Nimbapanchax maeseni “GRC90/174 Lola”
In 1990, Raymond Romand and myself traveled to the extreme south of the Republic of Guinea to search for Epiplatys hildegardae, until then only known from preserved specimens and one drawing. In the area of distribution of Epiplatys hildegardae is also found Nimbapanchax maeseni (then species name, formerly leucopterygius). After our trip, a single pair from the “GRC90/174 Lola” population was introduced in my fishroom, captured at the entrance to this small town (at that time). Bringing live fish back from southern Guinea in 1990, without air conditioning in the cars and on very bad tracks, was a feat and required very careful care.
This couple was reproduced and distributed to french amateurs of Killis, who did the same. Today, in 2023, more than thirty years later, fish from this couple are still kept in aquariums around the world. And today's fish are still as beautiful as their wild ancestors, even if their lack of bright colors never made them favorites.
The picture shown here let us compare the wild male in 1990 (old slide scan) and one of his descendants in 2023. This is once again proof that aquarists succeed, through their often informal networks, to maintain strains in aquariums for many years. And without apparent degeneration even with a very low starting brood stock. Paying special attention to the fish of this population is all the more important since, according to recent observations, their original fishing ground has been disrupted by the expansion of rice cultivation.
