After Volrad Etzel a German biologist.

Berkenkamp H.O. 1979

Description provisoire de Roloffia etzeli sp.nov., un nouveau Cyprinodontidae de Sierra Leone.

Killi Contact 7 (1) (seperatum): pages 1-11, figures & map. (Association Killiphile Francophone de Belgique AKFB).

5 cm

D = 12-13, A = 15-17, D/A = +5-7, ll = 29-30 (Berkenkamp 1979)

liberiense

• Roloffia sp.' rolgeryi' of Kirma Etzel 1978
• Roloffia etzeli Berkenkamp 1979
• Aphyosemion geryi (non Lambert 1958); Romand 1981
• Aphyosemion etzeli Lazara 1982
• Aphyosemion roloffi (non Roloff 1936); Radda & Pürzl 1987
• Roloffia sp. 'Etzel's toddi'

• Longilol or Lungi Lol - SL 99 / 10
• Malai (Sierra Leone)
• Yek Bir (Sierra Leone)
• SLCD 84 / 3 - Kobora
• SLCD 84 / 4 - Petifu Junction (Sierra Leone)
• Petifor has been seen but this is a corrupted spelling
• SLCD 84 / 6 - Magbundus Swamp
• SLE 6 - Bundulai (Sierra Leone)
• SLE 7 - Kirma (western Sierra Leone)
• SLE 25 - Bonkorkon (Sierra Leone)
• SLE 26 - Laminaya (Sierra Leone)
• SL 89 - Bundulai

• Kirma (Type Locality) - Collected by Etzel & Kessel in 1975 (SLE 7 code).
  This location was known to be circulating in Europe in 1987.
  
• Bonkorkon - Collected by Etzel & Kessel in 1975 (SLE 25 code).
• Bundulai - Collected by Etzel & Kessel in 1975 (SLE 6 code).
  Collected by Busch & Hellner in 1989 (SL 89 code).
• Laminaya - Collected by Etzel & Kessel in 1975 (SLE 26 code).
• Malai - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).
• Petifu Junction - This location is often mistakenly shown as 'Petifor'. Collected in November 1984 by Christian Cauvet & Jérôme Detienne, KCF. Distributed in 1985.
• Yek Bir - Collected by Busch & Hellner in 1989 (SL 89 code).
  
  
  

Given as being near to Kirma, Porto Novo district, Sierra Leone.

Restricted to an area west of Porto Novo to the south of the mouth of the Little Scarcies River, southwestern Sierra Leone.

The range of S.etzeli is overlapped by S.geryi & S.roloffi.

Collected in brooks & swampy areas of forested savannah.
Water temperature (Port Loko District, Sierra Leone ?) measured up to 31'C in rice fields exposed to the sun, pH 5-5.6, DH 1-2'

Collected towards the end of 1975 by V.Etzel & W.Kessel. They were originally called Roloffia sp. 'Etzel's toddi'

They are reported to prefer a shaded tank. Prefers laying in top mops. Eggs take 12-16 days of water incubation. Some breeders have reported leaving the eggs to hatch in the breeding tank where the fry are not harmed by the parents. Growth rate is a little slow with sexual maturity being around 6 months.

Fish will spawn at 1" but eggs are very small. A high percentage prove infertile at this size. Eggs are reportedly better incubated on a layer of wet/moist peat & take 20-24 days.

Tony Pinto in BKA Killinews No.259, March 1987 gives a breeding account as using water of pH 7, DH 2, water temperature 24 - 27°C. 25% water changes were carried out every fortnight.
Pairs should be used for breeding as males can be aggressive towards each other.
It is possible to collect 60 eggs from a pair in a week. Eggs can be layed at all levels but most were laid on sunken peat fibre. Water stored eggs take 2-3 weeks to hatch but they will stand semi-dry incubation on wet peat fibre where they hatch out in 3 weeks.
Fry on hatching are very small & should be started on infusoria for 2-3 weeks. First signs of sexing out was observed at 2 months of age where males start showing the yellow outer margins to the caudal fin. Sexual maturity took 6 months.

Les McCathie reported in BKA Newsletter No.337, October 1993 - The populations Yek Bir, Petifu & Bundulai can be spawned by the natural method & do not eat fry. It was observed though that older & larger fry would predate smaller fry.

This sp. is an expert jumper & no gap should be left in the cover glass.