Aphyosemion rectogoense Radda & Huber 1977

A.rectogoense GHP 80 / 30. Photo courtesy of Gottfried Marschitz

Meaning of Name

Recto = true, ogoense = the Ogooue River, Gabon.

First Description

Radda A.C. & Huber J.H. 1977.

Cyprinodontiden Studien in Gabon III. Zentral und Südostgabun.

Aquaria 24: p 64-66, figures 3,6.

Size

5cm

Meristics

D = 8-9, A = 14, D/A = +9-11, ll = 27-29 (+2-3) (Radda & Huber 1977)

Karyotype

n = 9, A = 18 (Huber & Scheel 1981)

Sub-Genus

Aphyosemion

Group

elegans

Synonyms
  • Haplochilus castaneus (non Myers 1924) Pellegrin 1930
Populations

 

  • Bongoville
  • East Franceville
  • BBA GAB 90 / 27
  • BBA GAB 90 / 28
  • EBT 96 / 1 - (Same as PEG 95 / 16)
  • G 92 / 11
  • G 11 / 76 - ( Léconi ) (Also known as JH 76)
  • G 14 / 76 - (Also known as JH 76)
  • GHP 80 / 30
  • PEG 95 / 16
  • GBB 90 / 7 (possibly corrupted code)

BKA photo from the late '70's probably from the first import to the UK.

CMBB 90 / 27
Photo courtesy of Monty Lehmann

 

This form circulating in the USA in 1978.
Photo courtesy of Tony Terceira.

Photo courtesy of Maurice Chauche & the KCF website.

 

Photo courtesy of Maurice Chauche & the KCF website.

A.rectogoense wild male. Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl

 

A.rectogoense circulating in the US around 1980. Photo courtesy of Lennie MacKowiak

PEG 95 / 16.
Photo courtesy of Martin Fourcade.

BBA-GAB 90/27 - Collected 11th August 1990 at 13.05 hrs. Location was 46 kms east of the centre of a large river bridge in Franceville leading via Bongoville to Leconi (Lekoni) near the Congo border. This was 7 kms east of Bongoville. Habitat was a roadside pool 12 metres in diameter which lay on the right hand or south side of the road travelling east. At the time of collecting it was cloudy but the pool was open to sunlight. Air temperature was 27°C, water was 25°C, clear & slightly brown. No apparent water flow. The pH was 5·7 & DH 0·5 or less.
Base of the pool was silt/clay & very pale coloured sand. No aquatic plants. Fish were plentiful & easily caught.
An article on these collections (27 & 28) appears in BKA newsletter No.435, December 2001.
The article by Allan & Barbara Brown at the end states that only young from the location 27 collection point were released into the hobby. I'm not sure if 28 was released later.

     

BBA-GAB 90/28 - Collected by David Armitage, Allan & Barbara Brown 1990. Collected Sunday 12th August at 13.30 - 14.30 pm. Location was a stream passing under a culvert 31·7kms north of Franceville on the road to Okondja & 13·4kms south of the Leconi river (tributary of the Ogooué). Reportedly not the R15 road via Akieni but the road directly north from Franceville via Motobo, Okoloville & Mbounga. A patch of forest in an area of scrub & grass. Air temperature 25°C, water temperature 23°C, pH 6·3, DH <1, water depth 30cm. Stream base was clay & sand. No aquatic plants. Shade from trees 7/8ths. Width of stream 3 metres & flow at this point 1 metre in 13 seconds to 6 metres wide at 1 metre in 60 seconds. Sympatric species Plataplocheilus terveri, Ctenopoma nanum, barbs & loaches.

GAB 90 / 28
Photo courtesy of Pat Rimmer

 

  

Brosset 79 / 235 - These codes carried on from Hubers' JH numbers.Collected by Brosset in 1979 at Poubara Bridge, southeast of Franceville, southeast Gabon.

     

EBT 96 / 1 - Same location as PEG 95 / 16.

