John Rosenstock & Jesper Enemark
Ghana is
situated in West Africa and borders to the south to the Gulf of Guinea and the
Atlantic Ocean, to the north to Burkina Faso (the former Upper Volta), to the
west to the Ivory Coast, and to the east to Togo. It is almost rectangular in
shape and stretches 536 km. from east to west and 672 km from north to south.
With an area of approx. 240.000 square
km., its size lies somewhere between Minnesota and Michigan, and about the size
as Great Britain.
Denmark
used to be in control of part of present day Ghana (at the time called the Gold
Coast) via a number of forts from 1642 to 1850, where the Danish possessions
were sold to the Englishmen, who already constituted the colonial power in the
rest of present day Ghana. Several Danish forts and estates are still there,
and the parliament of Ghana is e.g. still to be found in a former Danish castle
(with the same name as the one that harbors the Danish parliament, namely
Christiansborg).
Ghana is
generally flat and the highest point is only 900 m. above sea level. The low
height and the proximity to the Equator means a tropical climate, where day
temperatures over 30 centigrade is the rule and night temperatures almost as
high, at least in the densely populated southern part of the country along the
Atlantic coast, where one also finds the capital, Accra. The rainy season is
most often from March-April until September, with most precipitation in
May-June.
In the
eastern part of the country, close to the Togolese border, you will find the
Volta River, part of the dammed Lake Volta that supplies most of the country
with energy. Roughly speaking, the eastern part of the coast is warm and
relatively dry, the western part of the coast is warm and humid, whereas the northern
up-country part is warm and very dry (savanna).
The
vegetation is consequently also considerably more vigorous and dense in the
western part of the country, as also reflected in the killie-species found
there. True tropical rainforest that used to be widespread has given way to
felling, crops, and settlement and now to be experienced in national parks
only.
The
rainforests of Africa close to the Equator is divided into a western and an
eastern part by the “Dahomey Gap” – a band of savanna stretching over Benin
(until 1975 called Dahomey), Togo, and the eastern Ghana. Dahomey Gap has thus
constituted a barrier to the spreading westwards of the Aphyosemion- and to a
considerable extent also the Fundulopanchax-species. And even if it is possible
to find Fundulopanchax- and Epiplatys-species on both sides of the Dahomey Gap,
you do not find the same species on both sides (with the exception of
the savanna-living Ep. bifasciatus and Ep. spilargyreius, both spreading over a
5000 km. wide belt across equatorial Africa).
15-20
killie-species are known from Ghana.
Fp. walkeri
is the only Fundulopanchax found west of the Dahomey Gap. The type locality is
Bokitsa Mine in Ghana and the distribution area Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Found also with crossbars, by some considered as a subspecies (Fp. walkeri
spurelli). Both forms are relatively easily available in the hobby.
Pronothobranchius kiyawensis is a savanna-dwelling
species with a huge distribution area – from the Gambia in the westernmost West
Africa over Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, and possibly to Chad. A quite variable
species, and has as a consequence been described as three different species: as
Nothobranchius kiyawensis by Ahl in 1928 (from Kiyawe River, Nigeria); as
Fundulus gambiensis by Svensson
in 1933 (from the Gambia), and as Aphyosemion seymouri by Loiselle & Blair
in 1971 (from Ghana). It constitutes a sort of an intermediate form between
Nothobranchius and Fundulopanchax (genetically being closer to the latter in
spite of the name). A very popular fish that has been in the hobby from time to
time – the last time in 2001 – but has as a rule turned out to be difficult to
deal with and every time disappearing quickly from the hobby.
Fundulosoma
thierryi is a small fish (about 3 cm.) that to some extent shares both
distribution area and biotope with kiyawensis. A population from Ghana (GH
94/1) appears in shows from time to time, but the species must be considered
relatively rare in the hobby.
Archiaphyosemion
petersi belongs to the former “Roloffia”-species. It has a rather limited
distribution area in the border area between the eastern part of the Ivory
Coast and the western part of Ghana. The population from “Banco Park” from the
Ivory Coast is in the hobby.
