A. macmasteri vs. A."viejita"...

[JasonC]

My LFS just got in a huge shipment of Apistos in this week (shocking in of itself!). Contained in the shipment were both A. macmasteri, and A. viejita. Now I know that it is *exceedingly* unlikely that the LFS somehow managed to stumble on an entire tank of captive raised true viejita and that these are really A. macmasteri, but I was wondering what these viejita should actually be called?

When it comes to tank raised strains of "viejita" and macmasteri, are there any differences between the two? Should the correct label for the "viejita" be something like A. macmasteri "false viejita", or when it comes to tank strains, should they both just be A. macmasteri?

To my unskilled eyes, they looked exactly the same... both were in tanks right next to each other, so I was able to take a good look at them. The only differences i could see was some specimens lacking a lateral line... but I am guessing that this could just be a stress coloration?

 

[Mike Wise]

Your dealer is using the names under which the fish were shipped. I know of no one who has a breeding pair/group of the true A. viejita right now. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that the LFS has the true A. viejita. Both are most likely domestic A. macmasteri. Usually 'viejita' (often sold as A. viejita CF II) show more red on the face and body.