Re: [Killietalk] real Test!

[ROBERT ELLERMANN <ruevenm at sbcglobal_net>]

Hi Ray,
   
       Nice presentation of the history. I've often wondered what gave Scheel the idea that the pre-war australe was maybe a different species -- callurium or ahli?. It would seem that it was just a different population. The man who isolated the "gold" morph in australe in Germany(?) in the mid-50's (Hjiennsen?) contributed, I believe, an article on its development to TFH in the late 50's or very early 60's. Holly, Meinken and Rachow also cover it in their nice entry on australe in their multi-volume Aquarium Fish in Word and Picture (german only). I move to the new apartment next weekend. This discussion of australe has almost made me want to get some again. I haven't had them since the late 60's when they were the only killie readily available and yes, they were not so easy to breed for me -- just like the blue gularis. I'm thinking of setting up plant spawners only for once in my life as I will need fish that will take care of their own breeding for a while plus allow
 for some nice planted tanks. I don't think I will have the time for peat moss but old habits die hard. Anyone have any ideas on the best high quality ready made very sturdy racks to use for a small apartment set-up using 10' s and 20 longs? Also what's the best portable RO unit as I don't want to install one in an apartment. Plus what store in the Northern NJ area has the best deals on tanks?
   
  Bobby

Sevenspringss at wmconnect_com wrote:
  Hello Brian, Adding to your commentary here concerning Aphyosemion 
australe, as I understand it, this species has had a long and very interesting 
chronology of description changes throughout its history in the hobby. Shortly after 
Arnold described it as Haplochilus sp. aus Kap Lopez in 1913, Kramp changed 
its description as Haplochilus species (Cameronensis) aus Cap Lopez in 1914. 
The name was revised to Haplochilus cameronensis in 1915 by Boulenger, a name 
previously used in 1903 for another species which also underwent some name 
changes. 

That fish ultimately was accepted as Fundulopanchax oeseri (Schmidt 1928), 
after going through descriptions such as Aphyosemion pictum and A. pictus 
(Meinken 1932). I had it in the late 1960's as Aphosemion santaisabellae.

Continuing on A. australe, there was an article appearing in the October 1917 
issue of Joseph E. Bausman's "Aquatic Life" magazine on this species written 
by Ernest Leitholf, described as Haplochilus cameronensis with a fine photo by 
Lee S. Crandall. It is surmised that this 1913 strain did not survived the 
first World War. Jorgen Scheel makes note of a photo of a different strain 
taken by Milewski in 1915 and while this strain had been suspected by some to be 
a variety of the 1913 strain. it seems more probable that Milewski's strain 
was a result of another importation. This is the strain that Rachow described 
as Haplochilus calliurus australis in 1921.

In 1924, Ahl renamed it Aphyosemion polychromum and shortly afterwards Rachow 
revised it as Aphyosemion australis the same year. It was subsequently 
re-described again as Aphyosemion calliurus australis (Schreitmuller 1926) and a 
couple of years later it was again renamed as Aphyosemion australe (Rachow 
1928), the name we accept today, even though Meinken again renamed it Panchax 
australe in 1930. 

The hobby name of "Cameronensis" has been quite persistent right up through 
the mid-1950's, no doubt due in part as a result of the fish being referred to 
by this name in early catalogs. An article in the December 1927 issue of 
"Aquatic Life" after August Roth took it over, as written by A. Zindler (as 
translated from German by Hans Geiwitz) relates to the species as Aphyosemion 
australis, but points out its popular early name Haplochilus cameronensis. Accounts 
of this sequence of events may vary, but this is what I've come to learn. 
Ray Wetzel 
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