ARK - Arizona Rivulin Keepers

The following is from the personal website of Olivier Legros. It is offered here with the with the author's permission.

It has been translated using Babel Fish and then edited by Allan Semeit.

Habitats of Chromaphyosemion

The primary habitat of Chromaphyosemion species is generally the small backwaters in the coastal forests. They can, however, be found in biotopes characterized as degraded forest as long as there is sufficient overhead shade and/or abundant vegetation (with grass or branches falling into water) along the stream.

Under the forest canopy, because of insufficient sunlight, there is practically no aquatic vegetation. Plant species that may be present are: Crinum natans, Nymphea sp., Anubias sp. ...

When overhead cover is reduced or absent (such as savannah or the degraded forest habitats), aquatic plants will be more numerous.

Chromaphyosemions are found among the roots of Anubias and other aquatic plants, in emergent vegetation that grows in shallow waters, and among trees and bushes that have fallen into the water.

Chromaphyosemion species primary populate areas with sedimentary soils. Some species are found in regions of basaltic rocks and gravel.

They prefer water where there is a slow, almost limpid, current. The current may even be nonexistent in pools that become isolated from lowering water levels. On the other hand, some Chromaphysemion species inhabit the streams on the slope of Mount Cameroon and these can be fast-moving waters.

All kinds of killifish are numerous in these backwaters and pools. For example we collected A. loenbergii with A. amieti and A. edeanum (near the busy Edea-Yaounde crossroads), A. riggenbachi and A. puerzli (20 km north of Bonépoupa). Other examples of this are quoted in the literature. Thus, at Ijebu Ode (south Nigeria), one person collected not less than ten species!

Chromaphyosemion are found along with members of calliurum super-species throughout most of their distribution range. Where the land rises to the inland plateau (SE Cameroon), this super-species is replaced by the cameronense super-species.

Semi-annual killifish, such as Fundulopanchax and Paludopanchax occur in the isolated pools or ponds close to the backwaters. Catfish, Ctenopoma sp., characins, barbs, and cichlids constitute the predators of Chromaphyosemion .

Characteristics of water :

Temperatures of water: from 23 to 29°C in general.
pH: 5 to 7 except on the volcanic grounds where it can reach 8.
dH: 0 to 4 (up to 6 on volcanic grounds).

Piscicultural example of fauna in Nigeria :

In a side-arm and marshy extension of the Ogbe river, south of Benign City:
- A.bitaeniatum
- Chromidotilapia G guntheri
- Pelvicachromis pulcher
- P. taeniatus
- Hemichromis cristatus ,
- H. fasciatus ,
- Tilapia zillii ,
- Alestes longipinnis.

Foods :

The only food source appears to come from small insects falling from the vegetation overhanging the water level. The author, during a period of attentive observation at Nkonga (6 km north of Pouma, Cameroon) could not detect any aquatic animal food likely to be digested by A. loennbergii. The aquatic shrimps and spiders seemed to be predators rather than prey. Only the terrestrial black ants appeared to be possible prey.