Epiplatys
is represented with the above-mentioned Ep. bifasciatus and Ep. spilargyreius,
both with a huge distribution area. Besides, there is Ep. dageti, distributed
in the three adjoining states Liberia, the Ivory Coast, and Ghana, and Ep.
chaperi (Ivory Coast-Ghana-Togo). Some
authors recognize subspecies of chaperi such as Ep. chaperi sheljuzhkoi, Ep.
chaperi schreiberi and Ep. chaperi samborskii.
Finally,
Ghana is the home for lampeyes such as Poropanchax normani and rancureli,
Micropanchax pfaffi, Rhexipanchax schioetzi, Aplocheilichthys spilauchen and
possibly Foerschichthys nigeriensis (until recently known as Foerschichthys
flavipinnis, when it turned out that flavipinnis, described by Meinken in 1932,
had already been described three years earlier by Brüning as nigeriensis).
As you can
see there is a lot of interesting stuff for a “killiot” passing by here.
At the end
of 2005, the junior author was stationed in Ghana’s capital, Accra, for The
Danish Association for the Disabled, working for the Ghanaian sister-organization.
He is a former aquarist and his interest in tropical fishes is intact. He
traveled together with his wife, Katja, who is a daughter of the senior author.
They lived in Ghana from December 2005 until September 2007.
John
Rosenstock is chairman of the Scandinavian Killifish Association. He has often
traveled in Africa and collected many species that he has brought into the
hobby, primarily Nothobranchius. He visited his daughter and son-in-law twice
in 2006.
In
connection with the first visit (in February 2006), we contacted a local
exporter. He showed us a long list of species that he was able to supply,
including some of the above-mentioned, e.g. Fp. walkeri to a wholesale price of
two US$ each, transport exclusive, if one bought 100 specimens. We visited his
facility that consisted of two rows of double concrete tanks, outdoor and with
a light cover. Unfortunately, he had few species only at the time of our visit,
and he has subsequently changed fully to saltwater.
During
John’s first visit in February 06, we prioritized looking for kiyawensis,
thierryi, and walkeri.
We first
visited the nature reserve Shai Hills, a one-hour drive north of Accra, where
kiyawensis has been reported. Everything was, however, very dry in February,
and it was hard to find anything containing water in Shai Hills, except a pond
with crocodiles. Neither had the ranger responsible for fishes, ever heard
about kiyawensis.
Jesper later found Ep. bifasciatus at two
localities near Shai Hills (GH 06-1 and GH 06-2). Locality GH 06-1[1] was a culvert under the main road from Tema to Akosombo at the foot of Krobo
Mountain at
kilometerstone 54. The water collects there during the rainy season and the
hole was pretty deep, around to meters, the water depth however varying over
the year. Grass and a few low shrubs encircled it, but hardly any shadow over
the water. The surface area was around 20 square meters. Apart from
bifasciatus, the habitat contained small cichlids and many barbs.
Locality GH
06-2 was also a culvert under a road, about 10 km. from GH 06-1 as the crow
flies(2).
This one
had a more permanent character as a small stream flowed through it. There was
dense vegetation along the edges consisting of water lilies and other aquatic
plants and thus ample hiding places for the fishes. Around the pool were also
some trees, yielding good shade, and also quite some bird life. Apart from
bifasciatus, the pool also contained cichlids, barbs and a few elephant-nose
fishes (Mormyridae). Both localities were easily accessible and visible
directly from the road.
The only
necessary equipment was a pair of wellingtons.
In February
06, we also tried to find Bokitsa Mine, reportedly habitat for walkeri as well
as chaperi and petersi. It turned out that the now disused mine covered an area
of several square kilometers with a net of crisscrossing dirt roads, and it was
not possible with certainty to identify the original locality. We found nothing
but Tilapia at the place we supposed to be the right one(3).
By and
large, locality names often give a false sense of exactness. Another
walkeri-locality is Kumasi – but with over 1.5 million inhabitants, Kumasi is
the second-largest city in Ghana and it is thus not easy to know where one
should start searching.
