III.

LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton, 1822) (Blue panchax)
General
The lively Blue Panchax Aplocheilus panchax is one of the best known and most
popular of the killifish species. This is because they are inexpensive, colorful and hardy.
The Blue Panchax Killifish comes from a large area in Southeast Asia and because of this
large distribution; it comes in many different color schemes. The basic coloration is an
iridescent blue body with a black spot on the dorsal fin. Some races will have varying
amounts of red or orange on some of the fins. The body coloration may include small
spots of yellow, green, red or orange. One of the most popular varieties, the Orange tail
Killifish seen in the picture above is from India and has a bright orange tail.
There are simply tons of common names this species is called and some of them are
common names used for other killifish species as well. Just a few of them are Blue eye
Killifish, Java Medaka, Spotted Medaka, Spotted Ricefish, Blue eye Killi, Lead head
Killifish, White Spot Killi, and Silver Head Killifish.
Classification of Aplocheilus panchax
Kingdom

: Animalia

Phylum

: Chordata

Class :

Actinopterygii

Order

: Cyprinodontiformes

Family

: Aplocheilidae

Genus

: Aplocheilus

Species

: panchax

Apicture 1. Aplocheilus panchax

Habitat: Distribution / Background

The Blue Panchax are generally found in ponds, fields, and canals; inhabiting clear
water areas that containing large amounts of vegetation or among the roots of mangrove
trees. These highly adaptable fish have also been found in a couple hot springs in
Singapore, and they are even found in hypersaline waters. Their habitat has been expanded
due to their introduction to different areas to aid in controlling mosquito populations by
feeding on their larvae. In the wild, insects and larvae are the main food for these fish.

Description
The body of the Blue Panchax Killifish is slender and elongated, the dorsal fin is set
far towards the back half of the body, and the scales are round. The head is flattened on top
with a pointy snout and upturned mouth, they have no barbells.
The basic coloration is an iridescent blue body with a black spot on the dorsal fin.
Some races will have varying amounts of red or orange on some of the fins. The body
coloration may include small spots of yellow, green, red or orange. One of the most
popular varieties, the Orange tail Killifish from India, has a bright orange tail, as seen in
the photo above.
Foods and Feeding
The Blue Panchax Killifish primarily is carnivores. They will eat most floating
prepared foods that are small enough to fit in its mouth and will greedily accept frozen
bloodworms and brine shrimp.
Social Behaviors
The Blue Panchax Killifish are generally peaceful towards other varieties of fish but
will sometimes quarrel amongst themselves. Usually this fighting will not cause any
damage. They are best kept with other moderately peaceful fish of similar size or larger.
Breeding / Reproduction
The Blue Panchax is an egg layer that is relatively easy to breed. A healthy pair may
lay 130-300 eggs daily for several weeks. They will generally spawn among fine-leafed
plants, Java Moss, or a clean spawning mop. It is relatively easy to remove the spawning
substrate containing eggs, and replace it.
The plants/mop should be removed daily and replaced with new ones. The egg laden
plants/mop should be placed in a tank containing clean water with the same quality
parameters as the parent's tank. The eggs hatch after 11-15 days. After the eggs hatch, the
fry will have an obvious egg sac on their bellies. The fry can be fed nauplii and powdered
dry foods after their eggs sacs have been absorbed.
Some of the fry will grow faster than others so there is the possibility of cannibalism.
If you want to successfully rise as many of the fry as possible, you will have to sort them
by size so this doesn't happen. Pay close attention when feeding, as foods if uneaten can
quickly foul the water.

B. Circulatory System of Fish

In the diagrams that follow, arrows represent the direction of blood flow in blood
vessels (arteries and veins). Blood pressure is represented by the thickness of the arrows.
Thick arrows indicate high blood pressure. Blood that is rich in oxygen is represented by red
arrows. Blue arrows represent blood that is low in oxygen after it has passed through the
body tissues.
Fish have a two-chambered heart with one atrium (A) and one ventricle (V).

Picture 2. Diagram of Circulatory System

of Fish

The gills contain many capillaries for gas exchange, so the blood pressure is low after
going through the gills. Low-pressure blood from the gills then goes directly to the body,
which also has a large number of capillaries. The activity level of fish is limited due to the
low rate of blood flow to the body.

Picture 3. Circulatory System of Fish

Fish have a closed circulatory system (in a closed circulatory system, blood is not free
in a cavity; it is contained within blood vessels. Valves prevent the backflow of blood within
the blood vessels) with a heart that pumps the blood in a single loop throughout the body. The
blood goes from the heart to gills, from the gills to the rest of the body, and then back to the
heart.

