N. palmqvisti is a fairly easy annual African species of killifish that has been a standby in the hobby for some time, in both location-named and aquarium strains.It is, as one aquarist puts it, “a nice little fish, indeed,” being adaptable, active, and pretty. Although it supposedly prefers cool temperatures (68F), it can live very happily under warmer conditions and makes a good community tank addition as well.
It is also a fish that has been the subject of considerable confusion over the years, particularly with N. foerschi and N. sp. mugeta, and to some extent with N. vosseleri. This confusion ispartly due to human error and partly due to the changing knowledge of Nothobranchius taxonomy.
Nothobranchius foerschi
Although similar to N. palmqvisti (and for a time actually called N. palmqvisti Dar Es Salaam) N. foerschi has now been determined to be a separate species. Like N. palmqvisti, N. foerschi is an easy Notho, similar to N. guentheri, N. elongatus, and N. rupriprinnis in terms of husbandry.
Nothobranchius sp. Mugeta
N. sp. Mugetais a separate and distinctly different species from the interior (high) plains of Tanzania, and is extremely rare in the hobby. Ithas been collected from the exact same location and introduced to the hobby on three separate occasions, the most recent being a collection in 1993 by Brian Watters, Ian Sainthouse, and Mike Agnew (N. sp. Mugeta TAN 93/17). The fish has proven difficult to maintain over the long term, and has probably disappeared from the hobby. If you have N. sp. Mugeta in your fishroom and it looks suspiciously like N. palmqvisti, you most likely do have N. palmqvisti, for a misidentified N. palmqvisti has long been circulating in the hobby under the Mugeta name. A notable difference between the twois egg size; true N. sp. Mugeta eggs are considerably larger than those of N. palmqvisti.
Nothobranchius vosseleri
N. vosseleri was originally described in 1924, on the basis of a female specimen, and for a long time was regarded as a synonym of N. palmqvisti.
However, in 1995 Brian Watters, Ruud Wildekamp, and Ian Sainthouse collected a number of wild Nothobranchius, among them several that they identified as N. vosseleri. Brought into the hobby from this collecting venture were: N. vosseleri Korogwe North TAN 95/17, N. vosseleri Korogwe South TAN 95/18, and N. vosseleri Mombo TAN 95/19.
This is, reports Brian Watters, a fairly easy species to maintain and to breed. Populations are prolific, and have a relatively short incubation time of 2-4 months.
— G.C.K.A. Newsletter, September 1997