Another
walkeri-locality, Kutunse, maybe gives associations to a brook in the
rainforest. We visited Kutunse,
actually a suburb of Accra, and intersected by a wide freeway. At a culvert
close to the “Kutunse”-sign, we found a small, shallow creek with
gravel-bottom, 50-100 cm. wide,[4] but again, we found Tilapia only, and walkeri is one of the species that we
never managed to find.
After
John’s return to Denmark, Jesper continued looking for killies. A main tarmac
road runs from Accra to the east to Volta River and the border to Togo. This
main road runs through the area known as Accra Plains – an up to 80 km. wide
belt along the coast from Accra and almost to Togo.
Jesper
found here thierryi(5) and
sent a few specimens to Denmark; the males, however, died in transport. At the
same locality, he later found kiyawensis also. When the two of us visited the
place in November 06, the pool had shrunk to about 20 square meters, extremely
muddy and with no vegetation in the water. German hardness (DH) less than 3, pH
about 6.4, water temperature (at 10.30 a.m.) 32 degrees C., air temperature 35
degrees C. Twenty minutes of fishing yielded two kiyawensis males only.
Jesper
furthermore found thierryi further eastwards along the same Accra-Ada-road,
i.e. between Sege and Koluedor, approx. 52 km. from Tema. We revisited the place the 19th November 06
and found a lot of thierryi. It was a fairly long pool along the main road,
approx. 3-5 x 100 meters, densely overgrown with water lilies. At 11 a.m. the
water temperature was 28 degrees C., air temperature 37 degrees C., water
values as above. Apart from thierryi, the pool also contained barbs(6).
Further along the Accra-Ada-road, Jesper found in
July a fairly similar habitat with lots of kiyawensis and a few thierryi. Again
a protracted roadside pool with lots of water lilies, 3-5 meters wide and maybe
a couple of hundred meters long (7) .
When we visited the place in November to collect
kiyawensis, the situation was the opposite: there was few kiyawensis only - the
place, however, teemed with thierryi.
Based upon
aquarium observations, we assume that this phenomenon may be due to thierryi
being much easier to water-incubate and thus securing a steady supply of
thierryi, whereas kiyawensis hatch more or less exclusively when the rains
start. Another explanation might be that the two species mainly stayed at
different places in the pool at different times.
We found DH less than 3, pH 6.8, water temperature
at 12.30 p.m. 31 degrees C., air temperature 37 degrees C.
A local man
informed us that there was a lot more kiyawensis at a place nearby. The place
turned out to be situated 5-600 meters behind the pool. When we arrived there
he got, however, somewhat uneasy, because the “stream” he had referred to, was
nothing but a 15-20 cm. wide furrow with some grayish silt and a few
centimeters depth. Anyway, he started trustily – together with his wife and a
child – digging in the mud with his hands and after first digging up some
Tilapia, the family also managed to dig out some kiyawensis of the mud.
Unfortunately, we did not bring the camera to this detour and thus have no
photo of the place, but as so often before, after seeing how the fishes live in
their natural habitats, one may wonder how we manage to kill the fishes in our
tanks. As the fishes from this place were only a few hundred meters away from
the pool and the whole area was flat with a few scattered trees, we have chosen
the same locality name, i.e. “”Ada GH 06-5” and it is thierryi and kiyawensis
from this locality we have spread in the hobby.
The whole
area, from somewhat east of Accra and until Volta River, is a flat grassy plain
with scattered vegetation and lots of roadside pools. Jesper also found
kiyawensis closer to Ada, but we did not find any in November (8). It seems evident that there are hundreds of
biotopes for thierryi and kiyawensis in the area between Accra and the Togolese
border. Without our knowledge, another team was hunting for killies in Ghana in
2006 (October), viz. David Armitage and Tony Pinto, whose route was more to the
east and north than ours. They also found thierryi (more eastward) and they
have chosen to name their collection “GHN” (see reference list).
We found
Epiplatys dageti many places in the western part, i.e. within 100 km. from the
border to the Ivory Coast. We brought specimens from one locality back to
Europe, collected at Ndatiem just before the sign to Axim Beach Hotel. This
locality was a small stream, 30-50 cm. wide and a water depth of 15-25 cm.
