Taxonomy & naming
Epiplatys dageti was described by Max Poll in 1953 from a type locality in a swamp near Port Bouet on the southern coast of Côte d'Ivoire (approximately 5°15'N, 3°58'W). Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes at the California Academy of Sciences accepts the valid combination as Epiplatys dageti Poll, 1953, placing it in the family Nothobranchiidae — the current placement for this group of West and Central African panchax killies, though older literature and some databases list it under the legacy family Aplocheilidae.
Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate E. dageti dageti Poll, 1953, and E. dageti monroviae, named for Monrovia, Liberia, from which it was described. The species has historically been confused with Epiplatys chaperi (Sauvage, 1882), and earlier literature may conflate records of the two. A synonym from the nineteenth-century literature, Poecilia sexfasciata Peters, 1864, appears in older nomenclatural lists but is no longer applied to this taxon.
The genus name Epiplatys is from the Greek epi- (upon) and platys (flat, broad), likely referring to the flattened dorsal profile and upturned mouth typical of surface-oriented panchax. The specific epithet dageti honours the French ichthyologist Jacques Daget (1919–2009), a prolific researcher of African freshwater fishes whose contributions to the systematics and biogeography of the continent's fish fauna spanned decades.
Morphology
Epiplatys dageti is a slender, laterally compressed killifish with the distinctly dorsoventrally flattened head and upward-angled mouth typical of surface-feeding panchax. Standard length in the wild and in aquaria reaches 1.5–2 in; the British Killifish Association reports males reaching 2.5–2.75 inches (2.5–3 in) and females remaining smaller at 1.5–2 inches (1.5–2 in), though the BKA figures may reflect total length in well-conditioned aquarium fish.
Colouration is the defining feature. Males carry a pale to silver-green ground colour on the flanks overlaid with a series of dark, often greenish-black vertical bars — the pattern that inspired the earlier name 'black-lipped panchax' — while the chin and throat are suffused with brilliant orange-red, the fire-mouth for which the species is most often sold. The dorsal, caudal, and anal fins of males are extended and marked with red, orange, and blue elements depending on population and subspecies. Females are plainer, lacking the vivid throat colouration and fin extensions, and are rounder in the belly when gravid. Sexual dimorphism is clear and reliable: in a mixed group, males are larger, more intensely coloured, and carry the elongated fin rays that females lack.
Habitat
The species is native to the coastal lowland zone of West Africa: the swampy margins and small streams of southwestern Ghana, southern Côte d'Ivoire (including the type-locality swamp near Port Bouet), and southern Liberia, where E. dageti monroviae was collected around Monrovia. The habitat is defined by shallow, warm, still or very slow-moving water — coastal swamps, forest-edge pools, and the margins of small lowland watercourses — in the transition zone between coastal savanna and forest.
Because these are permanent or near-permanent water bodies rather than seasonal pools, Epiplatys dageti is a non-annual killifish. The fish do not experience predictable dry-season desiccation and their eggs do not enter diapause. Water chemistry across the range spans a relatively broad envelope: Seriously Fish records pH 5.0–7.0 and temperatures of 68–86 °F, with hardness from 18 to 215 ppm — indicating that the fish naturally encounters both soft, slightly acidic forest water and somewhat harder coastal conditions. The species is also reported to tolerate mildly brackish water in coastal zones closest to the sea, consistent with the lowland swamp habitat near Port Bouet.
Feeding
Epiplatys dageti is a micropredator, taking small live invertebrates at or near the water surface in nature. Its upturned mouth and flattened head profile are direct adaptations for surface hunting: insects and insect larvae that fall onto or emerge at the water film are the primary natural prey, supplemented by small crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates within reach.
In the aquarium the species is straightforward to feed. It takes small live and frozen foods readily — Artemia nauplii and adults, Daphnia, grindal worms, and small chironomid larvae are all accepted. Dried and prepared foods are taken when the fish is well established and accustomed to the keeper, but a varied diet weighted toward live or frozen invertebrate prey keeps males in peak colour and promotes consistent conditioning for breeding. The fish is a surface feeder and food presented at depth may be ignored; feeding in the surface zone gives the best results.
