Subordinate male? or true female

[edwliang]

i wonder if she is a true female mendezi or a subordinate male? today i have put into a mirror, and she is displaying all the time in front of it. all the colour comes out, and she is flipping her tail against the mirror all the time.
ps, anyone noticed the lateral band is not straight? also is the male.

 

[Mike Wise]

My guess is that it is a female. Females are as aggressive toward other females as males are toward other males - often even more so. Are your fish domestic spawned or wild. My guess is that they are domestic and not the best quality that I have seen.

 

[edwliang]

My guess is that it is a female. Females are as aggressive toward other females as males are toward other males - often even more so. Are your fish domestic spawned or wild. My guess is that they are domestic and not the best quality that I have seen.

oh no，thatis real bad,cause the shop keeper said they're ordered from south America

 

[edwliang]

oh no，thatis real bad,cause the shop keeper said they're ordered from south America

Do you see any deformed figure?

 

[Mike Wise]

Shop keepers usually rely on information from their suppliers. Some suppliers (and shop keepers) will lie just to make a sale. I looked at your photos. Truthfully, none of the photos are 'in focus', so it is not easy to see the scalation. From what I see, I would say that the fish do not show any deformities except for the odd lateral/abdomninal bands. Most of what I see could be attributed to poor rearing (subpar water and poor feeding). Inbreeding caused by poor/no culling practices might also be a cause. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[edwliang]

Shop keepers usually rely on information from their suppliers. Some suppliers (and shop keepers) will lie just to make a sale. I looked at your photos. Truthfully, none of the photos are 'in focus', so it is not easy to see the scalation. From what I see, I would say that the fish do not show any deformities except for the odd lateral/abdomninal bands. Most of what I see could be attributed to poor rearing (subpar water and poor feeding). Inbreeding caused by poor/no culling practices might also be a cause. Of course, I could be wrong.

Thank you for your kind reply. Those pics are not good because they are taken by iPhone. Does inbreeding happen very often in the wild as well? Now I am providing the best I can to raise them up. I use Japanese soil，Power House inside ceramic filter, am feeding them with bbs, OSI shrimp pellets，Tetra bits Complete,add API stress coating and zyme whenever changing water.

 

[Mike Wise]

Inbreeding should be very rare in the wild. Apistos usually breed in the flooded forests during the rainy season. This means that their habitat expands greatly and fish from different areas mix. I think that you will have better breeding success - and more colorful fish - if you add some live foods to their diet.

 

[edwliang]

Inbreeding should be very rare in the wild. Apistos usually breed in the flooded forests during the rainy season. This means that their habitat expands greatly and fish from different areas mix. I think that you will have better breeding success - and more colorful fish - if you add some live foods to their diet.

that means when flooded, the water will be diluted. If i want to bread apistos, should I just add dead leaves and black water into the tank, or change water more frequently. You said in breading season, apistos come from different areas, how come there is a specific form of mendezi that have 'orange' in their tummy? thanks n best regards.

 

[Mike Wise]

A. mendezi is an interesting species. Forget color. Color in this species is variable. There are 2 different forms: the Langstreifen form with horizontal caudal stripes and the Querstreifen form with vertical stripes. Dr. Römer noted that the Langstreifen form is only found in left side (eastern) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The Querstreifen form is only found in right side (western) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The 2 forms are separated from each other by the main channel of the Rio Negro. They never (well almost never) mix. The Langstreifen form is found with A. paucisquamis, but the Querstreifen form never is. Römer believes that the Langstreifen form evolved horizontal caudal stripes in order that these 2 very similar species can more easily recognize each other and avoid crossing. Flooding of the forest during the rainy season does expand the biotope of each form of A. mendezi, but the (then very deep) Rio Negro prevents the 2 forms from mixing. In the forest - when flooded or dry - there is so much organic matter on the bottom that the water of the region still is acidified and considered blackwater. A. mendezi is not as demanding of extreme blackwater conditions as some other apisto species from the Negro (e.g. A. paucisquamis and A. elizabethae).

I understand that you want to believe that your fish are wild, but all I can say is that it is extremely unlikely to find the anomalous pattern seen in both of your fish in wild caught fish. One anomalous fish, yes, but not multiples.

 

[edwliang]

A. mendezi is an interesting species. Forget color. Color in this species is variable. There are 2 different forms: the Langstreifen form with horizontal caudal stripes and the Querstreifen form with vertical stripes. Dr. Römer noted that the Langstreifen form is only found in left side (eastern) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The Querstreifen form is only found in right side (western) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The 2 forms are separated from each other by the main channel of the Rio Negro. They never (well almost never) mix. The Langstreifen form is found with A. paucisquamis, but the Querstreifen form never is. Römer believes that the Langstreifen form evolved horizontal caudal stripes in order that these 2 very similar species can more easily recognize each other and avoid crossing. Flooding of the forest during the rainy season does expand the biotope of each form of A. mendezi, but the (then very deep) Rio Negro prevents the 2 forms from mixing. In the forest - when flooded or dry - there is so much organic matter on the bottom that the water of the region still is acidified and considered blackwater. A. mendezi is not as demanding of extreme blackwater conditions as some other apisto species from the Negro (e.g. A. paucisquamis and A. elizabethae).

I understand that you want to believe that your fish are wild, but all I can say is that it is extremely unlikely to find the anomalous pattern seen in both of your fish in wild caught fish. One anomalous fish, yes, but not multiples.

thanks a lot.

 

[Gwendal]

I think could be a male. The ventrals figure to me a male.






1 saludo

 

[Mike Wise]

Females of paucisquamis-complex species develop exceptionally long ventral fins when compared to the average female apisto.

 

[edwliang]

Females of paucisquamis-complex species develop exceptionally long ventral fins when compared to the average female apisto.

what is 'paucisquamis-complex species'?

 

[Mike Wise]

paucisquamis-complex species (of the bitaeniata-group):

A. paucisquamis​

A. mendezi​

A. sp. Gabelband/Fork-band​

A. sp. Miuá​

 

[edwliang]

what is 'paucisquamis-complex species'?

Mike,can you tell me some characteris of Mendezi from different streams. I just bought another pair of adults, the male has an orange belly. They arrived with dissolved fins(damaged). I wonder where they are originated.

 

[Mike Wise]

Specimens with orange bellies (together with other color variants) are found in many tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Other than the pattern on the male caudal fin, I know of no way to determine from which general region your fish were collected.

 

[edwliang]

Mike,can you tell me some characteris of Mendezi from different streams. I just bought another pair of adults, the male has an orange belly. They arrived with dissolved fins(damaged). I wonder where they are originated.

they are a pair of adult mendezi i just bought. the male have an orange belly. the female has an orange tail.

 

[Mike Wise]

This is the Langstreifen form which is only found in left side (eastern) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The orange color has no real bearing on location. Nice fish!

 

[edwliang]

This is the Langstreifen form which is only found in left side (eastern) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The orange color has no real bearing on location. Nice fish!

thank you, despite that damaged fin, they will grow back soon. they spawned once in the shop. The shop keeper was reluctant to sell them to me. now, i guess they are ready to spawn again. today, i saw the female keeps coming in and out of the ceramic jar. The male is not allowed to get any closer to the jar.

 

[edwliang]

This is the Langstreifen form which is only found in left side (eastern) tributaries of middle-upper Rio Negro between Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The orange color has no real bearing on location. Nice fish!

hi, mike, will the damaged fins grow back someday? thank you.