After Dr. E.Decorse who originally collected this species with Auguste Chevalier.

Pellegrin J. 1904.

Cyprinodontidés nouveaux du Congo et de l'Oubanghi.

Bulletin de Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 10 (5), p 223.

Males 5 cm, females slightly smaller.

D = 8-9, A = 13-14, ll =25-28 (Pellegrin 1904)(Scheel examined these preserved fish & found the lateral line scale count to be 28-32 with a mean number of 30).

Aphyosemion

elegans

• Haplochilus Decorsei Pellegrin 1904
• Haplochilus decorseii Pellegrin 1904
• Haplochilus decorsii Boulenger 1911
• Panchax decorsei Ahl 1924
• Epiplatys decorsei Poll 1951
• Aphyosemion decorsei Scheel 1968

• Bangui - 85
• Bombala
• Ignoli
• Mondimbi
• Mobaye (Central African Republic)
• Yaloké (Central African Republic)
• A.affinis decorsei
• GHP 82 / 20
• HZ 85 / 8
• JH 78 / 106 - Nkenni River
• JH 78 / 110 - Oyo
• JH 78 / 111 - Tchika Pika
• JH 78 / 124 - 30km East Boundji
• JH 78 / 125 - 50km North Obouya
• KCF 5 - Bangui
• RCA 82 / 3 - Bagandou
• RCA 91 / 01 - Kapou
• RCA 91 / 02
• RCA 91 / 03

Ref: KCF website

RCA 82/3 - This code may be a corruption of RCA 83/2 as I can find no record of the 1982 collection. Jouke Vdz also kindly informed me of an article in Killi Revue (KCF) October 1984 of the 1983 collection by Pierre Moreau.

Bessou (north of the Oubanghi River)(modern maps do not show this location apart from a Bessou River of southern Central African Republic.).

The middle Oubanghi River drainage system of southern Central African Republic. Their range is also thought to extend into northern Congo & northern Zaire.

The type locality appears to be seperated from the Central Congo drainage by rapids.

Rainforested areas where they inhabit small streams, brooks & swampy areas.

Pellegrin based his original description on 5 specimens collected by Chevalier & Decorse at Bessou (Oubanghi?) which is situated in the northern area of the Central Congo drainage. He considered them closest to Aplocheilichthys spilauchen.
According to Poll in an article written in 1952 Bessou is 300 km east of Bangui.

In 1924 Myers reservedly placed them in Aphyosemion whereas Poll in 1952 put them in Epiplatys.

M.W.Jones reported in BKA newsletter No. 334, July 1993. The fish were nervous & laid in 'spasms'. Fish bred in pH 6·6, GH 5 at 72°F. Eggs hatched in 14-21 days at a temperature of 72°F. These were all female.

Norbert Kuhlman in BKA newsletter No. 334, July 1993 reported that they prefer to lay in bottom mops. Eggs were collected daily & stored on moist peat. Storing at 24°C the eggs eyed up rapidly but at different rates. First eggs eyed up in 12 days. He waited a further 7 days so as to get a bigger uniform hatch but these early eyed up eggs died.
He tried water storing the eggs with tank water with a small amount of Methylene blue. No eggs fungussed in water of 24°C. Fry hatched in 12-15 days. Fry were unfortunately lost at 3 weeks.
Best results were found by leaving the fish to a natural set up. Fry were found in the tank & were not touched by the parents. He found a total of 32 young which were transferred into a rearing tank.
Fry took Artemia immediately & were old enough to breed at 6 months.

A KCF breeder recommends infusoria be fed to newly hatched fry for 3-4 days.