Genus · Killifish

Stenolebias

Stenolebias is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Killifish section, recorded from Brazil. Adult sizes run from 1 in to 1.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
1–1.5 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2
Recorded from
Brazil

About the genus

Stenolebias is a small genus of killifish in family Rivulidae, native to Brazil. The atlas covers 2 species, both tiny - just 1–1.5 in - and, like many of its relatives in the seasonal-killifish tribes of this family, it is associated with temporary pools that dry out for part of the year. In that life history, adults lay eggs into the mud or leaf litter, the pool evaporates, and the eggs enter a resting diapause in the substrate until the next rains refill the habitat and trigger hatching - a strategy shared across much of Brazil's annual-killifish fauna.

This is a genus for specialist killifish keepers rather than the general trade - annual killifish of this kind are bred from eggs shipped in slightly moist peat rather than sold as living fish, and species like these two rarely if ever reach mainstream stores. The IUCN picture is mixed but not alarming at the assessed end: one species is Data Deficient and the other Least Concern, though small-range annual-pool species like these are inherently exposed to any loss of their seasonal wetland habitat, regardless of current status.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 1 Data Deficient · 1

The 2 species

Every Stenolebias recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

(Myers, 1942)

1 in SL · DD

(Costa, 1991)

1.5 in TL · LC

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Stenolebias. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/stenolebias/

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