2026 in the big fishroom

[GaryE6 5]

I can't leave my killies out. First, we have a young male of Aphyosemion sp. COFE 10-23. The "sp." says it is unnamed. It looks a bit like the described A. louessense, but maybe not. Its ancestors were caught in 2010, at spot 23 in the COFE expedition, if anyone wants to research. This guy is my last shot with the fish, as after a number of years of problem free keeping here, I can't get fry from them.

Here is a new one to me, though I had it many years ago. It's also very young - a Fundulopanchax scheeli. It's a relative of the better known F. gardneri. They should be easy to breed when they fill out.

 

[gwand45 162]

Chugging along taking snaphots as I go. These guys have been in other thread - Nannostomus marginatus pencils, an oldie and a very goody.

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This fish is an important one to me. What really hooked me on having a fishroom was Western African dwarf Cichlids, specifically what was then Pelvicachromis taeniatus. Most of the taenies (from Cameroon) are now called Pelvivachromis kribensis, with taeniatus being the Beninois and Nigerian species. In Benin this Spring, I caught what was then a tiny female, and finding her in my net was one of my two or three greatest fishcatching thrills. The idea that I had caught such a fish myself was really something.

She has grown up and I plan to put her with a male from my other pair of wilds, which died but left me fry. The males are a touch too small now, but they'll catch up. Every time I see her, I remember that place, and that excitement. It's silly how we can react to a tiny fish.

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[GaryE6 5]

I'd like to have those Nigerian Red taeniatus @gwand has. Mine are from farther north, and a different colour morph.

I may be getting closer to the end of this photo run, but the fish keeping getting their pictures taken, for now.

Here is a fish of apparent wisdom, Brochis splendens. It's a lot like a bronze cory, but several times larger with a higher body. They shuffle around their tank looking intelligent and world weary - they've seen it all. They understand.

These guys have a lousy name - not their fault. They are least killifish, Heterandria formosa. They show the meaning of killie, as fish from a small stream. They're actually a micro-livebearer, descended from ones I caught in 2004. Why would anyone go see High School kids sweating in Mickey Mouse suits when all around Orlando Florida there were cool, tiny fish?

Here's a fish of frustration, Iriatherina werneri, the threadfin rainbow. I bred them many years ago, and feeding the fry was difficult. Talk about tiny. Now I have green water to feed their fry, so I ordered a dozen,and got them as unsexable juveniles. In time, they proved to be all male. It's a nice looking fish but I wanted another crack at breeding them.

 

[GaryE6 5]

Xiphophorus milleri. I've kept this fish for years, for the simple reason that I like it. I make no selections, but I find they have taken on more of a gold tone over the years.

A very rare dwarf Cichlid, Parananochromis ornatipinnis - a female.

A young male Chromaphyosemion poliaki.

 

[GaryE6 5]

Today, I go in a new direction. In the Spring in Benin, we collected a bunch of fish in 8 different locations. In the 3rd place we fished, there was a series of ditches fed by a bubbling spring in a place called Dangbo. There were hardly any trees, and the sun was free to roast us. The heat was oppressive, and the water was in the low 30s celsius. All of the fish we caught were juveniles, and all were in rough shape as the heat was at the top of their ranges.

The usual thing for killies is to put codes on them - country and catchers, so the info can be looked up (if we ever get around to publishing it). These are Chromaphyosemion biteniatum B (Benin) DEL (Dineson, Elson, Lamboj) 26 (year) 3 (location). My BDEL 26-3 are a bit of a mystery to me. The males looked fantastic in the net, but the mature ones died soon after. The immature ones survived. So I have no photos of adult males in full colour, and have to wait. What will I have? They can vary from drainage to drainage, in complexity of body and fin colour, in fin length, etc.

I'm still waiting to see what I get, as my one male partially developed and suddenly died, unphotographed, after fathering dozens of young.
The first two photos are of young males today. The others are of Nigerian locations I've kept in the past, to give an idea of why I'm intrigued.

 

[Jennet25 83]

Just looked those up on British Killifish Association site. The male colour is superb! I am well jel (as our youngsters say).

You never know...... if I live to get old enough without going round the twist, I may just about manage to get to keep a few of these beauties. Oh well, I can dream, it's good for me.