Can you help us find a match for a Critically Endangered fish?

At Bristol Zoo Project, we're asking for help with an unusual conservation challenge: finding a match for a Critically Endangered cichlid. 

We have launched a global search to find more Konia eisentrauti cichlids after discovering that just one individual of this Critically Endangered species is recorded in accredited zoos worldwide.

This fish is found in just one place on Earth – Lake Barombi Mbo, a volcanic crater lake in Cameroon – where habitat loss and deforestation are threatening its only natural home.

Konia eisentrauti cichlid

We already protect five of Lake Barombi Mbo’s eleven Critically Endangered cichlid species at Bristol Zoo Project as part of our conservation breeding programme. We’re now appealing to zoos, aquariums and specialist fish keepers around the world to help locate more Konia eisentrauti cichlids so a breeding programme for the species can be established.

A fish without a match

The discovery was made when our Cameroon cichlids were moved from Bristol Zoo's former site to their new home in the African Forest habitat at Bristol Zoo Project.

When our team searched the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) – the international database used by accredited zoos and aquariums – they found it is the only known individual of the species recorded in accredited collections worldwide.

Brian Zimmerman, Director of Conservation and Science at Bristol Zoological Society, said:

"You could say this fish is lost in the crowd. It lives alongside other threatened cichlids, but none of them are its own species. Somewhere in the world, another individual could be swimming in a zoo, aquarium or specialist collection, waiting to be recognised.

"Every successful conservation breeding programme starts with bringing the right breeding partners together. Finding even a handful more fish could be the first step towards building a safety population and giving this species a future."

Visitors to Bristol Zoo Project can discover five Critically Endangered cichlid species in the crocodile house in African Forest, where they live alongside a Critically Endangered slender-snouted crocodile.

The crocodile house at Bristol Zoo Project

The search forms part of Bristol Zoological Society’s long-term ambition to protect nine of Lake Barombi Mbo’s Critically Endangered cichlid species through conservation breeding. It is part of the charity’s international conservation work to protect some of the world’s most threatened species across eight countries, including Cameroon, where it has worked to conserve biodiversity in Bénoué National Park since 2016.

Can you help?

We're appealing to zoos, aquariums and specialist fish keepers around the world to check their collections. If you believe you may have a Konia eisentrauti cichlid, we'd love to hear from you.

Please contact cichlidsearch@bzsociety.org.uk