Nothobranchius rachovii

Aside from the typical orange and blue variant, there is Nothobranchius rachovii KNP Black{{Disputed inline|Nothobranchius pienaari|date=October 2018}}, which has much darker colors, and was collected from the wild in Kruger National Park, South Africa in 1984,Killitalk – [http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/month.9807/msg00035.html 5 July 1998] Accessed 23 January 2010. and Nothobranchius rachovii var. Red, which has a red head with turquoise highlights. The females of all varieties are more neutrally colored. This shows sexual dimorphism among these fish.

Nothobranchius rachovii sensu stricto is found in the floodplain of the lower Zambezi and also in the floodplain of the Pungwe River.

N. rachovii are benthopelagic, feeding on zooplankton and other small organisms living at the bottom of the water (benthos).

N. rachovii are naturally found in flat plains or water depressions that dry up annually.{{Cite news|url=http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/nothobranchius-rachovii/|title=Nothobranchius rachovii (Bluefin Nothobranch)|work=Seriously Fish|access-date=2017-03-31|language=en-us}} Like other benthopelagic fish, N. rachovii prefer to stay at the bottom of the water, right above the benthic zone.Mauchline J and Gordon JDM (1986) "Foraging strategies of deep-sea fish"] Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 27: 227–238. [https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/27/m027p227.pdf Download] They lay their eggs in mud as the water level decreases, which preserves them until the water returns.{{Cite web|url=https://aka.org/the-genus-nothobranchius/|title=The Genus Nothobranchius {{!}} American Killifish Association|website=aka.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-31}}

Bluefin nothos mature in about twelve weeks,{{Cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Nothobranchius-rachovii.html|title=Nothobranchius rachovii summary page|website=FishBase|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}} live for up to a year or year and a half, then die at the end of the breeding season- which is why they are called "annual" killifish.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aboutfishonline.com/articles/killifish.html|title=Rachow's Nothobranch – Killifish|website=www.aboutfishonline.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}} They are able to have offspring by burying their eggs in the river/ lake bed before their habitat dries up- they live in temporary pools dependent on rainfall. These eggs develop while buried in the mud and then hatch once the pools are refilled with water from rainfall.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/mar08/killifish.htm|title=Killifish – Nothos Killifish|website=www.fishlore.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-31}}

N. rachovii are of commercial importance, being commonly found in the pet trade. They can be housed in a 40–60 litre (10–15 gallons) aquarium. Males are aggressive toward other males of the same species. They can be kept in a community tank of similar-sized peaceful freshwater tropical fish. Including, Pencil fish, Corrydora, khuli loaches, knight goby, peacock gudgeon. They thrive in a heavily planted tank and prefer soft water conditions.

Nothobranchius rachovii was described by Ernst Ahl in 1926 with the type locality given as Beira, Mozambique.{{Cof record|spid=13698|title=Nothobranchius rachovi|access-date=8 September 2019}} The specific name honours the German aquarist Arthur Rachow (1884–1960), who donated a number of fish specimens to the Museum für Naturkunde.{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/cyprinodontiformes1/ | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | date = 31 May 2019 | title= Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families APLOCHEILIDAE and NOTHOBRANCHIIDAE | accessdate = 8 September 2019 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}

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rachovii

Category:Taxa named by Ernst Ahl

Category:Fish described in 1926

Category:Fish of Mozambique