Aphyosemion zygaima - a handsome fellow
- Thread starter GaryE
- Start date
That does it ! I need to do something big . You guys wait until you see my Nothobranchius rachovii in a few months . I’ve been promised eggs , the rest is up to me .
I look forward!
Here's the newest member of my A. sp. Lobaye family, feeling brave enough to emerge from the moss for some bbs. About 0.5"
Yes. A region and river in Central African Republic. The species, as far as I know, has not been definitively described. Over the years it has been considered a morph of A. decorsei and A. castaneum. But then was listed as Aphyosemion sp. Lobaye. I believe that's the latest update since there are very recent AKA listings and at least one article for the species under that name. Also aquabid fish and eggs listings by that name.
I like the simple color arrangement of carmine dots and fin margins and the soft blue/lavender wash on the body. And they are bold. Always front and center. Adults grow to a good size, a bit larger than most Aphyosemion though not as large as Fundulopanchax.
I like the simple color arrangement of carmine dots and fin margins and the soft blue/lavender wash on the body. And they are bold. Always front and center. Adults grow to a good size, a bit larger than most Aphyosemion though not as large as Fundulopanchax.
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Thank you for that background information . It certainly is an attractive Killie . Are yours spawning in a heavily planted aquarium in natural fashion ?
@GaryE sorry for the side trip here . Your Aphyosemion zygaima CMBB 89/1 is a very nice fish AND . . . you’ve had them for 33 years ! ? ! ? That’s dedication .
They are. I'll switch gears if this little one and another youngster I spotted today both turn out to be males.
Now THAT'S impressive!
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OP
OP
I put a killie photo up because I want to discuss killies, not just show them. There's a vague hope another killiekeeper will come crawling out of the woodwork, and here we have Innesfan. I've had photos of my zygies here before...that guy swam in front of my camera right before I posted.
I haven't kept sp Lobaye. I've seen juveniles and young ones, but never a full sized adult. I looked up where Lobaye is (in the Central African Republic) and that one won't be collected again anytime soon, unless the next killiekeeper who pops up here is a Russian mercenary.
When I moved east, my goal was to have a 100% killie room within 5 years. Going to Gabon torpedoed that - I was in the land of Aphyosemion and lampeye killies and it was exciting. But the big picture got me - the killie habitats and the other species living with and around them. It turned me back into a more general aquarist, as I kept finding barbs, catfish, Anabantoids, Characins, and Cichlids in my nets. Killies will always be front and centre for me though.
When you pull up your net and the sunlight hits an Aphyosemion jorgenscheeli, ocellatum, escherichi or a friend's net has a male primiginium or cameronense - you never forget that sight.
An awful lot of what I thought I knew from a lot of reading on the species I encountered was incomplete. The wider angle view on fish diversity and evolution was mind blowing. It opened my mind back up, and here I am with non killies from both Africa and South America.
I haven't kept sp Lobaye. I've seen juveniles and young ones, but never a full sized adult. I looked up where Lobaye is (in the Central African Republic) and that one won't be collected again anytime soon, unless the next killiekeeper who pops up here is a Russian mercenary.
When I moved east, my goal was to have a 100% killie room within 5 years. Going to Gabon torpedoed that - I was in the land of Aphyosemion and lampeye killies and it was exciting. But the big picture got me - the killie habitats and the other species living with and around them. It turned me back into a more general aquarist, as I kept finding barbs, catfish, Anabantoids, Characins, and Cichlids in my nets. Killies will always be front and centre for me though.
When you pull up your net and the sunlight hits an Aphyosemion jorgenscheeli, ocellatum, escherichi or a friend's net has a male primiginium or cameronense - you never forget that sight.
An awful lot of what I thought I knew from a lot of reading on the species I encountered was incomplete. The wider angle view on fish diversity and evolution was mind blowing. It opened my mind back up, and here I am with non killies from both Africa and South America.
A shame what is going on in much of Africa , the war and famine and industrialization and overpopulation and habitat loss from ever expanding urbanization. There are , not just Killifish , but many fish that are disappearing and going extinct from those causes . The AKA has its Killifish Conservation Committee but there are only a few diehards that are working on keeping certain fish in the hobby . I certainly don’t think that we aquarists will reintroduce fish to old habitats , or perhaps we will , but we sure could preserve some as living museum specimens and that takes the involvement of a lot of guys . It would certainly be a shame to lose these beautiful aquarium fishes .
