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

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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 threatened rheophilic cichlid. T. centisquama dwells on rocky bottom rapids with moderate to strong water flow, It perches solitarily atop boulders, where it maintains its pectoral fins and hind body in contact with the rock and often adopts a sigmoid posture(possibly to maintain hold in the strong current). On boulders …

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

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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 lives in the cracks, gaps and natural caves found in the very specific type of rock found in the river. This is dark brown to black hard igneous rock that, in shallower water, is set in tan-coloured sand. There is very little submerged wood, there are virtually no plants and …

Biotopes of Sierra Leone | Epiplatys annulatus| The Clown Killifish

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The Clown Killifish or Banded Panchax (Epiplatys annulatus) is a species of fish in the family Nothobranchiidae, an African rivuline, native to freshwater habitats in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa. (Fishbase) The climate across its range is hot and wet with a pronounced wet season between April-May and October-November), and most rivers tend to run perennially. The water is generally warm, soft and acidic but much primary rainforest has been destroyed with surviving pockets existing as protected forest reserves in many cases. Kasewe is one such reserve in Moyamba district, Sierra Leone, and comprises an area of …

Biotopes of Sierra Leone | Erpetoichthys calabaricus | The Ropefish

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Ecology The Ropefish, also known as the Reedfish is the only species in the genus Erpetoichthys, and is an incredibly hardy, nocturnal species. Due to its poor vision, the Ropefish relies on its excellent sense of smell to locate food. It’s closely related to the Polypterus genus and both these are some of the last surviving relatives of very ancient species. Fossils of earlier relatives have been found that date back to the Triassic Period, which occurred during the early development of the dinosaurs, more than 200 million years ago. This species is a freshwater species also found in brackish …

Biotopes of Cameroon | Pantodon buchholzi, the African butterflyfish

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The freshwater butterflyfish Pantodon buchholzi (Peters, 1886) are found in lightly acidic, water bodies in West Africa. Typically, they are found in habitats with slow current or standing water with high amounts of surface foliage and/or riparian vegetation for cover. They have been observed in Lake Chad, the Congo Basin, throughout lower Niger, Cameroon, Ogooue, and upper Zambezi, and have also been seen in the Niger Delta, lower Ogooue, and in the lower Cross River. The Eastern distribution limit of the species is reported to be the Ouémé River in Benin, although it is also noted to be found in …

Biotopes of Cameroon| Benitochromis nigrodorsalis

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Benitochromis is a small genus of cichlid fishes that are endemic to riverine and lake habitats in Middle Africa (Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, including the island of Bioko). Several of these species were originally assigned to the genus Chromidotilapia. The genus Benitochromis was erected by Dr Anton Lamboj in 2001 and currently contains six species: B. finleyi, B. batesii, B. conjunctus, B. nigrodorsalis, B. ufermanni and B. riomuniensis. It is also possible that there are a number of other Benitochromis species yet to be described. Benitochromis nigrodorsalis is a benthopelagic, non-migratory species typically occupying habitats with a pH range from …

Another Maidenhead Aquatics branch takes on Naturekind!

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A second Maidenhead Aquatics store has recently opted to stock the popular new advanced fish food formula Naturekind, with positive results! Maidenhead Aquatics at Osterley in Hounslow posted a fantastic video on 15th of this month showing some of their very uncommon Champsochromis caeruleus, a Lake Malawi predator chowing down on the sought-after feed product; check it out below!