Australian Smelt - Southern 5cm

Australian Smelt - Southern

Australian smelts are a fish you don’t often see in the home aquarium but will make for a great hardy, unique and versatile species to keep. They will thrive in cold water temperatures and actually prefer to be kept between 11-20 degrees, will do great in outdoor ponds, planted aquariums or just highlight an Australian Biotope. They also have a fairly expansive geographical range starting from Victoria and going all the way to southeast Queensland.

Australian melt looks quite similar to other native species like Galaxia or flyspeck hardyhead with their long, slender body shape and smooth skin. It’s a look which is quite unique to these Australian fish but the colours of the smelt are a particular highlight. Males develop this beautiful, metallic orange colour as they mature which has slight hints of gold. Though females do not have this orange colour, they are almost fully gold and look equally stunning which is always a major win. The other notable feature of these fish is their large beady eyes which give them a comical look along with their lack of scales. The lack of skin may make these fish more sensitive to medication and heavy metals present in the water so care should be taken around this. The Australian smelt also schools tremendously well which makes them a great consideration to add some life to a cold-water aquarium.

Breeding the Australian smelt is actually quite easy in the home aquarium. As males and females can be differentiated quite easily once they are matured, getting a breeding colony of 1-2 males and 4 females would be best. They can then be conditioned to breed by feeding some small live foods like brine shrimp or frozen copepods. The temperature of the aquarium can also be raised to 19 degrees and the parents will proceed to scatter eggs through the aquarium. Parents can then be removed and the eggs will catch a few days after.

Tank Recommendations for your Australian Smelt

A small group of Australian Smelt will require a tank of 70 litres. This ensures that there’s ample space for around 5 smelts. This fish will reach around 10 cm long and are fairly active so a larger aquarium will always be good. Australian smelt also has the risk of jumping due to its top-selling nature so a big will be required.

These fish are not too particular about the aquarium setting but a sandy substrate with some smooth river stones, loose driftwood and botanicals along with some tall plant growth will make for a beautiful, natural system to display these fish. The main consideration is keeping these fish cool as warmer temperatures will shorten their lifespan and cause long-term health issues. 

Suitable Tank Buddies

Due to their cold-water requirements, it's best to keep Australian smelt with similar cold-tolerant fish. There are many great Australian and non-native options to keep with these fish as they are peaceful and display no aggression whatsoever. 

Usually Compatible

Murray river rainbows, Galaxia species, Australian Glass shrimp, white cloud minnows, bitterlings, freshwater mussels and other coldwater species.

Sometimes Compatible

Goldfish are a great coldwater tolerant fish but they may outcompete or pester smaller Australian smelt. Full-grown smelt should not have any major issues but some care should be taken when considering this option. 

Rarely Compatible

Any tropical fish should not be considered due to severe temperature incompatibility. 

Feeding your Australian Smelt

Feeding a school of Australian smelt should be a fairly easy task as they will take to a range of aquarium foods. Just like any other fish, they should be given a good quality pellet or flake as the staple feed with supplementation of frozen foods or live invertebrate-based foods like worms.