the early parts of the summer. Eggs are released individually and deposited on the roots of floating plants or on other fibrous material by the female, where afterwards they are fertilized one at a time by the male. After hatching, the larvae rest on leaves or on the bottom and begin to grow quickly reaching maturation after only 10 months. The typical life expectancy of the golden topminnow is around 2-3 years. Because the golden topminnow can be found inhabiting brackish waters, it has an interesting tolerance to different salinity levels. Superior production and lifespan was met with fluctuation of salinity at 7 to 14%. All freshwater fish should have some sort of periodic addition of beneficial salt added to their environment. These fish prove the benefits of salt create a harmonious and productive life.

Golden Topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus)
Native to: North America m Southern US & Coastal
Max Size: 3.1″ (male) avg size about 1.5″