Taxonomy & naming
Neolebias spilotaenia was described by the Belgian-British ichthyologist George Albert Boulenger in 1912. It belongs to the family Distichodontidae within the order Characiformes — the African family that also contains the much larger, plant-grazing Distichodus — and to the genus Neolebias, a group of small, slender African characins. Wikidata and GBIF taxonomic records confirm the species is currently treated as valid under the combination Neolebias spilotaenia, and note that it was formerly placed in the genus Congocharax, a combination consistent with a Congo Basin origin.
The species epithet spilotaenia is a compound Greek name. Data on this specific species is sparse in the literature accessible to this account — no type-locality detail or population-level taxonomic notes were found — and this article does not speculate beyond the sources it could verify.
Morphology
No verified maximum length or body-proportion description for Neolebias spilotaenia was found in the sources consulted for this account. The ETYFish Project's etymology entry describes the species' most distinctive marking: a vertical bar at the base of the caudal fin and a darker, broad band running along the side of the body, which is the feature the species name references (see Taxonomy & naming). Beyond that marking, this account cannot responsibly describe body depth, fin shape or colouration in detail without a verified source.
For context only, related congeners such as N. trilineatus, N. trewavasae and N. unifasciatus are small, slender-bodied fish running roughly 1.5–2 in standard length — but this is a genus-level reference point, not a confirmed figure for N. spilotaenia, and should not be read as the species' documented size.
Habitat
Neolebias spilotaenia is an African species; its historical placement in the synonymised genus Congocharax points to a Congo Basin origin, consistent with the Congolese distribution typical of Distichodontidae. Specific river systems, water chemistry readings or habitat structure for this species were not found in the sources consulted here.
As general context, Congo Basin waters at this latitude are typically warm and soft to moderately mineralised, and often tannin-stained in blackwater tributaries, but no site-specific temperature or pH data for N. spilotaenia itself could be confirmed, so none is stated as fact below.
Feeding
No diet data specific to Neolebias spilotaenia was found in the sources consulted. Small distichodontids in this genus are generally understood to take aquatic invertebrates and other small food items in the wild, but this is a genus-level generalisation rather than a documented finding for this species, and it is not stated as confirmed fact in the facts block below.
Mating
No courtship or pairing behaviour has been documented for Neolebias spilotaenia in the sources available for this account. Data on this point is sparse to the point of absence, and no sexual dimorphism has been confirmed for the species.
Breeding
Breeding biology for Neolebias spilotaenia specifically has not been documented in the sources consulted here. As a general pattern, small African distichodontids of this kind are understood to be egg-scatterers with no parental care, and they are rarely if ever bred in home aquaria — but this account cannot confirm that mode was ever specifically observed or recorded for N. spilotaenia itself, and states it only as the expected pattern for the genus rather than a verified fact for this species.
In the aquarium
Neolebias spilotaenia is essentially unknown in the aquarium hobby. No dedicated care profile, tank-size recommendation or stocking guidance for this species was found in the sources consulted for this account, and it does not appear to be established in the trade. Prospective keepers should treat this as a species with no reliable hobby track record rather than assume it behaves like better-known small African characins.
Given the near-total absence of hobby data, this account does not offer specific tank-size, water-parameter or tankmate recommendations for N. spilotaenia beyond what is already noted under Habitat, since doing so would mean guessing rather than reporting.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assesses Neolebias spilotaenia as Vulnerable (VU). This is a meaningful status for a small, geographically restricted Congo Basin characin, and it places the species among the African freshwater fish facing genuine pressure rather than the widespread, low-concern majority of its family. The assessment year was not confirmed in the sources available for this account, so no year is stated in the facts block.
Threats specific to this species were not detailed in the sources consulted, but Congo Basin freshwater fish in general face pressure from habitat degradation, deforestation-linked sedimentation and, in some areas, water-quality change — relevant context for a Vulnerable-listed Congo endemic, though not confirmed as the specific drivers for this species.