PlanetCatfish.com

finally got some semi-decent pix of these:

Amphilius rheophilus, this one's the male

I have three still (started with 5, but two didn't last long). I got them in fall 1997, they were almost as small as oven-matchsticks.
The three still going are a bigger male and two smaller females.
This can be seen, because the females have transparant bellies. When they rest against the windows, the eggs can be seen, occasionally.
The bigger one has bigger pectorals, a broader head and chases the other two on certain times; definitely a guy!

female Amphilius


male resting against side window of the tank.


this pic isn't sharp, but shows the coloration as it is, gives you an indication of how they truly look.

Their size is about 3" for the male and 2" for the females (approx!)
OF COURSE they're in the riverine tank, NOT with the scum from the Lake

Don't think those are A. rheophilus. They look more like A. platychir.

Very nice though! How are you sexing them?

Jools

Don't know how Sid does it, but they are fairly easy to sex via external genitalia.

They wre imported as such; from western Nigeria; does this compare to A platychir?

I sexed them for the first time a few years ago; it was pretty obvious.
The smaller two had many orange eggs that were visible through the skin of the belly. Both were "rounded" (if a pencilthin fish like this one can be called that). The big one never showed any eggs shining though. But it always does the chasing.

That has happened a few times, but the last one ortwo years, the females didn't develope any eggs and since then, they're thinner and less "healthy looking". Probably growing old

I am very sure spawnings have occurred in the past. Those eggs always were gone quite suddenly.
unfortunately back then, I didn't have either room, nor cash to setup breeding tanks and such, let alone hatch artemia.

And they don't handle well. prone to itch almost as bad as Botia, easily stressed too.
I find it somewhat of a miracle that they still live after 6 years of captivity. I sure didn't expect such a hillstream fish to be longlived!

In that case, it is more likely to be A. atesuensis, as both A. platychir and A. rheophilus are found much further to the west.

Ideal fish to try in an African incarnation of the Balitorid/Darter/Chaetostoma type set-up described on loaches.com
I think once I'm done with my two windowsill mini-aquaria I'll get a longer riffle tank on there, see what I can find to go in there.
Pete

If you can get them.
I've encountered them only twice in all the time, and both batches came from the same supply; a guy who had an importing station here in Brabant.
Both times the Amphilius wre among the imports because he hauled off to Africa and made sure they were!

Once he had -to my regret, my tanks were overloaded!- a chocolate brown species, wich was notably bigger. They looked exactly like these, but the pattern and coloration were like Tracheliopterichthys, the Pyama Woodcat!! They were about 4-6".....