After the two horizontal stripes down the body.

Steindachner F. 1881.

Ichthyologische Beiträge (X).Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Abteilung I (Mathimatische-naturwissenschaftliche Classe) 83: p 199-200.

7 cm

• D = 6-7, A = 15, ll = 28 (Steindachner 1881)
• D = 6-7, A = 15-16, ll = 27-28 (Boulenger 1915)
• D = 8, A = 16, ll = 25 (Pellegrin 1922)
• D = 8, A = 16, ll = 27 (Pfaff 1933)
• D = 8-9, A = 15-18, ll = 26-27 (Svensson 1933)
• D = 10, A = 18, ll = 26-27 (+2)(Fowler 1949)
• D = 9, A = 15-16, D/A = +10-12, ll = 27-30 (+1-2)(Berkenkamp & Etzel 1977)
• D = 7-10, A = 14-19, D/A = +9-11, ll = 25-29 (Radda & Pürzl 1987)

n = 20, A = 23, 24 (Scheel 1968, 1974)

Epiplatys

bifasciatus

• Haplochilus bifasciatus Steindachner 1881
• Haplochilus senegalensis var. bifasciatus Garman 1895
• Haplochilus senegalensis (non Steindachner 1870) Garman 1895 (in part)
• Panchax bifasciatus Ahl 1924
• Haplochilus baudoni Pellegrin 1922
• Panchax baudoni Ahl 1924
• Epiplatys baudoni Myers 1933
• Epiplatys bifasciatus Myers 1933
• Panchax taeniatus Pfaff 1933
• Epiplatys taeniatus Myers 1933
• Panchax steindachneri Svensson 1933
• Epiplatys steindachneri Myers 1933
• Epiplatys ndelensis Fowler 1949
• Epiplatys bifasciatus taeniatus Daget 1954
• Epiplatys longianalis Knaak 1970 (nomen nudum)
• Aplocheilus bifasciatus Radda 1971
• Aplocheilus taeniatus Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus (?) baudoni Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus steindachneri Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus ndelensis Scheel 1990

• Aboko
• Agomé Klozou (taeniatus)
• Akosombo
• Anéko (taeniatus)
• Aréré (taeniatus)
• Avetenou
• Bamako
• Bénin (taeniatus)
• Bom
• Bonoua (southern Ivory Coast) (taeniatus)
• Bormako Lida
• Bufa
• Bwiam
• Coyah
• Faranah
• Jebba (BKA Import 1972)
• Kamalon
• Kindia
• Kolda (southwestern Senegal)
• Lagos (taeniatus)
• Laya Souma
• Lower Volta (BKA Import 1969/70)
• Malai
• Masa
• Molajolé (taeniatus)
• Orashi River (taeniatus)
• Sikasso
• Sogo
• Tannougou
• Tavémé (taeniatus)
• Tchékpoé Dédékpoé (southern Togo) (taeniatus)
• Venego TMBB 90/1
• Volta River (taeniatus)
• Wula
• TD05 / 5

Originally given as Bahr el Gebel (sometimes seen as Jebel) but is now called Bahr el Zeraf (white Nile & it's tributary) (southern central Sudan).

A very large area of distribution between Senegal in the west & Sudan in the east of Africa.
Known to have been collected with E.spilargyreius.

http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/homepage/c102/c102mr/epiplaty/bifascia.htm

Variable over such a large distribution area, but they have been found in areas of aquatic vegetation in rivers & swampy areas of savannah. Also found in coastal lagoons.

This sp. favours savannah areas.

Described by Steindachner in 1881 from material caught at Bahr-el-Gebel in the Nile drainage.

Boulenger gives the following collectors / locations in his 1915 Catalogue.

• 1-3. Collected at Lake No by H.H.King
• 4. Collected by Dr.F.Werner at Mongalla, near Gondokoro.

Imported by the BKA from a collection by David Blair 1969/70.

Dick Cox (BKA) had a small import of 6 pairs from Togo on the 25th September 1974. These were distributed in the BKA through the species controller.

History of the synonym Haplochilus baudoni Pellegrin 1922

Pellegrin described this sp. in 1922 from a single specimen collected at Fort Crabel in the Gribingui-Shari-Chad drainage area.
Although meristic data falls into the same range as bifasciatus & spilargyreius a difference in colour patterns was found in that baudoni has a lightly coloured lateral band with scales in the upper area of sides having small red dots. It was noted that both bifasciatus & spilargyreius have an almost complete red reticulation on the sides of males. Type material is kept in the Paris Museum (Natural History).
It could be that this sp. may, after further investigation become a valid sp.

History of the synonym Panchax taeniatus Pfaff 1933

Pfaff described this sp. from 4 specimens collected from Jebba on the Niger River, northern Nigeria. He placed this sp. closest to bifasciatus but seperated it on the grounds of a larger number of fin rays in the dorsal & larger number of scale counts around the body.
Scheel (1968) considered it could not be seperated from bifasciatus on meristic data or colour patterns. Daget, in 1954, considered this sp. as a subspecies of bifasciatus.
Scheel comments in ROTOW 1 p 418 that the holotype & 3 paratypes were probably preserved in formalin as all red pigment had been destroyed. Scheel studied the types & found meristically D = 8, A = 15-16, ll = 26-27. He found the caudal fin damaged but corresponded in shape to singa.
In 1954 Daget reported taeniatus from many localities in Upper Niger drainage areas. In 1957 he reported taeniatus from the Comoé & Volta drainages. In 1961 Gras reported taeniatus from the Lower Oume River, Dahomey.
Scheel (1968) reported his first strain from Share, near Jebba.

History of the synonym Panchax steindachneri Svensson 1934

Svensson described this sp. from around 50 specimens collected in swamps from the McCarthy Island area of Gambia. He based this description on differences noted by Steindachner in Haplochilus senegalensis Steindachner 1870 (see E.spilargyreius). He did mention that they resembled E.bifasciatus from the Nile, Sierra Leone & Cameroon.
In 1948 Daget reported steindachneri from Boffa & Thia (coastal Lower Guinée), Baccoro (Guinée) & Diafarabe (Sudan). In 1954 he placed steindachneri as a synonym of bifasciatus.

History of the synonym E.ndelensis Fowler 1949

Fowler described this species from three specimens collected near Ndele, Ubangui-Shari, Chad drainage. This area is situated at the western foot of the Bongos Mountains, Central African Republic at the Bangoran River, an affluent of the Shari River. Fowler's largest specimen studied was only 25 mm in length.

Regarded as a difficult species to breed in some literature but I found them fairly easy. Eggs take around 14 days to water incubate. Newly hatched fry are small & do best on infusoria as a first food for a few days. Sexual maturity is slow coming at 7-8 months.
Wild fish from the BKA 1969/70 shipment were spawned at 76°F, pH 6·6, 4° German hardness. Eggs were found on submerged peat fibre. Fry were small on hatching & grew on better in planted tanks. Growth rate was slow.

Will adapt & breed in hard alkaline water. I used was tapwater, pH 8.0, DH 10.

Water changes should be given slowly as this species is sensitive to sudden water change.