Nimbapanchax viride (Ladiges & Roloff 1973)

Nimbapanchax viride GRC 90 / 175 N'zérékoré
Photo courtesy of Christian.Cauvet.

Meaning of Name

Refers to the general green colouration of males.

First Description

Ladiges W. & Roloff E. 1973.

Roloffia viridis spec. nov., Beschreibung einer neuen Roloffia Art aus Liberia.

DATZ 26 (5): p 155-157, figure.

Size

5 cm

Meristics

D = 9-13, A = 13-15, D/A = +5-6, ll = 27-29 (+2-3) (Ladiges & Roloff 1973)
D=10-12 (average 10.8), A= 14-15 (average 14.6), D/A=6-8 (average 6.4), ll=27-30 (average 28.6) Sonnenberg & Busch 2009

Karyotype
  • n = 21 (Grimm 1974)
  • n = 20, A = 25 (Scheel 1990)
Sub-Genus

Archiaphyosemion

Group

maeseni

Synonyms
  • Roloffia maeseni (non Poll 1941) Scheel 1968 (in part)
  • Roloffia viridis Ladiges & Roloff 1973
  • Aphyosemion viride Huber 1977
  • Archiaphyosemion viride (Ladiges & Roloff 1973)
Populations
  • Bébéli
  • Maliki (Liberia)
  • N'Zérékoré (Guineé) - GRC 90 / 175
  • Regeli (Guineé)
  • Sagleipie (Liberia)
  • Salayea (northwestern Liberia)
  • Saniquellie (Liberia)
  • T'chien (Liberia)
  • Wadalna (Liberia)
  • Zorzor (Liberia)
  • GF06 / 5 - Koniya
  • GF06 / 8 (cf. viridis)
Type Locality

Close to Salayea, northwestern Liberia.

Distribution

Eastern Guinea & northwestern Liberia in the drainage systems of the upper Via-Saint Paul & upper Saint John Rivers.

Habitat

Forested savannah brooks & streams. They are found among fallen leaves & vegetation.

Distinguishing Characteristics  
Colour/Pattern Variability  
History

 

Breeding Notes

Regarded as fairly difficult to breed. Top & bottom mops can be used but they appear to favour top mops. Water incubation takes 10-14 days. Growth is considered quite fast with sexual maturity being attained around 5-7 months.

Les McCathie in BKA Newsletter No.339, December 1993 reported the males turn dark & almost black prior to spawning where he performed a dance in front of the female. He was observed to turn vertically with head pointing at the surface & zig zagging up & down. When the female approached the male he stopped his dance & put his dorsal fin around the feamle, pressing her into a plant stem.
Les was breeding the
N'Zérékoré population & reported eggs hatched in water in 10 days at 74°F. Some eggs took up to 30 days to hatch. It was found best to raise fry with the parents as those raised seperately grew slower & were much slimmer.
When raised with the parents fry reach 4cm in 8 weeks. Those raised away from the parents took 12 weeks to reach this size.
It was found this species is not aggressive & can be kept in groups. However, only one dominant male will turn dark & perform the courtship dance in front of females.

Diameter of Egg  
Remarks