Species feeding guide
Many killifish only really thrive — and spawn — on live food; some species barely look at dry food at all. Adults hunt daphnia and grindal worms eagerly, while their famously tiny fry start on the smallest cultures we sell.
Photo: Alexander Prokoshev, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
| Stage | Feed this | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Adults, most days | Live daphnia / moina | Surface- and mid-water hunting that mirrors their natural insect-and-crustacean diet |
| Conditioning for spawning | Grindal worms in rotation | The classic killifish conditioning worm — a harvest mixes adult and baby worms, feeding pairs and juveniles at once |
| Newly hatched fry | Vinegar eels, then banana worms | Many killifish fry are minute; eels swim where fry hunt, banana worms are the first step up |
| Growing fry (±1 cm+) | Young grindal worms + baby daphnia | Faster growth on meatier food once mouths allow |
Daphnia as the everyday hunt, grindal worms for conditioning and growing fry. Most killifish keepers run both cultures permanently.
Start with vinegar eels and banana worms — many species hatch extremely small — then microworms, baby daphnia and young grindal worms as they grow.
In stock in the Western Cape, dispatched Monday to Wednesday, door-to-door across South Africa.
Moina sp.
The small “daphnia” that suits fry and small fish — and breeds fast in warm water
R50 · starter culture
Enchytraeus buchholzi
A bigger, meatier worm for growing-on fry and small adult fish
R50 · starter culture
Panagrellus nepenthicola
Smaller than microworms — for the tiniest fry, sooner
R50 · 15 ml starter culture
Turbatrix aceti
The tiniest first food — cultured on oats, despite the name
R50 · 15 ml starter culture
Tell us your setup and town on WhatsApp — we will confirm which cultures you need, what is in stock, and the exact delivered price.
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