Epiplatys macrostigma

 EPIPLATYS MACROSTIGMA (Boulenger 1911)

 Originally published as: B.K.A. Information Pamphlet No.35 May 1968

Habitat: Native to the Cameroons and tributaries of the Congo. found in shallow pools covered by thick layers of surface plants. Nature of the water tends to be brackish, the bottom of the pools are thick with decayed vegetation.

Description: Size of males – 2″, femlaes 1.75″. Colour of male: Back olive green to light brown, flanks sea green paling towards the belly, head has two wormlike diagonal lines of carmine red, gill covers pinkish with metallic green showing through. Along the sides of the fish from behind the gills to the root of the caudal fin run four rows of large carmine red spots. The pectoral fins are clear edged with pale green. Pelvic fins are pale yellow at root to clear. Anal yellow with carmine spots. Caudal pale blue green with carmine spotting. Dorsal greenish with carmine spots.

Colour of female: Light yellow brown with rusty brown spots, belly silvery to white with a flush of pink. Fins almost clear but dorsal and anal tipped light green.

Care and Feeding: One of the more exacting of the genus, will not thrive unless given correct conditions of water and feeding. The water should be old and of the brackish nature, the addition of sea salt at one teaspoonful per gallon is of great benefit. The pH should be between 6.4 and 6.8 with a hardness not exceeding 5 degrees German A temperature of 72F. suits for the stock tank and temperatures should not be allowed to fluctuate by more than 2F.

Light must not be too strong, shade can be provided by a tangle of bladderwort or other floating plants.

Feeding can prove a problem as dried foods are not readily taken. However, with a culture of fruit flies available, one may surmount the problem of winter feeding. Daphnia is readily eaten, also mosquito larvae when in season, bloodworm will be taken too but should not be feed too often. White worms are not a favourite at any time and if the worms sink to the bottom, they are likely to be ignored.

Breeding: Not any easy species to breed by any standard. The adult fish need to be conditioned on a diet of midge or mosquito larvae; it is not necessary to separate the sexes. The breeding tank should have six inches of water, preferably rainwater, with a pH of 6.4 and a hardness of 2 German.

The temperature must be close to 78F. and have the stated dose of sea salt added. The base of the tank should have a covering of peat moss. Natural spawning media is best and willow root and bladderwort have been used with equal success, nylon mops may suit if dyed with Permanganate of Potash or some other suitable substance. Spawning takes place in and over the spawning material at the water surface, the male nudging the female into position and then remaining together side by side for some time. Not many eggs are laid per day, 25 being a good score. The eggs are quite small and clear at first changing to yellow in a few days. They hatch in from 11 to 12 days at 76F. The fry are small and require infusoria for the first week of live followed by the usual live foods. The youngsters may be left with the·parents if plenty of cover is available, they seem quite adapt at dodging their hungry folk.

The fry grow rapidly at first but slow down at about 8 weeks. Maturity is not reached until 9 months at the earliest, sexing is possible before this at around the 4-to-6-week stage.

Summary: Very popular some years ago but seems to have fallen out of favour of late, no doubt due to its requirements and lack of co-operation in spawning and of course not a fish for the uncommitted aquarist. It is a very pretty fish but not a species to waste energy with useless activity.

Some years ago a fish was sold as E.grahami but was in fact a colour variation of E.macrostigma. New importations are greatly to be desired, also fresh imports of the true E.grahami.

References:
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