Gravel bottom, some water lilies and a slight current in the water. Water
temperature at 3 p.m. 26 degrees C., DH close to 0, pH 6.2.(9).
At the same place we found a lampeye that we were not able to identify. We
found dageti a few more places in the area,(10)
not far from Ankobra Beach Resort. The whole area is heavily vegetated with
coco-, banana- and oil palms.
The area is
only approx. 30 km. from Agona, where
Ep. chaperi “Angona” is supposed to come from (Angona supposed to be a
misspelling of Agona). We did not fish around Agona, though. Another area with
many dageti was near Nkroful, where we found dageti literally everywhere where
there was water, in a couple of cases syntop with a Neolebias-species.(11).
It was
noteworthy that the males were quite variable. Not all of them had extensions
in the lower part of the tail fin, some – but not all – had spots in the tail
fin, some had light blue fin edges, others black etc.
We also imported Epiplatys chaperi from a single
locality not far from Elubo, the border town to the Ivory Coast.
(12) It was a small brook, quite shadowed by vegetation, with a slight current. DH
less than 3, pH 6.2. At the
same locality, we found a single Archiaphyosemion petersi, a female, and tried
of course also to collect a male. After having tried in vain for some time, we
decided to look for petersi elsewhere, but never found any. To find chaperi,
you do not have to go that far from Accra – we found chaperi also at Pokuase on
our way to Kutunse in a shallow river(13)
syntop with Tilapia, and also found chaperi already in February at Ayenfor near
Bokitsa Mine
.
Jesper found
furthermore in the spring of 06 Epiplatys spilargyreius. This species was found
in two culverts under the main road between Dabala Junction and Keta, east of
Volta River. The landscape was very flat and probably part of the Volta
River-delta. Both pools were full of water plants, frogs and water insects. One
of the pools also contained thierryi. The pools were few square meters only and
with no encircling vegetation apart from grass. The water temperature is high,
as the sun shines directly on the pool most of the day. The species was not
imported to Europe. (14)
Finally,
Jesper found Aplocheilichthys spilauchen in Volta River at Manet Paradise
Resort, at the bank of the Volta River. Spilauchen is definitely abundant all
over the Volta River delta, but here you can sit on a terrace over the water
and collect fish with one hand, while having a sundowner in the other. The
current is slight at the bank, the bottom is sand and the water depth rises
very fast.
As the outlet of the river into the Atlantic Ocean
is only a few km. away, the water is brackish, but the exact salinity was not
measured. Spilauchen were schooling in
schools up to 20 fishes, looking for food. Apart from spilauchen, one can
observe Tilapia and other bigger river-fishes, to whom spilauchen no doubt
constitutes part of their diet. (15)
A few specimens were imported to Denmark
.
Of the
fishes we collected in Ghana, we have in our tanks subsequently concentrated on
kiyawensis and thierryi. The senior author has had both in the past and found
in particular kiyawensis difficult to keep alive and breed. They used to be
very susceptible to diseases and water pollution and would die at a moment’s
notice with no prior warning.
The
experiences with the present strain have so far been more positive, as they so
far have been relatively unproblematic to keep and breed. It is, however, a
frequent experience that newly imported fish are easy the first one or two
generations, after which the problems arise in the form of failing egg-production,
offspring of one sex only, proneness to disease etc. For example,
Nothobranchius neumanni has been imported several times, but has as far as we
know always disappeared after a couple of generations, and we can think of many
other newly imported species and populations disappearing from the hobby after
a few generations – and not always because of lack of interest.
We will
summarize the experiences with this population of kiyawensis as follows: it can
be kept in hard as well as soft water. The hardness of the water does not seem
to be significant, and it does tolerate a broad spectrum of pH-values; values
between 6.4 and 8.2 do not seem to have created problems. On the other hand,
the temperature seems important. The temperature should not be less than 22
degrees C., as kiyawensis seems disease-prone at lower temperatures, in
particular susceptible to fungus. They seem to thrive well between 22 and 26
degrees C. Live food is preferred, but also frozen food and decapsulated brine
shrimp are eaten. Peat as a bottom substrate and some plants or other hiding
places for females.
