Re: Barron's Killi book (and Vinegar Eels)

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

Jeff Shoffner wrote:
> Just finished reading it cover to cover last night.  Sounds like a good
> beginner book & it has eased some of my discomfort.  (vinegar eelworms?
> Ugh!!!  Oh, you just raise them in a wine bottle & strain them off in a
> coffee filter?  That doesn't sound too bad.....)

I prefer a gallon pickle jug for culturing, as that can last for a year or 
two in the garage, with little attention. Use 50% cider vinegar, as some US 
"distilled white" has anti-worm stuff that's not on the label. Feed apple 
slices, or plain old apple juice (rarely).

Even better, keep in a 1L (or 500cc) boiling flask half full, to get good 
air surface. To collect, fill to the start of the neck from the 1G stock 
jug, and stuff filter floss down to just touch the surface. Fill the neck 
with plain water.

Next morning, many eels will have worked through the floss to get to air, 
but the vinegar will not mix up into the neck. Use a syringe to extract pure 
water and eels. Replace the solutions to 1/2-full flask and gallon jug until 
the next feeding. Much easier than coffee filters and you don't lose the 
smallest ones that may be the most valuable to small babies.

> 
   You mean now
> that I've started looking at these guys & somewhat remembering their names,
> I got the WRONG NAMES???!  :-)

Many of the species names are OK, but the *Aphyosemions* were the first big 
killifish class to be extensively revised, starting about 30 years ago. Many 
German hobbyists were very stubborn about accepting some of the revisions, 
so propagated old nomenclature long after most of the scientific community 
accepted the new names.

> 
> Speaking of names, I want to make sure I'm reading this right; there is a
> Fundulopanchax gardneri & an Amphyosemion gardneri (did I spell those right?
> Where's that book?......) but they are two different fish, right?  Why are
> they both gardneri? 

Nope. One (maybe) fish species* with a reclassified genus.

> I know the name is descriptive, so I guess that's the
> reason, but what does 'gardneri' mean?

It is the male Latin possesive of the name Gardner. It means "Gardner's 
Fundulopanchax." Since Edith Korthaus is female, the name for her Notho is 
*Nothobranchius korthausae*.

In the early '80s, Lynn Parenti redefined many Aphyos, based on her 
osteology studies. This was new to ichthyology, in many ways. They had been 
using external meristics, like fin-ray and scale counts, eye size, fin 
location, etc. It took a while for the community to accept her 
reclassification of many Aphyos into the Fp. genus, based on bones -- 
particularly jaw and head structure.

"Roloffia" had some serious early mis-ID problems that caused the ICZN to 
finally declare it nomen nudem, permanently. The big "Roloffia" have, more 
recently been removed from Aphyo and named *Callopanchax*. The smaller ones 
are now *Scriptaphyosemion*. Again, some stubborn hobbyists have tried to 
force the name back into use by refusing to drop *Roloffia* as a genus. 
Others still use Aphyo.

Recently, many SA Annuals, like *Cynolebias*, have been split into several 
new genera. *Rivulus* will be the next big genus to get redefined and 
divided. I can hardly wait! :-(

All of this is in the presence of DNA studies that are really defining the 
relationships between genera and species much better than ever before. That 
work also will filter into naming changes as we go along, I'm sure.

Where is the poor hobbyist in the midst of all this change and confusion?

Well, we have learned that the names are stable from the bottom up. I know 
exactly what a TDK 97/2 is. It is a *striatum*-like fish, collected in Gabon 
in '97 by Tirbak, Derugin, and Kleisch, at a particular spot on their trip 
map. Some call it *Aphyosemion sp. aff. microphtalmum*. Some list it as *A. 
microphthalmum* which is wrongly-spelled and doesn't leave any wiggle room 
if it is not really that species. [The original description by Lambert and 
Gery, in 1968 was actually spelled wrong, so that name, *microphtalmum*, 
sticks, BTW.] If someone looks closely and decides it is not even an Aphyo 
(my guess) it might get redefined as *Episemion microphtalmum* or even 
something else. It has the bright Epi star on its forehead, for example. :-) 
I've never noticed that on any other Aphyo.

Through all these names, the one that I would not change on my tanks or bags 
going to the club auction would be the TDK 97/2. That still defines, to me, 
that fish without regard to the latest whim of the scientific "splitters" or 
"lumpers." Collection locations like "Monrovia" and "Lagos" are pretty 
worthless, as those are just major export centers that draw on collections 
from all over West Africa. There are many fish with better-defined 
locations, like *Fp, walkeri* Kutunze which is also GH 74/2. In such cases, 
either location or collection code is definitive, and usefully defines the 
strain.

HTH

Wright
__________________
*The species is due for some real work, as GAR actually appears to be more 
than one species, right now. Most experts now accept that *nigerianus* is 
not a sub-species of *gardneri* but lack of recent published work left Ken 
Lazara with little choice in doing KMI4 so he left them there, for now.

Wright Huntley -- 209 521-0557 -- 731 Loletta Ave, Modesto CA 95351

      We have a million monkeys typing on a million keyboards.
        The 'net still does not look much like Shakespeare.

                  http://www.sfbaka.net/

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