The genus Nothobranchius is a prime example of how aquarium keeping and science complement each other wonderfully. These killifish are typical seasonal fish; the genus is restricted to East Africa and offshore islands. In the wild, Nothobranchius only live for a few weeks. They produce eggs, which survive the drying out of the rainwater pools in the ground where the adult fish live. Only in the next rainy season do some – not all! – of the eggs hatch. The young fish grow up in record time and reproduce at the age of just a few weeks. However, as it is never quite certain whether a rainy season will provide sufficient rainfall to complete the fish’s reproductive cycle, not all the eggs hatch at once. Some eggs even remain dormant for years! This is a real challenge for breeders.
Ruud Wildekamp (actually Rudolph Hans Wildekamp, 1945-2019) was one of the most important researchers of the genus in modern times. He and Lothar Seegers laid the foundation for today’s understanding of these animals. Although Wildekamp was “only” self-taught, his ichthyological work is fully recognized by the scientific community. Between 1977 and 2010, he scientifically described and named 24 (of 97 currently accepted) Nothobranchius species, either alone or in cooperation with other ichthyologists. Until 1977, only 14 Nothobranchius species were known! It is only right that a Nothobranchius species from the Mbezi River in eastern Tanzania was named in his honor in 2009.
We have received small numbers of this beautiful killifish as German offspring. For general care conditions of Nothobranchius see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/18-toothcarps-killis-and-livebearers/nothobranchius_foerschi_en/
For our customers: the animals have code 338223 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
