Refers to the ocellus (spot) on the body behind the gill covers.

Huber J.H. & Radda A.C. 1977.

Cyprinodontiden Studien in Gabon IV. Das du Chaillu Massiv.

Aquaria Vol. 24: 99-100

4.5 cm

• D = 11-12, A = 15-16, D/A = +8-9, ll = 31-32(+0-3) (Huber & Radda 1977)
• D = 11-12, A = 15-16, ll = 31-33(+2) (Radda & Pürzl 1987)

n = 15, A = 27 (Scheel 1981)

Mesoaphyosemion

coeleste

None

• Iméno Mbila - Southern Gabon GHP 80 ?
• BBW 00 / 8
• BBW 00 / 9
• BBW 00 / 10
• BBW 00 / 11
• BBW 00 / 17
• BBW 00 / 18
• BBW 00 / 19
• BBW 00 / 20
• BBW 00 / 21
• BSWG 97 / 15
• BSWG 97 / 17
• BSWG 97 / 18 - Ngoumbanga
• BSWG 97 / 20
• BSWG 97 / 21
• EBT 96 / 17
• EBT 96 / 18
• EBT 96 / 19 - Same as GEB 94/14
• EBT 96 / 20 - Same as PEG 96/22
• EBT 96 / 21 - Same as G 20/76
• G 76 / 20
• G 20 / 76 - Mimongo
• G 21 / 79 - Malinga
• G 22 / 76 - Epamboua
• G 80 / 8
• GBN 88/17 - Nzenzélé
• GEB 94 / 11
• GEB 94 / 12
• GEB 94 / 13
• GEB 94 / 15
• GEB 94 / 16 - 1 km N Baposso
• GEB 94 / 19 - 2 km N Malinga. Same as BSWG 97/17
• GJS 00 / 5 - 10 km Sikasika - West of Mimongo
• GJS 00 / 13 - Malinga
• GJS 00 / 14 - Malinga
• JH 208 - 8 km N Mbigou
• JH 210 - 10 km N Baposso
• JH 211 - North of Malinga
• JH 214 - Malinga
• PEG 93 / 5 -
• PEG 93 / 6 - Bingamamba
• PEG 93 / 7 - 6 km S Mbigou
• PEG 93 / 8 - 18 km N Mbigou
• PEG 93 / 9 - 3 km E Mimongo
• PEG 93 / 10 - 4·7 km E Moukabou
• PEG96 / 6
• PEG 96 / 9
• PEG 96 / 22 - Same as EBT 96/20
• PEG 96 / 23
• PEG 96 / 24
• PEG 96 / 25
• TDK 97 / 4 - 14 km SE Mbigou to Malinga
• TDK 97 / 8 - Mbono
• TDK 97 / 9 - 1·5 km south of Mbono
• TDK 97 / 16 - 7 km south west of Diyanga

BSWG 97 / 18 - Ngoumbanga.

G76 / 20 - Regarded as a very beautiful blue form.

Sikasika - Mogens Juhl commented in an E-mail to me that this location " Was a narrow, quite deep stream 50-100 cm wide and 50 cm deep.
The water was unclear - almost greyish and did indeed have a nasty smell!
In the highlands we often discovered, that the locals used the small streams to wash out the cyanide of manioc/cassava. They put the roots in sacks that were placed in large amounts in the streams and close to the roads.
When the cyanide was washed out, they peeled the roots and left the wastes in huge bunches in the stream. I found many healthy and big Ct.nanum hiding in these bunches.
Sikasika was indeed the worse of those manioc wash places. We found it to be a very unpleasant stream to collect in and only continued as long as necessary to secure enough specimens of both (A.joergenscheeli also) species".
He also commented that they were collected at an altitude of 500 metres, water temperature 21·7°C, pH 6·4, conductivity 17 microsiemens.

6km from Mimongo on the road towards Lebamba between Lamandou & Magagara on the Du Chaillu Massif (G20 / 76).

The inland plateau, on hilly regions of the Du Chaillu Massiv. They inhabit the upper Ngounié & Migoto-Ogoulou River drainage systems of southern Gabon & western Congo.

Small flowing streams 10 - 30cm deep. pH 5, DH 0.25, water temperature 20.5'C (type locality, which was a fast flowing brook at approx. 500m altitude).
Friedrich Bitter in BKA Newsletter 293 (Feb.1990) found them in open water with little current in dense populations by the roadside. Local children caught these as a food fish.

Collecting place of A.ocellatum & A.hofmanni, Du Chaillu Massif, Gabon.
Photo: Courtesy of Ed Pürzl.

Collecting point for A.ocellatum TBT 98 / 9, from west of Yano on road to Malinga.

See A.joergenscheeli for another biotope photo.

First collected by J.H.Huber & A.C.Radda on their collecting trip to Gabon in 1976. The type locality being near Mimongo. They also collected them at location G22 / 76 which is near to Epamboua.

Huber returned to Gabon in 1979 & caught them at Malinga. This population was reported as being "almost totally blue - violet on the flanks". Also, this population had a greater intensity of orange on the un-paired fins.

First distributed in the BKA around 1979. A later shipment was distributed by Species Import Committee in September 1980.

Regarded as a difficult species to breed. Cool water of 19-24°C has been used effectively. Water incubation takes around 14-21 days with sexual maturity taking 7-8 months. Growth is slow.

Paul Hoskisson 27/02/02 (BKA) commented that he 'found that lower temps (18-22°C) produced more viable eggs (at 22-26°C all the eggs turned white)'. He 'kept them around pH 6·5-7 and <10 DH at these temps.....They were not very prolific, and all the fry I managed to rear were male!! The fry are quite slow growing also'.

John Holt 27/02/02 (BKA) found that a temperature of 65-70°F worked well on this sp. Regular water changes & a handful of peat fibre are useful additions. Eggs are sometimes found in top mops & sometimes in bottom mops.