Alestopetersius

This species is sometimes traded as 'cherry red Congo tetra' or 'super red Congo tetra' and has also been referred to using the misapplied names Alestopetersius nigropterus (a valid congener) and A. ansorgii (a synonym of Nannopetersius ansorgii).

This species is also traded as 'yellow-finned', 'yellowtail' or 'blue Congo' tetra and is occasionally bred on a commercial basis, although not on a scale comparable to its better-known relative Phenacogrammus interruptus. No recent key to the genus exists but based on Géry (1977) and images in Mbimbi Mayi Munene and Stiassny (2012) it can be told apart from congeners by a combination of: extended median caudal-fin rays in adult males; absence of prominent dar...

This fish is normally traded as A. nigropterus or A. cf. ansorgii although neither appears to be its correct name meaning it remains unidentified at present. A. nigropterus is a valid congener that is not in the aquarium trade with little to no export from Lake Mai-Ndombe, to which it is endemic, while A. ansorgii is a synonym of Nannopetersius ansorgii.

This species appears to be restricted to the Imo and Niger drainages in Nigeria but the full extent of its distribution is unclear. Type locality is 'Aba, Lower Niger, Nigeria', corresponding to the city of Aba in Abia state, southern Nigeria which lies on the Aba River, a tributary of the Imo. Nigeria has lost 95 % of its original rainforest cover, num...