OP
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That brings us back to Handsome Sam the zygaima. I have his 1989 population, and my basement served as the unnatural habitat for all the zygaima in the hobby then. As of 2021. new specimens were found in the same habitat, but in an almost inaccessible part of it. The guys that went in there were having fun and taking risks. The main habitat was an industrial farm, and the fish has only ever been found in one stream. People have looked.
Like many keepers, I set my sights on the 2021 ones, and bought eggs. The now breeding age adults are identical to the ones here for 33 years, which I like. But it appears that killiekeepers, a fickle lot, have largely ditched the old population. Very few have the new one, but it's more popular.
My prediction? In a couple of years, I'll have both populations, kept apart in case of genetic mutations I can't see. The collectors will have the 2021s, because getting them out of a deep, dangerous ravine was a labour of love. And the fish will largely be gone.
Hobbyists consume. They rarely run the kinds of set ups you need for maintaining a species (I have 6 10 gallons for the 89 population, and 3 for 21, because they haven't bred yet. I'll add 3 more when they do). I'm not patting myself on the back -eventually, I'll croak. I'm human. If I get to have kept this fish for 55 years by then, cool. But I have sent out hundreds of 1989 eggs that hatched, and dozens of good breeding pairs. And very very few people still have them. Maybe 6 to 10 in the world.
Like many keepers, I set my sights on the 2021 ones, and bought eggs. The now breeding age adults are identical to the ones here for 33 years, which I like. But it appears that killiekeepers, a fickle lot, have largely ditched the old population. Very few have the new one, but it's more popular.
My prediction? In a couple of years, I'll have both populations, kept apart in case of genetic mutations I can't see. The collectors will have the 2021s, because getting them out of a deep, dangerous ravine was a labour of love. And the fish will largely be gone.
Hobbyists consume. They rarely run the kinds of set ups you need for maintaining a species (I have 6 10 gallons for the 89 population, and 3 for 21, because they haven't bred yet. I'll add 3 more when they do). I'm not patting myself on the back -eventually, I'll croak. I'm human. If I get to have kept this fish for 55 years by then, cool. But I have sent out hundreds of 1989 eggs that hatched, and dozens of good breeding pairs. And very very few people still have them. Maybe 6 to 10 in the world.
OP
OP
You weren't on the forum back then - when I flew back from Gabon, we were rerouted to Cameroon, then Ethiopia. A squad of wagner mercs were on the flight and trust me, you don't want to meet a Russian merc! Even more, you don't want to meet his tattoo artist from prison. His work is not that good.
At that point, Niger had just had a military coup, and the Russians were taking advantage.
Then again, if they had bags of Aphyosemions, well, maybe I could fill my pockets with money and go down a dark alley to negotiate for wild Lobaye. Yeah, that'd be strategic thinking...
At that point, Niger had just had a military coup, and the Russians were taking advantage.
Then again, if they had bags of Aphyosemions, well, maybe I could fill my pockets with money and go down a dark alley to negotiate for wild Lobaye. Yeah, that'd be strategic thinking...
I agree with that remark completely . Yes , Gary will croak , as he so eloquently stated , someday and all of his remarkable efforts will vanish but I hope there’s at least one or two more diehards like him to carry the torch . All of us who like breeding fish should give some thought to this .
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It's time for my conspiracy theory.
I think that in the US, the big chains will follow the Mom and Pop stores they killed into aquaoblivion. They'll stop carrying fish. They'll achieve a virtual monopoly, but it won't be profitable enough to interest them, and their uncreative stocking and diseased offerings will undermine them. That, combined with PETA activity, will make this into a tiny, online ordering hobby.
It will remain a common pastime in the EU, and in Asia, especially in China.
So learning how to breed fish won't be a matter of thinking we can save species. We're like fruit flies deciding to maintain elephants for that. It'll be a matter of conserving the remnants of this enjoyable hobby from extinction. It's fishkeepers we'll be conserving.
We aren't there yet, so we can keep learning, exploring and enjoying what we can see and do.
I think that in the US, the big chains will follow the Mom and Pop stores they killed into aquaoblivion. They'll stop carrying fish. They'll achieve a virtual monopoly, but it won't be profitable enough to interest them, and their uncreative stocking and diseased offerings will undermine them. That, combined with PETA activity, will make this into a tiny, online ordering hobby.
It will remain a common pastime in the EU, and in Asia, especially in China.
So learning how to breed fish won't be a matter of thinking we can save species. We're like fruit flies deciding to maintain elephants for that. It'll be a matter of conserving the remnants of this enjoyable hobby from extinction. It's fishkeepers we'll be conserving.
We aren't there yet, so we can keep learning, exploring and enjoying what we can see and do.
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