Please help ID this cichlid!

Agge nee boet, not G. brasiliensis, I don't believe it?

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Ja... This Prof does get around quite a lot!!

Thanks man.

 

i breed geophagus - trust me the brasiliensis fry looks just like that

 

Hi Slagter,

In defence of Henk, I want to say that you are not right with your idea that only dwarfs have that band through the eye, all Geophagus have that as well. So from that point of view, Henk may be right after all.

I think that it is important that you have bought the whole lot and that you now have some fishes from which you could potentially breed some more, that is the main thing. If they are not A steindachneri then you can always get rid of them again.

Keep us posted on developments....

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Ok... At what size do the fry start maturing? These guys are between 5 and 9cm in length. From what I've read up on the A. Stiendachneri, they are the largest apisto and they reach a size of around 10cm. This is also why I believe they are A. Stiendachneri.

But I guess only time will tell.

 

Your information about their size is correct, in other words 10 cm for males if not a little larger according to my books. Dwarf cichlids start spawning before they grow out completely, so as you say, you must check out when they may start breeding. Main thing is to feed them well, I would think.

Keep us posted on developments.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

how are these guys doing - colored up yet?

I was looking at Apistogramma rupununi and it looks very very close to your fish...

 

They are fattening up, and colouring up!! They are definitely Apistos. They females have turned Apisto yellow. I'm not certain about Stiendachneri though. The males don't have the Points on their Caudal fin... We shall see.

 

Its really great that we managing to get such a diverse collection of apistos in the hobby, what does that bring your collection 2 now Slagter?

 

My count so far:

Apisto. Agassizi (Finally!!)
Apisto Cacatuoides (sunburst)
Apisto Cacatuoides (Double Red)
Apisto Trifasciata
Apisto Vejieta
Apisto Hongsloi
Apisto ??? (Maybe Stiendachneri)

Also Have Keyholes and Bolivian Rams...

9 strains of Dwarfs.

 

Sweet, where u eventually get the Agassizis?

 

Got a pair from Quality Aquariums... Beautiful reds.

And back on the ID... The largest male has started developing extended top and bottom rays on his Caudal fin... So this leads me to believe that they are indeed Stiendachneri... I'll post some better pics soon.

 

some pics of the new fish Please

 

did you put the new Hongsloi male in with the Agro females...

 

Yup... He's still alive!! WOOT!! they coloured up the moment they hit the water!! Beautiful!

 

good stuff man!

 

Ok one last thing, could you post a pic or 5 of your Apisto Trifasciatas :smile1:

 

Hi Slagter,

Just a few tips:

You should realize that the A. cacatuoides strains that you have got are firstly highly inbred and secondly they are actually very closely related to each other. The wild cacatuoides actually have completely see-through fins with occasional small splashes of red in their fins. The red finned fishes were selected out of the wild fishes that had small amounts of red and then repeatedly mated brother to sister to fix this trait as we call it in genetics. I do not know if you have any of your own offspring yet? You may even find that your Sunbursts will produce triple or double reds and vice versa. If I were to keep these strains, I would purposely cross them to reduce the negative effects of the inbreeding.

Then I wanted to point out an issue which we as scientists call taxonomy. Taxonomy means the naming of biological organisms. Although most people do not know this, this naming actually has very strong rules and regulations. I obviously do not think that we want to follow these to a tee on this forum, but what I wanted to point out is that it is important to get the correct names for your dwarfs. The genus name must always be written in capitals and the species name always in small letters so you have:

Apistogramma agassizii (and you can use the abbreviation "A." as I have done above as well)
A. cacatuoides
A. trifasciata
A. viejita
A. hongsloi (which by the way has undergone the same selection process for red as the A cacatuoides as a result of which they are also highly inbred)
A. steindachneri


Others that I have kept before are A. pertensis, but this one is not very colourful. I have also seen A. macmasteri in SA and I have kept them, but the males are very aggresive towards one another which makes them difficult to keep. A. borelli are also nice, particularly the A borelli "Opal" types. but again not so easy to keep.

Another very difficult one that I would like to lay my hands on is A. diplotaenia, but they are very expensive.
I have seen many pics of A. iniridae and that is really a pretty one, but also difficult to keep. And so we can carry on.....

At any rate, keep up the good work there with the A. steindachneri or whatever they are, and keep us posted. I fully share your enthuasism for dwarfs, they are such interesting fishes to keep.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Thanks for the info Prof!! That should come in handy one day when I write breeding articles for the Species that I have. With regards to the crossing, I already have placed females of the double/red strain with the males of the Sunburst strain and vice versa... I'm going to focus on breeding these guys properly after my wedding next weekend. Then I'll have sufficient time on my hands to really concentrate on them.

The Apisogramma species that I want the most is A. baenschi. It is the most amazing little fish and exceptionally hard to come by. I think the last time we checked they were about R400 per pair, before import costs. But I'll pay anything for a breeding pair of these guys. They are stunning.

Those A. diplotaenia look incredible! I wouldn't mind a pair of them either!

@ Eskimo - There are pics of the A. trifasciata in a thread somewhere around here... http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=935

 

Hahahahaha...take this from a married guy - your free time is no longer yours!

But well done and congratulations, both on the fish and the wedding.