Location EBT 96 / 1
Photo courtesy of Peter Tirbak

A.rectogoense EBT 96 / 1
Photo courtesy of Peter Tirbak

G 76 / 11 - This code also known as JH 76 / 11 or GJH 76 / 11. This is the type locality. Collected by Dr.J.H.Huber & A.C.Radda in 1976, 6 kms west of Léconi towards Franceville, southeast Gabon.

     

G 76 / 14 - This code also known as JH 76 / 14 or GJH 76 / 14. Near the Kéléomoy crossroads, M'Passa basin.

     

GHP 80 / 30 - Collected 31 kms from Franceville towards Bongov, southeast Gabon. Collected by Hofmann & Pürzl in 1980. Imported as F1 fish by BKA Species Import Committee in June/July 1981.

GHP 80/30 taken in 2002.
Photo courtesy of Alan Green

GHP 80/30 taken in 1982

GHP 80 / 30.
Photo courtesy of Gottfried Marschitz

PEG 95 / 16 - Ferme Ampéné, on the PK 2, west of Léconi. Collected by Passaro & Eberl in 1995.

     

 

Type Locality

6 km west of Léconi on the new road from Franceville to Bongoville, southeastern Gabon. The biotope was a brook in the Djouele, Léconi drainage system (G76/11).
Paratypes were collected near the Kelé - Omoy crossroads in the M'passa system.

Distribution

Southeastern Gabon on the savannah of the Bateke highlands. They inhabit the upper Lékoni-Djouya & upper Mpassa River drainage systems.
Listed on the IUCN Red List due to habitat destruction & pollution in the area. Sedimentation is likely to be filling pools from deforestation.

Habitat

Savannah brooks. Altitude approx. 500 metres.
Collected by Radda & Huber in 2 locations in 1976 between Leconi & Franceville in shaded brooks. Measurements taken were.. water temperature 25·2°C at 0940 hrs & 21·5°C at 1430 hrs, pH 5·0 - 5·2, conductivity 19 - 21 microsiemens (at 20°C), DH 2.

Biotope near Leconi, Gabon, collecting place of A.rectogoense and E.boulengeri.
Photo: Courtesy of Ed Purzl.

Distinguishing Characteristics A heavy covering of red spots on body over a yellow background. Perhaps the distinguishing point being the caudal fin where the caudal peduncle half is spotted with the rear showwing horizontal flares of red.
Colour/Pattern Variability Fairly low.
History

Discovered by Radda & Huber in 1976 in the Bateké uplands of Gabon.
Introduced into the UK around June 1978.
Collected by Hofmann & pürzl in 1980 31 km east of Franceville at collection location GHP 80 / 30

Breeding Notes

Wild fish are reportedly more prolific than aquarium bred fish. Water incubation takes 10-12 days. Growth is fairly slow taking around 7 months to reach sexual maturity.

Lothar Seegers gives a breeding report in BKA newsletter No.220, December 1983. He found the pair layed on the bottom of the tank. The tank was filled with Java moss. When tried in a bare tank with a long floating mop the pair spawned at all levels. He considered the key to breeding this sp. lies in their diet which should consist of mosquito larvae & other fly larvae with worm type food offered less often.
Eggs were noted as hatching around 3 weeks from laying. First food was newly hatched brine shrimp although it was considered advantagious to start them off on Paramecium for a few days.

Tony Pinto in BKA Newsletter No.332 reported eggs developing from 10 - 21 days depending on water temperature. Success was had storing eggs on damp peat. Fry were small & best fed infusoria for the first few days.
On sexing out Tony started losing fish to velvet but this is easily controlled by getting rid of peat & not letting pH drop below 6.
Tony found that the GHP 80/30 produced mainly females while the Bongoville population produced mainly males. He considered this imbalance due to temperature. Clean water is required to grow young especially at the sexing out stage.

Diameter of Egg 1mm (Tony Pinto - BKA Newsletter No.332, May 1993).
Remarks