This fish is normally traded as A. nigropterus or A. cf. ansorgii although neither appears to be its correct name meaning it remains unidentified at present.

A. nigropterus is a valid congener that is not in the aquarium trade with little to no export from Lake Mai-Ndombe, to which it is endemic, while A. ansorgii is a synonym of Nannopetersius ansorgii.

This species is sometimes traded as ‘cherry red Congo tetra’ or ‘super red Congo tetra’ and has also been referred to using the misapplied names Alestopetersius nigropterus (a valid congener) and A. ansorgii (a synonym of Nannopetersius ansorgii).

This species appears to be restricted to the Imo and Niger drainages in Nigeria but the full extent of its distribution is unclear.

Type locality is ‘Aba, Lower Niger, Nigeria’, corresponding to the city of Aba in Abia state, southern Nigeria which lies on the Aba River, a tributary of the Imo.

Nigeria has lost 95 % of its original rainforest cover, num…

This species is sometimes referred to as ‘Sierra Leone dwarf characin’ and is the only member of its genus which can be distinguished from other alestids by lacking dorsal scales anterior to the adipose-fin insertion.

The family Alestidae is the most spe…

Not imported all that often, this species seems to ship quite poorly. Once acclimatised, it usually proves quite hardy. A big shoal of adults can look stunning in the right setting.

This species is also traded as ‘yellow-finned’, ‘yellowtail’ or ‘blue Congo’ tetra and is occasionally bred on a commercial basis, although not on a scale comparable to its better-known relative Phenacogrammus interruptus.

No recent key to the genus exists but based on Géry (1977) and images in Mbimbi Mayi Munene and Stiassny (2012) it can be told apart from congeners by a combination of: extended median caudal-fin rays in adult males; absence of prominent dar…

Endemic to Nigeria, where it occurs in the Ogun and lower Niger river systems. Despite its popularity in the aquarium hobby it’s relatively scarce in the wild and is known from less than 10 localities, all lying in an area where deforestation and pollution are uncontrolled and continue to occur extensively.