Blue-green Lampeye Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Blue-green Lampeye is a slender, lively killifish named for the striking blue-green reflective glow that shines across its flanks and around its eyes. In good condition, males display especially vivid metallic colouration, with translucent fins and subtle darker markings that become more pronounced during courtship and competition.

This is a sociable species that spends much of its time in the middle and upper levels of the water. Blue-green Lampeyes are alert and active without usually being aggressive, and a group creates an attractive, constantly moving display as the fish investigate their surroundings and react to one another.

In the wild, they inhabit cool, well-oxygenated forest streams and pools. Overhanging vegetation, dappled light and dark natural surroundings help bring out their reflective colours, while the gently flowing water provides a clean, fresh environment for this active African species.

Like other Procatopus, the Blue-green Lampeye is an egg-laying killifish rather than a livebearer. It is not an annual killifish, and its eggs develop in water rather than relying on a dry seasonal incubation period. The species is relatively uncommon in the aquarium trade, making healthy, well-acclimated groups particularly rewarding for experienced keepers.

Procatopus aberrans is native to freshwater habitats in Cameroon, in west-central Africa. It occurs in shaded, clear forest streams and small waterways associated with the Cameroon highlands and surrounding rainforest region.

A group should be provided with at least 60 litres, with a tank around 60 cm long to give these active swimmers useful horizontal space. Use a secure cover because lampeyes can jump, and include gentle water movement with good oxygenation rather than a harsh current. A dark sand or fine-gravel substrate, dense planting, floating cover, roots and branches create the shaded, stream-like surroundings they favour. Leave some open swimming room, and include fine-leaved plants or spawning mops if breeding is intended.

Males reach about 6 cm (2.4 inches), while females are usually slightly smaller at around 5 cm (2.0 inches).

These small predators and insectivores thrive on a varied diet of suitably sized foods. Offer high-quality small flakes or micro-pellets alongside frozen or live daphnia, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and other tiny aquatic invertebrates. Small live foods are particularly useful for conditioning adults for spawning, but food should be offered in modest portions because the fish have small mouths and can be prone to wasting oversized foods.

Blue-green Lampeyes are peaceful community fish and can be kept with other similarly sized, calm species that prefer clean, well-oxygenated freshwater. Suitable companions include small rasboras, peaceful tetras, dwarf Corydoras, small peaceful barbs and other non-aggressive African lampeyes. Avoid large or boisterous fish, fin-nippers and aggressive cichlids, as well as very warm-water species with substantially different requirements. Their small size also makes them unsuitable companions for fish large enough to view them as prey.

Blue-green Lampeyes are egg-scattering killifish that can be bred using spawning mops or fine-leaved plants. Keep a well-conditioned group with several females for each male and offer plenty of small live or frozen foods. The pair or group deposits adhesive eggs among the spawning material, which can be removed and incubated separately in clean, gently aerated water. Depending on temperature, hatching generally takes around two to three weeks, and the tiny fry should initially receive infusoria or another appropriately fine food before moving on to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Males are larger and more vividly coloured, with a stronger blue-green sheen and fuller, more elaborate fins. Females are generally smaller, plainer and rounder through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs.