Chris Englezou, Author at CE Fish Essentials

Biotopes of Indonesia

What exactly do we know about the critically endangered freshwater fish Parosphromenus gunawani?

The Licorice Gouramies The genus Parosphromenus sits discreetly within the taxonomic subfamily of the Macropodusinae, often overshadowed by the popularity of the Betta, Macropodus, and even the Trichopsis. Still, these little bursts of colour and iridescence truly are the gold dust of the Gouramis, somewhat like Bettas, but better! Parosphromenus

20th December 2023 No Comments

Biotope

Biotopes of South Africa | Pseudocrenilabrus philander | The Southern Mouthbrooder

Pseudocrenilabrus philander is arguably one of the most underrated fish species found in the aquarium hobby, albeit rarely. In nature, it is known from a wide range of habitats, including streams, lakes, and ponds and some populations are even known to exist in slightly brackish waters¹. The species is found

14th November 2020 No Comments

Biotope

The Rio Files: Rheophilic species and their biotopes | Teleocichla centisquama

Teleocichla centisquama was described as a new species from the region of Altamira along the Rio Xingu in 2002 by scientists, Ivan Sazima and Jansen Zuanon. The following article includes excerpts from the species description and outlines a little about the habitat, plights and behaviour of this endearing, but highly

9th April 2020 No Comments

Biotope

Biotopes of Zambia | Neolebias lozii, a critically endangered fish from the Barotse floodplains

Neolebias lozii, also known as the Banded Neolebias is a species of critically endangered Characin in the Distichodontidae family. The two sites where the species has been found are less than 2 km apart and the streams meet <5 km downstream, and the area of occurrence consists of only a

5th April 2020 No Comments

Biotope

Biotopes of Cameroon | Aphyosemion ahli | Ahl’s Killifish

Aphyosemion ahli Myers, 1933 is a Lower Guinea endemic found in the Wouri River in western Cameroon and southward to the Rio Benito drainage system in western Equatorial Guinea. It occurs in swamps and quiet parts of brooks under forest cover in the coastal lowlands (Wildekamp et al. 1986). It

31st March 2020 No Comments

Biotope

Biotopes of Brasil | Rio Xingu, home of the Zebra Pleco

The Zebra pleco Hypancistrus zebra is endemic to the middle of Brazil’s Rio Xingu (pronounced shin goo) and is among the list of catfish species at risk from the Belo Monte dam. It lives at a depth where the surroundings are, at best, pretty gloomy, if not completely dark. It

29th February 2020 No Comments

Biotope

Biotoping for charity at the Fish Barn

This Sunday just passed I was invited by the guys over at the well known aquatic store The Fish Barn in Crawley, West Sussex to join them for their “Discus Day” event. The event started at 10am, went on until the late afternoon around 5pm and as well as the

11th July 2018 No Comments

Ichthyology

Does the river blenny Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) still survive on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus? – Zogaris et al 2014

The river blenny (Salaria fluviatilis) is rarely mentioned in the natural history literature of Cyprus. This has led to doubts about its existence there. Mistakes with mismatched fish collections have occurred in the past, so it is worth asking whether the recorded specimens are actually from Cyprus and whether the

14th April 2018 No Comments

Chris Englezou

Current status of the Mediterranean Killifish (Aphanius fasciatus) in Malta | A Complex Conservation Question

Between the 21st-26th March 2017 I had the opportunity to visit each of five known localities for the Mediterranean Killifish Aphanius fasciatus on the island of Malta. The Killifish is locally known as “Buzaqq” and has historically inhabited brackish to hypersaline habitats at Marsa, Marsaxlokk, Marsaskala, Salini and Għadira. Salini The

30th March 2017 5 Comments

Biotope

Recreating the Atabapo | Biotope Seminar & Workshop in Malta

Last week I flew over to the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta as an invited guest to speak at the “Journey into an Aquarium” seminar which took place at the National Aquarium Malta. This event was organised by Andy Bugeja of Aqualine Malta, the Maltese distribution agent for Naturekind Advanced

28th March 2017 5 Comments

Biotope

The birth of the wild aquarium | a tool for conservation

Almost five years ago, artist and river explorer Ivan Mikolji uploaded a video to the infamous video sharing site Youtube which would change the direction of the aquarium hobby forever, sparking a new wave of interest in nature and natural aquarium fishkeeping. To an outsider, a non-fish-keeper, the “Wild Aquarium”

26th March 2017 1 Comment

Biotope

Biotopes of India | The Western Ghats, Mountain Streams to Mangrove Swamps

It is the middle of the dry season in the Western Ghats; I am here in the mountains of southern India at 3000ft above sea level on the border of two states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and I am surrounded by dense jungle. The temperature during the day is not

25th March 2017 5 Comments

Biotope

Biotope Aquarium Set-Up at Maidenhead Aquatics, Melksham

This weekend I had the pleasure and honour of been invited to Melksham by the aquatic chain store Maidenhead Aquatics to take part in the Wiltshire Plecos & Catfish Study Group gathering. The events are held at different times throughout the year in the aim of bringing fishkeeping enthusiasts of

20th March 2017 5 Comments

Biotope

Lecture and Biotope Workshop for the British Cichlid Association

This past weekend I had the distinct privilege to be invited to speak at the British Cichlid Association summer convention at the Brittania Hotel in Wigan. I was also asked to do one of my biotope aquarium workshops which teach fish keepers how to recreate a natural aquatic habitat in

20th March 2017 No Comments

Biotope

Rio Nanay biotope workshop at Maidenhead Aquatics in Melksham

This weekend I was invited once again over to Melksham by Maidenhead Aquatics to demonstrate another authentic biotope aquarium set-up. On my last visit here I showed how to recreate the Rio Atabapo during the high water season and this time after consulting with the Maidenhead team about what options we

20th March 2017 4 Comments

The Home of Biotoping

Author: Chris Englezou

What exactly do we know about the critically endangered freshwater fish Parosphromenus gunawani?

Biotopes of South Africa | Pseudocrenilabrus philander | The Southern Mouthbrooder

The Rio Files: Rheophilic species and their biotopes | Teleocichla centisquama

Biotopes of Zambia | Neolebias lozii, a critically endangered fish from the Barotse floodplains

Biotopes of Cameroon | Aphyosemion ahli | Ahl’s Killifish

Biotopes of Brasil | Rio Xingu, home of the Zebra Pleco

Biotoping for charity at the Fish Barn

Does the river blenny Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801) (Actinopterygii: Perciformes) still survive on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus? – Zogaris et al 2014

Current status of the Mediterranean Killifish (Aphanius fasciatus) in Malta | A Complex Conservation Question

Recreating the Atabapo | Biotope Seminar & Workshop in Malta

The birth of the wild aquarium | a tool for conservation

Biotopes of India | The Western Ghats, Mountain Streams to Mangrove Swamps

Biotope Aquarium Set-Up at Maidenhead Aquatics, Melksham

Lecture and Biotope Workshop for the British Cichlid Association

Rio Nanay biotope workshop at Maidenhead Aquatics in Melksham