After Stenholt Clausen

7 cm

D = 14, A = 16, D/A = 4·5, ll = 31

n = 18, A = 29

Populations

• Akure
• Akure 02
• Blauw
• Calabar
• Esa-Oke
• Fornikum
• Idanre
• Igbaja
• Igbetti
• Ijebu-Odé
• Ikinrin
• Ilesha
• Ndeji
• Ondo (near to Akure but in a different drainage system)
• Owo
• Port Harcourt
• Telemu (corrupted to Telimu)

Akure - First collected by Clausen in 1955.
Collected in 1957 when Birket-Smith brought them to Denmark & gave them to Scheel. This form was originally identified as A.calliurum & later A.nigerianum. From this import Scheel sent eggs all over the world between 1958-60 & they became a popular introduction.
An albino form was seen at the AKA convention 1978. These were thought to be offspring from Tom Parker (AKA).
In 2002 the Nigerian football team played in Belgium & brought with them this species from Akure which aquarists called 'Akure 02'. These were distributed to Germany & propagated.
Scheel found eggs from Akure population measured 1 mm in diameter. He found eggs from a Port Harcourt x Akure measured 1·2 - 1·5 mm.

Akure Blauw (referring to the blue pectoral fins).	Akure Blauw	Akure - Circulating in the BKA early 1980's
Akure fed on astaxanthin feeds.		Akure. Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl.
Akure Albino circulating in the US around 1980. Photo: Courtesy of Lennie MacKowiak	Akure Albino	Akure Blue Known to have circulated in the USA. Photo courtesy of Monty Lehmann.
Akure 02. Wild male imported into Belgium in 2002. Photo taken by kind permission from Werner Eigelshofen's site.	Akure Yellow Photo taken by kind permission from Werner Eigelshofen's site.	Akure Blue Photo taken by kind permission from Werner Eigelshofen's site
	Akure Female. Photo courtesy of Tyrone Genade

Calabar - Collected by a Nigerian, Taiwo Oviasuyi & given to Richard Markham. The collecting location was described as being 'just north of Calabar, perhaps 10 km on the road to Ikom'. This population was not established in aquaria.
Collected in a drain on an oil palm plantation which had been formed by clearing the lowland rainforest in the early 1960's.
This biotope was reported to be 'seasonally dry'.

Idanre - Toyin Ojo suggested Idanre to be the correct name. Idanre is located close to Owo in southwest Nigeria.

Owo - Clausen collected this population in 1962 near Owo, east of Akure, western Nigeria & gave Scheel live fish to study in 1962. It was found that this collection only produced yellow phase but if given long enough in the hobby would most likely give blue phase as well.
It is thought the Akure Scheel was breeding may have been crossed with Clausen's Owo fish.
Clausen in 1963 placed Owo in Fp.nigerianus but this area is well inside clauseni distribution area.
Scheel in 1975 placed them in clauseni.

Port Harcourt - In 1961 Ulf Hannerz sent 2 males to Scheel which were caught in the Wokocha River, close to Port Harcourt. Scheel observed that there were 3 times more red spots than the previously studied population from Akure.

Click link to map of gardneri distribution. This comprises all populations I can find on maps. You can zoom in but markers are not accurate to the exact collection spot, just the area which builds up a picture of distribution. map

This section has been split up into seperate pages. Click the population above for more detailed information.

Some reports suggest incubating eggs on moist peat for 21 days at a temperature of 68-70'F.

Dave Ramsey's page with photos of an unusually coloured Akure http://www.djramsey.com/tropfish/akure_variant.htm