Aphyosemion australe

Aphyosemion australe
Golden variety of Aphyosemion australe Male
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Nothobranchiidae
Genus: Aphyosemion
Species: A. australe
Binomial name
Aphyosemion australe
(Rachow, 1921)

Aphyosemion australe (Cape Lopez lyretail, lyretail panchax) is a species of freshwater fish belonging to the Nothobranchiidae family. It is found around Cape Lopez and in surrounding areas in Gabon.[1]

Appearance

A. australe comes in a wide range of colours. The most common are chocolate, gold, and orange. Males can reach a length of around 6 cm, with females being slightly smaller. The caudal fin is lyre-shaped, which is characteristic of the genus. The females also are less colourful; their body colouration is brownish tan, and they have rounder fins.[2]

In the aquarium

The Cape Lopez lyretail is one of the most popular and commonly available species of killifish. It requires extremely soft water if it is to reproduce successfully. It spawns in fine-leafed water plants, such as the Water Bladderwort, or in aquatic moss in the genus Fontinalis. The fry emerge after 14 days at a preferred temperature of 26 °C (79 °F). They adapt well to any variety of commercially prepared foods, flake or frozen livefoods.[3]

References

  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Aphyosemion australe" in FishBase. August 2013 version.
  2. http://www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/articles/16-breeding/124-care-and-breeding-of-aphyosemion-australe
  3. Faith, D.P., C.A.M. Reid and J. Hunter, 2004. Integrating phylogenetic diversity, complementarity, and endemism for conservation assessment,. Conser. Biol. 18(1):255-261.

External links

Fishbase

IUCN Red List