The West African cichlid hobby is still in its infancy, and there is still much to learn. Although the misnamed kribensis Pelvicachromis pulcher (erroneously called Pelmatochromis kribensis in the past) has been
one of the most popular of all cichlids for nearly a century, most of
the other cichlids from West Africa have only really come into their
own in the past 15 years or so. More is being learned every day, and
there is a real opportunity for firsts among hobbyists, such as being
the first to obtain one species, or the first to breed another. I’m very
sure that in the coming years, much more will come to light, and our
knowledge base will greatly expand.
Killie hobbyists have been tramping all over Western Africa for
decades, poking their nets into every little ditch and mud puddle.
Even in my local club, there are several guys who have made more
than one trip to Cameroon. They’ve commented on how many “darn
Pelvicachromis” that they kept catching when trying to capture the
objects of their search—some of the beautiful West African killies—
and they have even whet the appetites of other hobbyists by showing
off photos of the cichlids and other cool fish that were caught and
released. Until recently, however, the cichlid fanatics had been
primarily interested in the cichlids on the other side of the African
continent, particularly from Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika.
