COMMON JOLLYTAIL GALAXIAS
Galaxias maculatus
GENERAL INFORMATION
DESCRIPTION
An elongated fish which is amber in colour and has faint spots on it's body. It has large eyes.
SIZE
10 - 15 cm.
LIFE CYCLE
This fish is generally spends the first part of it's life in the sea as 'white bait'. When it reaches around 5 cm it makes it's way up steams and waterways into fresh water. It lives in fresh water until breeding time when swims downstream to lay it's eggs. This is the way it usually works however landlocked populations can complete this cycle in purely fresh water.
APPEAL
This little fish is easy to keep and is unique in appearance. It can be kept in a community aquarium and has a curious nature. When kept in groups they will school together. Useful for keeping the aquarium clean. Very few people keep these fish in captivity as they are not a standard aquarium fish.
AVAILABILITY
I have not seen this fish for sale in aquarium shops, however they are often captured from the wild.
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Common jollytail galaxias like to be in the company of their own kind. Vary rarely are they to be found away from the school. We have kept these fish for six months. They have adapted well to aquarium conditions. |
MAINTENANCE OF CAPTIVE SPECIMENS
SUITABILITY FOR KEEPING IN CAPTIVITY
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Advantages: Grows to a suitable size. Happy in a standard aquarium (120 cm or more). Will only eat other fish that are substantially smaller. Not territorial. Should be kept with other members of its own kind. Not particularly sensitive to harassment. Easy to feed. Eats almost anything. Does not disturb plants. |
Disadvantages: Can be sensitive to water quality. Needs to be kept cool - below (25C). Water must be well oxygenated. |
Suitable for beginers.
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Jollytail about to swim into a cave. |
AQUARIUM CONDITIONS
| Minimum aquarium size: | This fish is active and needs some room to be happy. A minimum of a 90 cm aquarium should be used for adults. |
| Water temperature: | Room temperature is satisfactory, must not get hotter than 25C! |
| Water salinity: | Anything from sea salt to pure fresh water. |
| Filtration & oxygenation: | Water needs to be clean and well oxygenated at all times. |
| Lighting: | Not critical. |
| Plants: | Plant are appreciated but not critical. |
| Furnishings: | Not critical. |
| Notes: |
AQUARIUM BEHAVIOR
Galaxias like to school and I have seen them school with rainbowfish and barbs when other Galaxias are not around. They are constantly active and looking for food. They swim throughout the water column and rarely hid. Very peaceful. Seem to sleep at night. The school formed by the thirty fish we caught looks quite impressive. They seem to be more confident when in a school.
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FEEDING HABITS They greedily ate live food, frozen blood worm and minced beef heart. They can also be induced to take flake food but I don't recommend this as a staple diet. Feeding took place mainly in mid water but it also took food from the bottom. They ate until thier bellies were just as thick as their bodies! I feed them twice a day. FISH KEEPING RECOMMENDATIONS In the wild this fish forms loose schools with it's own kind, so it may be beneficial to keep several specimens. Make sure this fish does not get too hot (over 25C). If the temperate gets higher, try placing the aquarium by an air conditioner or try dropping blocks of ice into the aquarium water. This fish may nip at finnage on fish like siamese fighters. Jollytails seem to be very palletable to other fish, be sure to avoid keeping them with potential predators. |
OUR FISH
SPECIMEN DETAILS
We kept one captive bred fish, 8 cm in length which died from a deformity that formed in it's back after one year. I suspect the deformity was caused by an excessive buildup of eggs which could not be released.
Later on we captured thirty 5 cm 'white bait' fish from the mouth of the Torrens River. They stayed in their transport bucket and their water was gradually changed to fresh over three days and then they were released into an aquarium. They are growing rapidly.
AQUARIUM DETAILS
The first fish was kept an a 90 cm X 40 cm, maintained at 25C. Filtered by a power filter and vigorously aerated. Tank was heavily planted and full of miscellaneous community fish like rainbow fish and tiger barbs.
The school are kept in a 75 cm X 30 cm, maintained at room temperature. Filtered by a sponge filter and vigorously aerated. Tank is not planted but has water sprite floating on the surface to provide some cover. I plan to move them to a larger tank when they grow.
USEFUL LINKS
Native Fish Australia - Jollytail page
Contains details of distribution, habitat and aquarium care. Also has an image.
Copyright (c) Alexander Foreman
