Aphyoplatys duboisi (Poll 1952)

Wild pair from a Congo import into the UK July 2022

Meaning of Name

After the Belgian chemist & aquarist Dubois who bred them in 1952.

First Description

Poll M 1952 c
Notes sur les Cyprinodontidae de Léopoldville avec Description d'une Espéce nouvelle de Genre Epiplatys.
Revue Zoologie et de Botanique Afr., 46 (3 - 4): p 295 - 300, 4 figures.

Size

3·5 cm (Huber in Killie Data). 3 cm in Wildekamp 'A World of Killies' Vol. 1.

Meristics

D = 9-10, A = 14-16, ll = 25-26 Poll 1952.
D = 9, A = 15-17, ll = 24-26 Radda & Pürzl 1987.
D = 10·8, A = 16·6, D/A = 8, ll = 26·2 Huber (Killie Data).

Karyotype

n = 24 (26 arms) Scheel & Romand 1981. See (Killie Data).

Sub-Genus

none

Group

A monospecific genus.

Synonyms

Epiplatys duboisi Poll 1952.
Aphyoplatys duboisi Clausen 1967
Aplocheilus duboisi Scheel 1972
Aplocheilus (Aphyoplatys) duboisi Radda 1980
Epiplatys (Aphyoplatys) duboisi Parenti 1981.

Populations
  • Brazzaville
  • Oyo
  • Kungu
  • Lukunga Marshes
  • Mbamou
  • N'do
  • Ntokou
  • Pool Malebo
  • JH 106
  • JH 110
  • JH 124
  • JH 125

Found in a 2003 import from the Congo to the USA. Wild male.
Photo courtesy of Tony Terceira.

Wild fish taken just after receipt in a commercial import August 2004.
Only one male found originally but later some tiny females were found.

  

 

 

Kungu - Collected close to this location in western Zaire 1935 by Schouteden.
N'do - In the surrounding area of Kinshasa, Zaire. Collected in 1951 by Dubois.
Lukunga Marshes - Zaire. Collected by Lambert in 1970.
Mbamou - An island in the Zaire River. Collected by Huber in 1978 & assigned the code JH 179.
JH 124 - Collected by Huber in 1978 30 km east of Boundji in central Congo.
Ntokou - In the Likouala / Mossaka River. Collected by Huber in 1978 & assigned the code JH 133.
JH 106 - Collected by Huber in 1978 near Gamboma in the N'kenni River, southern Congo.
JH 125 - Collected by Huber in 1978 50 km north of Obouya at the Vouma bridge.
JH 110 - South of Oyo near the Alima ferry in central Congo.
Type Locality

Leopoldville, a small stream near to N'do (N'dolo in Hoedemans book) which is close to Kinshasa.

Distribution

Large distribution area around the upper to mid Zaire River dranage.

Habitat

Streams & small rivers. Stagnant areas over leaf or mud substrate. Water depth measured at 30 cm. This sp. is found at lower water levels.
Sympatric sp. include Adamas formosus, members of the A.elegans group (elegans, chauchei, cognatum, schioetzi?), E.boulengeri, E.chevalieri, Poropanchax myersi.

Distinguishing Characteristics Cannot really be confused with other killies. Adult males show pointed caudal fins. The males body has regular spots with the Oyo population exhibiting chevron markings on the body pointing to the caudal.
Colour/Pattern Variability Not regularly imported although some commercial shipments contain this sp. Given it's large distribution area a wide variability could be expected. The photos & line drawings I have seen show basically the same fish save chevron markings in the Oyo population.
History

Poll described this species from 11 fish caught in the Stanley Pool (now Pool Malebo) area of Congo.

In 1967 Clausen placed the fish in a new genus - Aphyoplatys.

Imported by BKA Species Import in June 1974.

Regularly found in commercial imports from Kinshasa.

Breeding Notes

From my experience with wild fish I found a bag containing over 50 fish laid in bottom mops in a 2' square tank on system with roots from a devils ivy in the tank. I took off about 20 eggs per day. Eggs were quite large for the size of fish but fry were tiny & put into shallow (25mm) green water to start.

Wildekamp in 'World of Killies' Vol.1 considered them sensitive to any form of pollution & regarded regular water changes as a necessity.
Egg numbers are small & layed in fine material mainly near the surface.

John Boylan made this observation on the AKA Newsgroup Nov.2003.....
"I have had success with Aphyoplatys duboisi using water under 50 ppm, temperature
20-22C, with java moss and java fern in the tank. Filtration was a small
sponge filter. The tank was a 5 gal. half-filled. I used a small floating
mop. Fry were fed infusoria. Some fry did pop up in the parents tank. But,
overall I had better success when I picked the eggs. They are a nice fish,
but very shy".

Tony Terceira made this comment on the AKA Newsgroup Nov. 2003...
"I have no trouble maintaining the fish and getting fry. I begin to have
difficulty after F2 and have seldom been able to keep the fish beyond
F3, only once did I make it to F4 ..... eggs hatching seemed to be far
less successful, although the eggs appeared fertile".

Reported on Killie Data as being a sp. for the expert to breed. First food for fry needs to be Paramecium.
Sexual maturity in 8 months with full maturity in 12 months.

Diameter of Egg 1·1 mm.
Remarks

It has been observed that males 'dance' in front of females during courtship.
Tony Terceira (AKA Newsgroup Nov.2003) commented that he found a few of this sp. in an old tank with a pH of 3·9.