Help!!!!! Boitonei or zonatus

[zezinho]

Hy.
What do you think about these 2 fishes?
Wich is wich? Simp boitonei, Simp Zonatus...


1


2

[stormhawk]

Number 1 is Simp. boitonei. Number 2 is Simp. zonatus. Very easy to tell them apart.

[keehoe]

That reminds me of the species maintenance project we were talking about months ago. Any update on the Simp.Zonatus?

[Steffen Hellner]

Hi,

right identification - but what are the characteristics for it?

The boitonei and zonatus both lack pelvic fins. The closely related S. santanae has it. In the dorsal fin, zonatus has no horizontal band but black vertical dots in the first third. S. zonatus lacks the black marginal band in the anal fin. Most evident is the red vs. brownish coloration of zonatus vs. boitonei, and the smaragd green vertical bars in zonatus which are unique amongst Simpsonichthys.

regarding species maintenance: the zonatus is a special species which comes from a single locality in the vicinity of Garapuava, Brazil. I collected this species there in 1992 and 1995. The population is not threatened as the farm owner knows about this special fish and keeps an eye on it. Less than 10 people in the world know where the habitat is. So it can only be about keeping the strain in the hobby. This is fairly easy as this fish can be treated like a small Aphyosemion: soft, acid water, not too warm (20-25 °C) and a proper egg incubation. It is not as prolific as other Simpsonichthys but the fry is a little bigger than the average and easy to hatch.

Best,

Steffen Hellner

[ruyle]

Wow, Steffen Hellner! Welcome aboard! I'm afraid most the SG folk
are still in bed right now, but KL will be sure to extend greetings and
welcome.

I got your book!

Bill

[Steffen Hellner]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Bill. After some years with reduced public activities I was looking for an open medium to get in contact with killi enthusiasts worldwide. This site seems to be crowded by people really enjoying our fish and hobby. Hope to be able to contribute a bit from my experience and practise.

How do you like my book? It is old already but facts never change.

So lets go for it ;-)

Steffen


P.S.: Nice citation of JFK. Good guy he was.

[ruyle]

How do you like my book? It is old already but facts never change.

The book is still a gem! The names may have changed (to protect the
innocent, HA!) but it is still my first recommend to newbies, well, newbies
more newbie than myself!

I have the Baensch I, but still need to get 2 and 3. Those are great
references as well! Are you still contributing editor? If I have this
correctly....

P.S.: Nice citation of JFK. Good guy he was.

I was 13 when he went away, it was America's time of Camelot...

The SG gang are really going to be excited to see you here!

Regards,

Bill

ps what would be a good beginner's first SAA to start with? Other than
S. constanciae, that is--I balk at a fish that is brown with brown spots!

[stormhawk]

Ah, its an honour to have Mr Steffen Hellner join us onboard. Having had one Simpsonichthys named after him, I can only say, wow, I'm very enthralled.

By the way Steffen, thanks for the morphological analysis of the appearance and differences between the two species. Simp. zonatus has always been a firm favourite of mine but I've yet to succeed with it.

I think the zonatus is still present locally with one hobbyist. I failed with my recent attempt and may try again soon.

[stormhawk]

I got your book!

Bill, Steffen, pardon me for being uninformed but what is the title of this book and is it still available for purchase? I'm going to be getting some old issues of TFH with killie-related articles and this book, especially if its on SAAs, would be an excellent addition to my growing library of fish-related books.

[ruyle]

It is called Killifish, A Complete Pet Owner's Manual by Steffen Hellner,
member 1031 Published by Barron's..

Bill

[stormhawk]

Oh okay! I got that one too and luckily for me, it was the last copy at this bookstore.

I don't think its in print anymore.

[keehoe]

Hi,

right identification - but what are the characteristics for it?

The boitonei and zonatus both lack pelvic fins. The closely related S. santanae has it. In the dorsal fin, zonatus has no horizontal band but black vertical dots in the first third. S. zonatus lacks the black marginal band in the anal fin. Most evident is the red vs. brownish coloration of zonatus vs. boitonei, and the smaragd green vertical bars in zonatus which are unique amongst Simpsonichthys.

regarding species maintenance: the zonatus is a special species which comes from a single locality in the vicinity of Garapuava, Brazil. I collected this species there in 1992 and 1995. The population is not threatened as the farm owner knows about this special fish and keeps an eye on it. Less than 10 people in the world know where the habitat is. So it can only be about keeping the strain in the hobby. This is fairly easy as this fish can be treated like a small Aphyosemion: soft, acid water, not too warm (20-25 °C) and a proper egg incubation. It is not as prolific as other Simpsonichthys but the fry is a little bigger than the average and easy to hatch.

Best,

Steffen Hellner

Welcome, Steffen Hellner. Base on the photo, zonatus seems to have some joined blue patch that forms some vertical bar kind of pattern.

Is my guess close to the answer?

[stormhawk]

Kee Hoe, its actually not blue but this species has an emerald green pattern of "stripes on the sides. Steffen has explained this in his earlier post.

[timebomb]

Ah, its an honour to have Mr Steffen Hellner join us onboard. Having had one Simpsonichthys named after him, I can only say, wow, I'm very enthralled.

Correction, Jianyang. He has 2 species of Killifish named after him. Besides the S. hellneri, there's also Moema hellneri. It is certainly a great honour to have Mr Hellner with us.

Welcome, Welcome. This is a special day for Killies.com. We should lay out the red carpet for Mr Hellner but I'm afraid that's a bit difficult to do online

Seriously though, is there anything we can do for you, Mr Hellner? Here in Singapore, we have a small but active group of Killifish hobbyists. I would say the hobby here is still in its infancy stage but we try hard to keep many species going. Let us know if you want any eggs and we'll do our best to get them to you.

Loh K L

[stormhawk]

Correction, Jianyang. He has 2 species of Killifish named after him. Besides the S. hellneri, there's also Moema hellneri. It is certainly a great honour to have Mr Hellner with us.

Yes 2 species but I tend to pander more towards the Simpsonichthys.

FYI, Moema hellneri was previously known as Moema sp. Bellavista.

[zezinho]

Must thank all of of you for your kind in giving clues to this subject.
The discution is also "burning" in another killie fish forum, im Brasil.
The discution is the same: the presence os pelvic fins, and the ponds where they can be found

[timebomb]

I don't think its in print anymore.

You're sure about this, Jianyang? I used to own a copy too. Bought it from Samyick's but I gave the book to a very special girl.

The book was for me, a very important source of information when I first started out on Killies.

Loh K L

[stormhawk]

KL,

I'm pretty sure about that. Alot of the old Barron's book series are no longer in print, including this book, if what the lady at Times Bookstore told me was correct.

A check via Amazon shows only second-hand copies available.

Amazon.com

Mine was the last copy in Times' inventory and even then, it was already quite old. Kinokuniya does not have it anymore.