The incubation time is as always
temperature-dependant, but seems generally highly unpredictable. We suppose
that this is the reason why roughly half of the portions of eggs that we have
distributed have given no result. A breeder informs us that he hatched eggs
from the F1-generation for the first time after
four weeks and got 200 fry, and he was still able to count another 100
undeveloped eggs. We have been less fortunate, and most reports tell about
small batches and part of the batch being belly-sliders.
We
recommend that you make your first hatching attempt after six weeks, if your
incubation temperature is in the higher end, and thereafter every 6th
to 8th week up to one year. If two subsequent hatching attempts
after the year has passed are empty – and not until then – we use to give up,
unless undeveloped eggs in the peat are still visible. With respect to
kiyawensis, please remember what Churchill (almost) used to say: dry, dry, dry,
and dry again.
A hatching
tip is to pour the hatching container with water and peat (after having removed
the fry that have hatched) into another hatching container. It seems as if the
turbulence stimulates the ready-to-hatch eggs into hatching. They are able to
take baby brine shrimp from day one.
The fry
should be removed from the hatching container around the third day and
transferred to a bigger tank, e.g. 12 liter, depending on the number of fry.
The rearing from there is like other annuals and as usual it is mandatory to
keep clean in the rearing tank. Dead brine shrimp must be removed daily using a
thin tube, and water replaced and added.
With
respect to thierryi, we have passed them on to others and thus have no personal
experience with the species. Anita Persson’s experiences are that the
incubation time is around four months (but she has also found water-incubated
fry in the maintenance tank), and that the fry are very small at hatching and
need infusoria, egg-powder or micro during their first days. The growth is slow
in the beginning, but the first males are identifiable after one month’s time.
They can be accustomed to eat flake food. Temperature 23-26 degrees C., DH
12-14 (500 microsiemens), pH 8.2-8.4.
As
mentioned, Ghana has a lot to offer, both for the tourist and the killiot.
Furthermore, it may be the safest country in Africa to travel in, and we fully
agree with David Armitage when he states “Ghana is an excellent introduction to
Africa”. On top of that, you can be
pretty sure to be able to find killies.
References:
Addis,T.:
Killifish of Western Africa. www.killifish.f9.co.uk
Armitage,
David: Take me around the Volta, Walter (Ghana fishing). Killi-News no. 503,
August 2006, p. 91-98. British Killifish Association.
Huber,J.: Killi-Data
Online. www.killi-data/org
Murphy,
W.J. & Collier, G.E.: Phylogenetic Relationships of African Killifishes in
the Genera Aphyosemion and Fundulopanchax Inferred from Mitochondrial
DNA-sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, vol.11(3), 1999, p.
351-360.
Wildekamp,
R.: A World of Killies, vol. III & IV. American Killifish Association. 1996
& 2004.
(1)GH 06-1: N 06”06.199, E 000”02.793
(2) GH 06-2: N 06”00.309, E 000”06.612
(3) Bokitsa Mine N 05”56.919, W 001”53.892
(4) Kutunse, N 05”44.622, W 000”19.040
(5) GH 06-3: N 05”49.082, E 000”10.705
(6) GH 06-4: N 05”52.787, E 000”23.983
(7) GH 06-5: N 05”53.309, E 000”27.742 (1½ km. before
Hwakpo, 6½ km. before the Big Ada turn-off).
(8) N 05”52.254, E 000”35.685
(9) Axim GH 06-6: N 04”53.724, W
002”12.283
(10) N 04”54.008, W 002”15.955; N 04”53.923, W 002”15.814
(11) N 05”02.999, W 002”23.158, and N 05”03.081, W 002”24.080
(12) Elubo GH 06-7: N 05”10.698, W 002”40.363
(13) N 05”41.663,W 000”17.129
(14) GH 06-8: N 05”55.837, E 000”41.868 and N 05”55.164, E 000”42.284
(15) GH 06-9: N 05”46.553, E 000”38.911