In most fish, the heart consists of four parts: the sinus venosus, the atrium, the
ventricle, and the bulbus arteriosus. Despite consisting of four parts, the fish heart is however
still classified as a two-chambered heart. The 'sinus venosus' is a thin-walled sac that collects
blood from the fish's veins, before allowing it to flow to the atrium, which is a large muscular
chamber. The atrium serves as a one-way compartment for blood to flow into the ventricle.
The ventricle is a thick-walled, muscular chamber and it does the actual pumping for the
heart. It pumps blood to a large tube called the bulbus arteriosus. At the front end, the bulbus
arteriosus connects to a large blood vessel called the aorta, through which blood flows to the
fish's gills.
C. Blood Vessels
Consecutive circulatory system through which blood vessels; heart arteries
arterioles capillaries venules veins heart.
1. Arteries

Carry blood away from the heart (always oxygenated apart from the pulmonary artery
which goes to the lungs)

Have thick muscular walls elastic layer to allow stretching and absorb pressure

Have small passageways for blood (internal lumen)

Contain blood under high pressure

The arteries maintain pressure in the circulatory system much like a balloon maintains
pressure on the air within it. The arteries therefore act as pressure reservoirs by
maintaining (storing) pressure. The elastic layer is surrounded by circular muscle to
control the diameter and thus the rate of blood flow. An outer layer of connective tissue
provides strength.
2. Arterioles
Smooth muscle surrounding the arteries and arterioles controls the distribution of
blood. For example, blood vessels dilate when O2 levels decrease or wastes accumulate.
This allows more blood into an area to bring oxygen and nutrients or remove wastes.
3. Capillaries
The smallest blood vessels are capillaries
The diameter is so small that red blood cells travel single file
Very low blood pressure

 Where gas exchange takes place. Oxygen passes through the capillary wall and into
the tissues, carbon dioxide passes from the tissues into the blood
Vasodilation and vasoconstriction refer to the dilation and constriction of blood
vessels. The diameter is controlled by neural and endocrine controls. Sphincter muscles
control the flow of blood to the capillaries.
The total cross-sectional area of the capillaries is greater than that of the arteries or
veins, so the rate of blood flow (velocity) is lowest in the capillaries. Blood pressure is
highest in the arteries but is considerably reduced as it flows through the capillaries. It
is lowest in the veins.
4. Venules
Capillaries merge to form venules and venules merge into veins. Venules can constrict
due to the contraction of smooth muscle. When they are constricted there is more fluid
loss in the capillaries due to increased pressure.
5. Veins

Carry blood to the heart (always de-oxygenated apart from the pulmonary vein which
goes from the lungs to the heart)

Have thin walls

Have larger internal lumen

Contain blood under low pressure

Have valves to prevent blood flowing backwards

The diameter of veins is greater than that of arteries. The contraction of skeletal muscle
during normal body movements squeezes the veins and assists with moving blood back
to the heart. The vena cava returns blood to the right atrium of the heart from the body.
In the right atrium, the blood pressure is close to 0.
6. Portal Veins
Portal veins connect one capillary bed with another. The hepatic portal vein connects
capillary beds in the digestive tract with capillary beds in the liver.

D. Interstitial Fluid
Picturebetween
4. Kindsblood
of Blood
The exchange of substances
and Vessels
the body cells occurs in the

capillaries. Capillaries are specialized for exchange of substances with the interstitial fluid.
Interstitial fluid surrounds and bathes the cells. This fluid is continually being replaced by
fresh fluid from blood in the circulatory system.
Body cells take up nutrients from the interstitial fluid and empty wastes into it. By
maintaining a constant pH and ionic concentration of the blood, the pH and ionic
concentration of the interstitial fluid is also stabilized. Although fluid leaves and returns to
the capillaries, blood cells and large proteins remain in the capillaries.
At the arterial end of capillaries (the left
side of the diagram below), blood pressure
forces fluid out and into the surrounding
tissues. As blood moves through the capillary,
the blood pressure decreases so that near the
veinule end, less is leaking into the surrounding
tissues.
As blood flows through the capillary
and fluid moves out, the blood that remains
behind

becomes

more

concentrated.

The

osmotic pressure in the capillary is therefore

greater near the veinule end and results in an
increase in the amount of fluid moving into the
capillary near this end.

Picture 5. Diagram of Intestinal Fluid

The arrows on the diagram above represent the movement of blood into and out of the
capillary. Long and thick arrows are used to represent a large amount of fluid movement. The
total amount of movement out of the capillary is approximately equal to the amount of
movement into the capillary. Notice that more blood tends to leave the capillary near the
arteriole end and more tends to enter it near the veinule end.