Hypsolebias trifasciatus
Hypsolebias trifasciatus
Hypsolebias trifasciatus exhibits vibrant yellow and blue coloration with striking black horizontal stripes along its elongated body.
This page includes AI-generated images. Why am I seeing AI images?
About the Hypsolebias trifasciatus
Tiny but flashy, this annual killi lights up with a blue body and bold yellow-and-black striping on the anal fin. It comes from shallow seasonal pools in northeastern Brazil, so it likes soft, warm water and will bury eggs in a peat or mud-like substrate. Males have big attitudes for such small fish, so plan for line-of-sight breaks or keep a single pair.
Quick Facts
Size
1.3 inches
Temperament
Aggressive
Difficulty
Advanced
Min Tank Size
10 gallons
Lifespan
8-14 months
Origin
South America
Diet
Carnivore - live and frozen foods like daphnia, baby brine shrimp, cyclops, bloodworms
Water Parameters
23-28°C
6-7
1-4 dGH
Need a heater for this species?
This species needs 23-28°C in a 10 gallon tank. Use our heater calculator to find the right wattage.
Calculate heater sizeCare Notes
- Species-only setup is recommended. Keep one male with 2–3 females and provide visual barriers and a spawning medium (peat or similar), as males can be very aggressive toward rivals and persistent with females.
- Annual killifish: collect eggs from the spawning medium and incubate damp (e.g., in peat) for ~2 months at ~25 °C before wetting to hatch; adults are short-lived (roughly one year).
- Provide soft, slightly acidic water (approx. pH 6.0–7.0) with gentle filtration and a tight-fitting cover, as Hypsolebias are capable jumpers.
Compatibility
Good Tankmates
- A single male with two or more females of the same species in a species-only setup, with ample cover and spawning medium.
Avoid
- Other male Hypsolebias in small aquaria; severe territorial aggression can result in injuries or mortality.
Similar Species
Other freshwater aggressive species you might be interested in.
Arrowhead puffer
Pao suvattii
Pao suvattii is that sneaky Mekong puffer that likes to sit low and ambush food, and it has that super recognizable arrow/V pattern on its back. Gorgeous fish with tons of personality, but it is absolutely not a community guy - plan on a solo, species-only setup if you want everybody to stay in one piece.
Blue gularis
Fundulopanchax sjostedti
This is the big, flashy West African killifish with the ridiculous triple-point tail and electric blue-green body covered in red spotting. Males can be real attitude machines with each other, but if you give them room, cover, and a tight lid, they make an awesome centerpiece fish that will absolutely demolish live and frozen foods.
Chestnut lamprey
Ichthyomyzon castaneus
A native North American lamprey that spends 5–7 years as a burrowed, filter‑feeding larva before metamorphosing into a parasitic adult that attaches to fishes and feeds on blood and bodily fluids; adults spawn in spring and die shortly after. It inhabits flowing rivers and some lakes with cool, well‑oxygenated water and is not suitable for community aquaria.
Compressiceps dwarf pike cichlid
Wallaciia compressiceps
This is one of those tiny pike cichlids that looks cute until you watch it start running the tank like a little biting terrier. It stays small, but it is a real predator with a ton of attitude, and it gets especially spicy with its own kind when pairs form.
Goonch catfish
Bagarius bagarius
A true river monster with a shovel head and a mouth full of teeth, the goonch is built for blasting around boulder-strewn rapids. It is insanely strong, super predatory, and happiest in cool, fast, highly oxygenated water - think indoor-pond-with-a-river-flow setup, not a regular tank. If you love oddballs with attitude, this one is unforgettable, but it is for experts only.
Guatemalan headstander
Roeboides guatemalensis
This is one of those oddball characins that gets lumped in with "predatory tetras" - it is built for nipping scales and mucus off other fish (lepidophagy), which is wild to watch in nature but a headache in a community tank. It is a super active, open-water swimmer, and in aquariums it usually does best treated like a specialty predator/oddity fish rather than a "tetra."
More to Explore
Discover more freshwater species.
Jupiaba kurua
Small South American characin endemic to the upper rio Curuá (rio Xingu basin, Brazil). Reaches about 8.7 cm SL and inhabits clearwater rivers. Distinguished by dark dots on the bases of many lateral scales and a distinct dark caudal‑peduncle spot. Reported diet indicates omnivory, including aquatic insects, small fishes, and fragments of Podostemaceae and filamentous algae.
Amphilius dimonikensis
A small loach catfish endemic to the Mpoulou River in the Mayombe (Dimonika Biosphere Reserve), Republic of the Congo. Amphilius dimonikensis has a subtle banded pattern and inhabits fast, clear streams over rock and sand. In aquaria, prioritize strong, well-oxygenated flow with rounded stones and sand to mimic hillstream conditions.
Aboina barb
Enteromius aboinensis
Enteromius aboinensis (the Aboina barb) is a small West African barb with a clean black midline stripe and a little spot right at the base of the tail. It does best when you treat it like a proper schooling fish - keep a decent group and give it plants around the edges with open swimming room in the middle.
Ajuricaba tetra
Jupiaba ajuricaba
Jupiaba ajuricaba is a South American freshwater characin from the Amazon basin in Brazil (rio Negro, rio Solimões, and rio Tapajós basins). It reaches about 9.5 cm SL and is diagnosed by a narrow dark midlateral stripe, an elongated humeral spot, and an ocellated spot on the upper caudal-fin lobe. Wild specimens have been collected from blackwater forest streams and also oxbow-lake habitats.
Allen's river garfish
Zenarchopterus alleni
A poorly known freshwater halfbeak endemic to West Papua (Mamberamo River), described from a single specimen (~13 cm SL). Beyond basic habitat/occurrence, little is published about its ecology or aquarium suitability; assume it is a surface-oriented, jump-prone halfbeak only by analogy with related taxa.
Altipedunculata stone loach
Schistura altipedunculata
Schistura altipedunculata is one of those little stream loaches that wants clean, well-oxygenated water and a bunch of rock nooks to claim as home. It is a bottom-hugger that will spend its day scooting from crevice to crevice, and it tends to get a bit spicy with its own kind if you do not give it enough hiding spots.
Looking for other species?