Apistogramma cf.luelingi, Unusual ???

[Microman]

A first time Apisto within the UK, Apistogramma cf.luelingi. Brought back from my last trip to Peru BUT thats not why its unusual....
It looks normal from this side.

But turn over AND bright orange colour in just one of its pectoral fins!!!
In 10 years or so keeping and studying Apistos ive never seen any colour in a pectoral fin apart from those on Apistogramma sp.Nanay that shows some very slight but also very transparent orange colouration. Apistos pectoral fins are normally void of any colour.
Very unusual indeed!!! Is it pigment? Is it parasite?
I dont really know.
Mark...

 

[animalmgc]

even stranger that its only on one side
its strangs cause iguanas will loose part of thier tail and grow it back but it comes in a very dark color almost black wonder if that has to do with it

 

[Melanochromis]

Interesting !!
I would try to breed this fish to see if this trait can be genetically inherited.

 

[CopabX]

It doesn't look like a clot or fungus so probably it's just pigment. Could it be related to how bloodfin tetras control their color?

 

[Mike Wise]

Very interesting. It's not just red, but some of the yellow from the breast region has entered the fin, too. Probably one of those sports that pop up in populations every once in a while. It might be worth seeing if it can be passed on to its offspring. Who knows, maybe eventually and entirely red luelingi?

 

[Hmoobthor]

wow...i wonder if its blood clog related or mutation.

See it out and maybe breed them ..

 

[Rod]

I'd say it's genetic
Coloured pectorals have been developed in bettas
Have a look on aquabid
They are sold under the name of " big ears"!

 

[blueblue]

It'll be cool to see how its offspring looks like. Do keep us posted.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

.......Probably one of those sports that pop up in populations every once in a while.

Would be my suggestion as well, it certainly looks like a region of the fin that is abnormally pigmented, but otherwise entirely normal.

cheers Darrel

 

[Chromedome]

It is an infection of some sort, though I don't know exactly what. Back in the mid 70s I caught a Sailfin Molly in Florida, had the same color in the dorsal fin. I thought I'd found something special to try and breed. The fin rotted away, and the fish died. I suggest taking a cutting from that fin, which as you can see in the last photo is already deteriorating. Get it to someone who specializes in fish pathology.

 

[Mike Wise]

Odd, I can't see where the fin has 'rotted away'. I do see that the lower part of the pectoral has the typical transparent fin membrane between the rays. Mark collected this fish in October last year, so it has survived 5 months in his tank. That doesn't seem like a disease problem to me.

 

[Microman]

No its certainly not a disease problem. The lower part of the fin where im sure you think you see "deterioration" is typical of Apistos pectoral fin membranes.
The colour that we often see at the base of many Apistos pectoral fins and breast seems to have transferred into the actual fin itself.
As Mike says the fish has had this colouration for 5 months since i brought it back from Peru and to be perfectly honest, It couldnt be any healthier.
Mark...

 

[CopabX]

I had a crowntail betta that started out dark purple but it eventually turned blue then orange. Maybe the same is happening to this fish.

 

[Chromedome]

Looked at the photo again, yes, initially it looked like naked rays at the bottom with a rough edge at the top. In that photo the membrane is not visible in any way between those rays, but a closer look showed that it isn't visible in the normal fin on the other side, either. My error.

If it is simply abnormal pigment, there's about a one in a hundred chance that it will be passed genetically. Asymmetrical patterns are usually less likely to be genetic, though not impossible. I've seen a lot of abnormal pigmentation in individuals; patches of excessive pigment sometimes act like a cancer, though rarely fatal. Has it increased at all since you got the fish?

No research that I am aware of into these abnormal patches, but I've seen them on many species from various families. Some show up repeatedly(though rarely) within certain species, but don't show any sign of being genetic in nature. A few can be traced to regrowth after an injury, similar to the extended rays on a fin that has been frayed and grown back. Zero predictability.

I wish you luck, if it is genetic it would be quite interesting. As I said, I've seen a lot of these individuals in different species. I've always tried to breed them when I find them. Some I was unable to breed, some were infertile, and some produced no positive results, even through five generations. But I keep trying, so I say go for it!

 

[Melanochromis]

I wish you luck, if it is genetic it would be quite interesting. As I said, I've seen a lot of these individuals in different species. I've always tried to breed them when I find them. Some I was unable to breed, some were infertile, and some produced no positive results, even through five generations. But I keep trying, so I say go for it!

๋ี๋ีJust curious. What were those species? Were they wild caught? How were their pigment anomalies like? This is quite interesting to me.

 

[Stoke_Apisto]

Breeding Success

Hi everyone,

This is my first post but I’ve been around on the apisto forums for years just never posted anything!

As a few of you in the UK will know I’ve been specialising in dwarfs for the last few years and had a pair of these off Mark late last year when he returned from his trip. While I was there Mark showed me this male and I can say in person the fish was 100% healthy back then and also if I remember correctly the colouration wasn't as intense as the pictures and has intensified in the fin since I saw it and in person the fin had a sort of metallic shimmer, extremely unusual but it certainly wasn't a fungus etc and wasn't causing the fish any distress.

Also Mark just wondering if you've had any success with these I’ve had a few spawns since I had the pair off you but no fry survived past a week or so however the females just brought another batch out and I’ve removed 40 fry, approx half of the spawn, which was the biggest to date, to raise artificially. Normally I don't tend to remove any fry from any spawn as I do it for the enjoyment and not the mass production, in my opinion there nothing more interesting than watching the interactions of the pair and the pair guarding the fry, but I’d like to keep this fish going at least in my fish house as it's stunning in person, so fingers crossed I’ll get some young off this batch either way.

Apologies for the long post lol,

Mike

 

[Tom C]

No problems with them here:

Mother (Wild caught) with fry:

and these fry have now become teen-agers: