Edit Epiplatys dageti

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Name

Scientific name

Epiplatys dageti

Described by

Authority Poll, Year 1953

Family

Nothobranchiidae

Common names

Red-chinned Panchax

Photograph credits

All 7 credited

Summary

The red-chinned panchax, Epiplatys dageti, is a killifish from coastal savanna in southwestern Ghana, southern Côte d'Ivoire and southern L…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

45mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 60 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 20–30°C, pH 5–7

Hardness

1–12dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Peaceful

Community suitability

Community-safe

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia

Writing

Etymology

Epiplatys: from the Greek epi, meaning 'above, on top of', and platys, meaning 'flat, broad', in reference to the flat dorsal surface of the anterior half of t…

Distribution

Type locality is 'Swamp near Port Bouet, 18 kilometers from Abidjan, 5°15'N, 3°58'W, southern Ivory Coast', and this species is currently known from southweste…

Habitat

Typically occurs in swampy zones of the coastal savanna across its range and has been collected alongside the congeners Epiplatys bifasciatus and Epiplatys etz…

Aquarium size

Minimum base dimensions of 60 ∗ 30 cm or equivalent are recommended although smaller aquaria can be used for breeding purposes.

Maintenance

Perhaps looks best in a heavily-planted set-up or natural-style arrangement comprising a sandy substrate plus some driftwood roots and branches. The addition o…

Water conditions

Temperature: 20 – 30 °C, but see 'Reproduction'. pH: 5.0 – 7.0 Hardness: 1 – 12 dGH

Diet

Probably a predator feeding on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and other zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it will accept dried foods of a suitable …

Behaviour and compatibility

Peaceful with other species and can make an excellent resident of the well-chosen community. Many similarly-sized characids, cyprinids, anabantoids, callicthyi…

Sexual dimorphism

Males are more colourful, possess more-extended fins and grow larger than females, in particular the lower caudal-fin lobe which develops extended rays as the …

Reproduction

Relatively easy to breed and in a well-decorated, mature species set-up fry may begin to appear without further intervention. If the adults are being maintaine…

Notes

This species is also known as 'Daget's panchax', 'black-lipped panchax', 'orange-throated panchax' or 'firemouth killifish' and is an aquarium stalwart with th…

This species is also known as 'Daget's panchax', 'black-lipped panchax', 'orange-throated panchax' or 'firemouth killifish' and is an aquarium stalwart with the red-throated form having first been exported from Monrovia, Liberia in 1908.

It's an excellent choice for those new to killifishes or egg-laying species in general since the aquarium strain in particular is relatively hardy and easy to breed.

Following the key of Romand (1992) it can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: 5-6 large, dark, transverse bars on flanks; longitudinal bands never present; adult size < 50 mm2.0 in SL.

There was some early confusion surrounding its identity after Belgian ichthyologist George A. Boulenger confused the red-throated form (see below) with the congener E. chaperi (Sauvage, 1882) and this mistake persisted in aquarium literature for several decades.

In 1952 a similar-looking fish which lacked the red throat in males was collected in Côte d’Ivoire and described as E. dageti by Poll, and it was not until the early-1960s that Liberian and Ghanian populations resembling the original red-throated fish, which was well-established in the aquarium hobby by that time, were discovered by Stenholt Clausen.

The latter were sent to Jorgen J. Scheel who in 1965 reported them to interbreed freely and produce fertile offspring with Poll's E. dageti, while also exhibiting morphological differences to Sauvage's E. chaperi specimens.

Meanwhile Daget and Arnoult had rediscovered the true E. chaperi in 1964 and subsequently described the red-throated fish as E. dageti monroviae, after which E. dageti was referred to the subspecies E. dageti dageti.

These subspecific names thus appear in a great deal of aquarium literature but aren't scientifically valid at the present time so both are included together as E. dageti here.

It later became clear that E. dageti had been described much earlier as Poecilia sexfasciata (Peters, 1864) but this name was already preoccupied by Epiplatys sexfasciatus (Gill, 1862).

The principal differences between the two forms of E. dageti are presence of a red or orange throat in males plus 5 transverse bars on the flanks (E. d. monroviae) vs. no such throat pigmentation and 6 transverse flank bars (E. dageti dageti).

Epiplatys is the most widely-distributed genus of West African aplocheiloid killifish with a range overlapping that of the other genera native to the region which are more restricted and split into eastern and western groups based on their respective patterns of distribution.

For example, Callopanchax is restricted to coastal lowlands of far Western Africa with Scriptaphyosemion and Archiaphyosemion known only from the interior of the Western rainforest, whereas Aphyosemion and Fundulopanchax present more easterly ranges extending south and eastward from Nigeria.

Although previously considered closely-related to the genus Aplocheilus due to shared similarities such as possessing an upturned mouth and dwelling mostly near the water surface Epiplatys is in fact affiliated with the western group above, i.e., its closest relatives are Callopanchax, Scriptaphyosemion and Archiaphyosemion.

In addition the phylogenetic analysis of Collier et al. (2009) revealed the existence of two distinct clades within Epiplatys itself, one comprising those species restricted to the Western rainforest (the western/savanna clade) and other those inhabiting lowland (coastal) swamps and streams west of the Dahomey Gap.

Most members of the coastal clade have a colour pattern consisting of broad, dark vertical bars which are present in juveniles of those species which lack them as adults, plus many populations possess an asymmetric caudal-fin shape with an extended lower lobe, whereas western clade species tend to lack or only possess thin oblique dark bars on the body and have symmetrically-shaped caudal fins.

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My own experienceFor example, I've kept twelve in a planted 60 cm tank since March 2024.A website I sawFor example, an IUCN Red List assessment, a museum catalogue or a FishBase page.A paperFor example, Marshall et al. (2011), Water temperature differences in interfluvial palm swamp habitats of Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. simulans.A book, or something not onlineFor example, Tappin (2010), Rainbowfishes: their care and keeping in captivity.Something already on the pageFor example, the Behaviour and compatibility section already says this.

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References

6 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References