Mating
As a non-annual killifish associated with permanent water bodies, Epiplatys dageti does not follow the dramatic boom-and-bust annual cycle — brief rainy-season spawning rush, buried diapausing eggs, complete adult die-off — that characterises the annual killies of seasonal pools. Instead, breeding is continuous or near-continuous in favourable conditions, with pairs or small groups engaging in repeated spawning bouts over extended periods.
Males are territorial and competitive toward one another, displaying vigorously with spread fins and intensified throat colouration in the presence of females or rivals. Courtship is brief: the male aligns alongside the female and, when she is receptive, guides her toward the selected spawning site. Fertilisation is external and occurs during a brief spawning embrace near the surface or among fine-leaved vegetation and floating debris. Spawning is not a single mass release — eggs are deposited in ones and twos across multiple sessions over days and weeks, a strategy well suited to permanent habitats where there is no time pressure imposed by seasonal desiccation.
Breeding
Epiplatys dageti is a plant or mop spawner: eggs are deposited singly or in small numbers on fine-leaved aquatic vegetation, the roots of floating plants such as Riccia or water sprite, or artificial spawning mops positioned near the surface. The adhesive eggs cling to the spawning medium and incubate in water — there is no buried peat phase, no diapause, and no requirement for dry storage. At 70 °F Seriously Fish records incubation of approximately 11–14 days; at the 72 °F (72 °F) preferred by the British Killifish Association the eggs hatch in around 10 days.
Adults will consume both eggs and fry if given the opportunity, so breeders typically remove floating mops or plant clumps to a separate hatching container every few days. Fry hatch at a small but relatively advanced size and consume microorganisms initially before transitioning to newly hatched Artemia nauplii and microworm within the first week. Development is slow compared to annual killies: the British Killifish Association notes that ten to twelve months are required for young fish to reach full adult size and colouration — a reflection of the species' comparatively long-lived, non-annual life history. Adults are surface-shy in a well-lit tank and should be given floating plants or a cover of duckweed to feel secure.
In the aquarium
Epiplatys dageti has been in European aquaria since at least 1908, making it one of the earlier African killifishes introduced to the hobby, and it remains a popular and accessible choice. It is peaceful, gregarious in a species-appropriate setup, and comparatively easy to breed — qualities that make it well suited to killifish keepers at the intermediate level and to community aquaria housing similarly sized, non-aggressive fish.
A small, well-planted aquarium of 10–15 US gal is adequate for a group of three to six fish. The species dislikes surface disturbance, so filtration should provide gentle turnover rather than strong aeration or a surface agitating spray bar. Floating plants — Riccia, frogbit, water lettuce — provide cover, reduce light intensity at the surface (important for fish that spend almost all their time in the top 2 in), and double as natural spawning sites. Temperature between 22 and 79 °F suits the species well; soft, slightly acidic water (pH 6.0–7.0) is ideal, though the fish tolerates a broader range. A tight-fitting lid is essential: like most surface killifish, E. dageti jumps readily.
Male aggression is manageable but real; keeping two or more males together requires enough space and visual breaks to allow subordinate fish to avoid the dominant individual. A ratio of one male to two or three females distributes aggression and keeps males in good condition without harassment. The species is long-lived for a killifish — several years in good conditions — and is among the most rewarding introductions to the panchax group.
Conservation
The IUCN has not formally assessed Epiplatys dageti; its status is Not Evaluated (NE). No formal population data are available in the published scientific literature for this species specifically, and conservation pressure on it has not been quantified. The species is, however, tied to a narrow band of coastal lowland swamps and forest-edge water in West Africa — a region under intense anthropogenic pressure from agricultural expansion, logging, coastal development, and drainage of wetlands for infrastructure.
Côte d'Ivoire has lost a substantial proportion of its forest cover over recent decades, and the degradation of swamp and gallery-forest habitat in the coastal zone represents a plausible ongoing threat to populations of a specialist surface-water fish with a naturally limited range. Southern Liberia, where the monroviae subspecies occurs, has experienced significant forest loss as well. The introduction of exotic species — notably mosquitofish (Gambusia) introduced for malaria control across West Africa — to shallow, warm, standing-water habitats overlapping with the range of E. dageti represents an additional pressure documented to harm small surface-feeding killifishes elsewhere. Formal assessment by IUCN Red List specialists with current range data from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Liberia would help clarify the species' situation.