NEWS102
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Thevariant of
Neolebiasansorgii
recently imported from theD.R.Congohas veryattractivebrilliant green flanks.
All photos:FrankSchäfer
he first species was relatively easy to
identify:
Neolebiasansorgii
Thisdainty littlecharacinwasa fairlypopular
aquarium fish in the 1950s and 1960s -
according to the literature, at least.
Nowadays it is only very rarely seen in the
trade. It isn’t a very productive breeder, so
the small numbersofoffspringarenormally
boughtdirectly from thebreeder.
Thespecies iscomparativelywidespread in
Central Africa. It has been reported from
Angola, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon,
and the D. R. Congo However, it would
appear that this little fish (around2.5 -3cm
long) is commonly overlooked or prefers
T
The consignment of Congolese fishes that AquariumGlaser received in
January was accompanied by a number of sample specimens. The
exporter requested identificationandaskedwhether these fisheswereof
any interest for theaquarium trade.
Rarities from theCongo
byRomanNeunkirchen
habitats where it can’t be collected
effectively. Otherwise it is difficult to
explainwhy the species so rarely turns up
in the trade.
There isalsoaquestionmarkoverwhether
all fishes determined as
Neolebias ansorgii
actuallybelong to this species.Depending
on the locality, these fishes look very
different and it has yet tobe clarifiedwhat
the fish described by Boulenger in 1912,
from the Lucula River in Angola, actually
looks like in life. The variant or species
recently sentasa sampleof five specimens
exhibits a very attractive, brilliant green
lateral stripe.The fivespecimenshavegone
toa trustedbreeder,but atpresent it looks
as if all of themaremales.
These dwarfs, which aren’t particularly
delicate, are best maintained in a small
species tank. In the companyof larger and
livelier fishes they become timid andpale,
as also happens in brightly lit aquaria. So,
muted light,darksubstrate (peat fiber),soft
water, pH 6.0-6.5, and a temperature
around 24 °C.You should thenget a lot of
pleasure from these charming little fishes,
which will eat all the usual fish foods of
appropriate size.
The second species is one of the few
freshwatergobies found inAfrica:
Awaous lateristriga
Thisgobygrows toaround25cm long,and
is thus one of the larger species. It is very
widely distributed inWest Africa and also
found on numerous islands. When adult
these fishes live almost exclusively in fresh
Freshwater
