Genus · Killifish

Hylopanchax

Hylopanchax is a genus with 8 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Killifish section, recorded from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo. Adult sizes run from 1 in to 1.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
8
Adult sizes
1–1.5 in
IUCN assessed
8 of 8
Recorded from
4 countries

About the genus

Hylopanchax is a genus of tiny African lampeyes, killifish related to Procatopus and Poropanchax and named for the iridescent patch above the eye shared across that group. The atlas's countries for the genus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo, place it squarely within the shaded forest streams of the Congo Basin and adjacent Central African drainages. These are among the smallest fish in the atlas, with adults running roughly 1–1.5 in, built for picking small invertebrates from leaf litter and slow, tannin-stained forest water rather than for open swimming. The atlas covers 8 species.

Hylopanchax is a genus still being sorted out by science more than by the aquarium hobby: all eight species in the atlas are currently Not Evaluated for conservation status, meaning basic population data has not yet been formally assessed, and none carry a CARES designation. Only the forest lampeye (Hylopanchax silvestris) has an established common name in the atlas; the rest are known mainly to specialists by scientific name alone. Where lampeyes of this kind do reach the hobby, they are prized by killifish keepers for their small scale and subtle iridescent coloring, kept in soft, acidic, densely planted or leaf-littered setups that echo the shaded forest streams they come from.

IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated · 8

The 8 species

Every Hylopanchax recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

van der Zee, Sonnenberg & Schliewen, 2013

1 in SL · NE

van der Zee, Sonnenberg & Schliewen, 2013

1 in SL · NE

Bragança, van der Zee, Sonnenberg & Vreven, 2021

1 in SL · NE

van der Zee, Sonnenberg & Schliewen, 2013

1 in SL · NE

(Pellegrin, 1928)

1 in SL · NE

(Poll & Lambert, 1965)

Forest lampeye

1.5 in SL · NE

(Fowler, 1949)

1.5 in SL · NE

Bragança, van der Zee, Sonnenberg & Vreven, 2020

1 in SL · NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Hylopanchax. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/hylopanchax/

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