Congo basin

The cherry red Congo tetra, Alestopetersius brichardi, is an alestid from the middle Congo and tributaries such as the Busira and Ruki in DR Congo. It has also been sold under the misapplied names A. nigropterus and A. ansorgii. Adult males develop extended median caudal-fin rays, with a broad dark lateral stripe running from behind the eye to their tip, and the species is lively and somewhat skittish but generally peaceful.

The yellow-tailed Congo tetra, Alestopetersius caudalis, is an alestid from the lower Congo region, recorded upriver as far as the Irebu channel. Also traded as the 'yellow-finned', 'yellowtail' or 'blue Congo' tetra, it is occasionally bred commercially, though not on the scale of its better-known relative Phenacogrammus interruptus. Adult males develop extended median caudal-fin rays, and the narrow dark lateral stripe broadens markedly on the caudal fin.

The African rainbow tetra is an alestid from the Congo River system around Kinshasa, DR Congo, normally traded as Alestopetersius nigropterus. Neither that name nor A. cf. ansorgii, the other it is sold under, appears to be correct: the true A. nigropterus is endemic to Lake Mai-Ndombe and little or not exported, and A. ansorgii is a synonym of Nannopetersius ansorgii. Lively and somewhat skittish but generally peaceful, it suits a larger community aquarium.

Aphyosemion sp. 'Oyo' RPC 91/8 is a killifish collected for the aquarium hobby in 1991 near the town of Oyo, Republic of the Congo. Oyo lies on the Alima River, a right bank tributary of the middle Congo system. This fish may be synonymous with the congener A. castaneum, and it is best maintained alone with the emphasis on captive breeding.

'Barbus' candens is a small African barb from the Congo basin in northern and central DR Congo, mainly between Lisala and Kisangani. It lives in slow-moving, shady rainforest streams and swamps with soft, acidic, brown-stained water. Rare in the trade and sporadically collected, it can be told from the better-known 'B.' hulstaerti, which has a bluer body, larger dark markings and yellow fins in males. Its shy nature suits it to a tank of similarly small, peaceful species.

The African banded barb, 'Barbus' fasciolatus, is a small cyprinid widely distributed in Central Southern Africa, from Angola to Zimbabwe. For many years it was imported as Barbus/Barbodes barilioides, now a junior synonym, and it is also called the blue banded or Angola barb. It has 10 to 15 blue-black vertical bars and lives in slow-flowing, heavily vegetated lake shallows, floodplain lagoons and rainforest streams.

The spotscale barb, 'Barbus' holotaenia, is a cyprinid from Central West Africa, found principally in the Ogooué and Congo river systems. It has been recorded right across DR Congo and appears to be primarily riverine. Rare in the hobby, it has been suggested as the closest surface-dwelling relative of the Congo blind barb, Caecobarbus geertsii, a claim the profile considers questionable.

The African butterfly barb, 'Barbus' hulstaerti, is a cyprinid endemic to DR Congo, in rainforest south and east of the main Congo River channel. It reappeared in the trade in 2006 after an absence of 25 years. It lives in slow-moving, shady rainforest streams and swamps with very soft, acidic, brown-stained water, and its shy, retiring nature makes it unsuitable for most community tanks.

The Congo barb, Clypeobarbus congicus, is a small African cyprinid from the Congo River drainage in the Republic of Congo and DR Congo. Rare in the hobby, it often turns out to be something else when it appears on exporters' lists. Its genus is characterised by a midlateral row of greatly enlarged, shield-like scales. A shoaling species with a distinct pecking order between males, it should be kept in a group of 8 or more in a well-planted tank.

Congochromis dimidiatus is a small cichlid of the central Congo basin in the Republic of the Congo and DR Congo, described from Bangui on the Ubangi. Most older aquarium literature knows it as Nanochromis dimidiatus. Its dark flank stripe runs into the caudal fin, which separates it from C. sabinae. Many museum records were identified before the genus was split, so some may belong to other species.

Congochromis sabinae is a small cichlid from rainforest streams in the Republic of the Congo, northeast Gabon and northern DR Congo. It was in the hobby before its description under names such as Nanochromis sp. 'Bamanja', 'Genema' and 'Bloody Mary', and continues to be mislabelled N. squamiceps. The dark midlateral stripe stops short of the caudal fin. At the type locality the water was stained reddish brown, with a pH of 4.0.

The leopard bushfish, Ctenopoma acutirostre, is an anabantoid from the middle Congo River basin, from Malebo Pool upstream to Boyoma Falls. Often sold as 'spotted climbing perch', it mimics leaves and other debris to stalk its prey, much like the unrelated South American leaf fish. Exceptionally hardy and long-lived, it can survive for over 15 years and makes an ideal species for the newcomer to 'oddballs'.

The red-spotted lyretail, Aphyosemion cognatum, is a killifish from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its range appears extensive in the middle and lower Congo regions. The type material came from a commercial shipment from Kinshasa and was presumed to have been collected nearby. Specimens from Lac Fwa in the Sankuru River drainage, many hundreds of kilometres from Kinshasa, have been identified as this species.

The Congo lyretail, Aphyosemion congicum, is a killifish from western Democratic Republic of Congo. It may be restricted to the area between the Kwango and Gamba rivers, but the type series came from a commercial shipment and its natural range remains unconfirmed. The Kwango drains to the Congo through the Kasai.

Decorse's lyretail, Aphyosemion decorsei, is a killifish from the middle Ubangi River basin in the Central African Republic. The Ubangi is a major tributary of the Congo. The type locality is Bessou in Lobaye prefecture, and its range probably extends into northern Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Epiplatys mesogramma is a killifish endemic to the Ubangi (or Oubangui) River drainage in southwestern Central African Republic. The Ubangi is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo and drains an enormous region, but this species is known from only a handful of localities.