American flagfish
Jordanella floridae
5.5 cm
Adult size
70 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Jordanella
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
This flagfish, named after the ichthyologist David Starr Jordan, is a classic of the hobby and bred commercially. It is not an annual killifish. It was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fish that lays the fewest eggs: about twenty, over several days. The male guards the eggs.
- Scientific name
- Jordanella floridae Goode & Bean, 1879
- Classification
- Cyprinodontiformes › Cyprinodontidae
- IUCN Red List
- Not evaluated (NE)
Natural habitat
United States: Florida peninsula, south of the Ochlockonee and St Johns basins
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in shallow, weed-choked water: oxbows, marshes, canals and ditches, pools, lakes and slow streams, sometimes in slightly brackish water.
Behaviour
It is best kept alone, especially for breeding, but can live in a well-planned community tank if it has enough room: each male defends a territory, which usually makes it possible to keep two or more. A micropredator that also eats algae: dry food, small live or frozen prey and plant matter. It likes cooler water.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth