Gabon

Also known by the vernacular names You might also see it for sale as 'golden lyretail' or 'lyretail panchax, A. australe was among the first killifishes to become popular in the hobby and still a favourite today. There exist a number of wild forms which tend to be labelled with place and year of collection in order to preserve bloodlines and avoid hybridisation, as well as several ornamental strans including 'orange', 'gold', 'chocolate', and 'albino'.

A. gabunense is a good beginner's killifish as it is not an annual species, being found in permanent bodies of water in nature. It exists in several geographical colour forms which are sometimes referred to the subspecies Aphyosemion gabunense gabunense, A. g. boehmi and A. g. marginatum. The latter two are slightly smaller with a maximum standard lenth around 45 mm, and all three can be told apart by differences in colour pattern.

This species is not an annual fish, being found in permanent bodies of water in nature. Over 20 different forms of it have been discovered at different localities and a handful have been given subspecific names. The most popular in the aquarium hobby include A. o. ottogartneri and A. o. pyrophore, both of which were initially described as separate species.

There exist several different colour forms of this species depending on collection locality, and these should not be kept together in order to prevent hybridisation and preserve bloodlines. It has been classified in the subgenus Chromaphyosemion by some authors who consider that nominal grouping to represent a monophyletic branch of a paraphyletic Aphyosemion.

Appears restricted to the area between the lower Mitmele River, Equatorial Guinea and the lower Ogooué basin in Gabon, including coastal drainages such as the Mbei, Komo and Gabon watersheds in between. Type locality is 'Abanga River, between first and second rapids, Ogowe River system, Gabon', corresponding to the Abanga River bas...

A stylish-looking but rare barb in the hobby and unfortunately little information is available regarding its captive care. Forum member Andy Rushworth has kept a lone individal and told us it was a perfect aquarium inhabitant in terms of behaviour and maintenance. He also mentioned that the fish he had looked exactly like the specimen in our images but that he has seen at least one batch of what appeared to be a different species imported under the same na...

This species is native to Central West Africa where it is principally found in the great Ogooué and Congo River systems. It therefore has an extensive range and has been recorded at numerous localities right across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from the Ituri River in the far east of the country to the Luki River basin in the extreme west. The Congo River appears to represent the southernmost limit of its range as a...

Although gregarious by nature it is a shoaling rather than schooling species which develops a distinct pecking order between males. It should ideally be maintained in a group of 8 or more but the tank must be of a sufficient size which will allow weaker individuals some respite from dominant conspecifics and decorated in such a way that many broken lines of sight are provided. Conversely if kept singly, in a very small group or in cramped conditions it can become withdrawn and subdominant fish may be bullied incessantly.

This species was present in the hobby for some time prior to being officially described and the spectacular red fish first exported by Pierre Brichard in the 1960s appears to be a regional form of it. It was also known variously as Nanochromis sp. 'Bamanja', N. sp. 'Genema', N. sp. 'Makoua' and N. sp. Bloody Mary' prior to description, and continues to be mislabelled as N. squamiceps on trade lists. Diagnosis of C. sabinae is possible via a combination of c...

Distributed throughout coastal regions north and westwards from Gabon through Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin and Togo as far as Ghana although some consider it restricted to northwestern Gabon and Equatorial Guinea with the remaining populations representing various subspecies (see 'Notes'). Type locality is 'Gaboon River', which presumably refe...

Described from a rainforest stream near the settlement of Mintoum, northern Gabon and has a wider distribution in the upper Ivindo River basin, a tributary of the larger Ogooué system. Thi species was considered synonymous with the congener A. herzogi Radda 1975 for a number of years but is currently recognised as distinct.

Described from northern Gabon, close to 'Zoumoukou', which is seeen on modern maps as 'Zomoko', but has a much wider distribution extending into Equatorial Guinea (upper parts of some Benito River tributaries), and southern Cameroon (Ntem River), as well as the Ivindo and Okano drainages in Gabon, the latter pair both tributaries of the much larger Ogooué system.

Described from a minor tributary of the Mvé River running through the village of Akoga, northwestern Gabon and has been recorded in other headwater drainages of the region including the Abanga, Mbei, Komo and Nkam. May occur across the border in southeastern Equatorial Guinea.

Known only from the Batéké plateau region and surrounding area in southeastern Gabon where it's been recorded from the Léconi-Djouya and upper Mpassa rivers, these forming a portion of the much larger Ogooué basin. Type locality is '6 km west of Léconi', the latter presumably referring to the settlement of that name.

Type locality is Malinga, located in the middle of the Du Chaillu mountain range in Ngounié province, southern Ghana. This lies very close to Republic of the Congo, and the species may also occur across the border.