# golden wonder killer



## jshiloh13 (Dec 12, 2010)

has anyone had much experience with golden wonder killies? and are they known to be killers? i have three of them and i think there the ones that killed my sword tail


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Golden wonders are now usually Aplocheilus lineatus, which is interesting because when I started in the hobby, the English/trade name was used for a different killie, from Florida. 
Most of what you buy are a colour form developed in the 1980s, and I'll assume that's what you have.
Look at the mouth on it. Then look at the body shape. Are you thinking "pike"? 
You have a surface predator that absolutely whacks its prey - drop a fly or mosquito in, and you'll see it in action. It's a territorial fish - notice how it hovers in one area.
Swordtails have a similar mouth. They have a similar shape, even if they tend to wander the whole tank more than A lineatus does. They also strike their food, and males have defined territories and don't tolerate each other very well.
North American livebearers like swordtails have an evolutionary link to Asian killies like Golden Wonders, and each fish fills the same role in nature. The Golden Wonder isn't more of a killer than the swordtail. It just won the age old battle between creatures with the same needs and same feeding niche.
Big male swordtails get rough too, although they don't get as big or as muscular as Golden Wonders. You had two fish with very similar and competitive needs in a tank that wasn't big enough for the both of them. 
Been there, done that, always ended up with one or the other - never both.


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## jshiloh13 (Dec 12, 2010)

welp i guess that means its time to get a bigger tank  thanks for the info.


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