apisto ID help please viejita vs macmasteri

[daisylane]

Hi,

We bought a pair of apistos about 18 mths ago from a local shop and they were sold as 'apistogramma viejita Rio meta'. They did very well, we could tell the male as he had the longer pointed dorsal fin and the female had a darker background colour. unfortunately about 2 mths ago we lost one and we think the surviving one is the male. (Although I've been convinced for ages it was the female as not seen the dorsal fin 'up' and it seemed rounder)

However when I came to research (see other post in beginners section) I thought perhaps it was actually A. Macmasteri. Then I've read you can have hybrids too.

We assumed it was bred in captivity but didn't ask at the time (we are relative novices) but with the description being 'Rio meta' perhaps it was wild that's been caught in that area. Im going to ring the fish shop tomorrow to find out where they usually source from.

Here's a couple of pics I managed to get tonight as its been hardly coming out. Can try and get more angles if helpful.

What do you think? Thanks in advance!

 

[Anders247]

Looks like A. macmasteri to me.

 

[daisylane]

Thanks. Having done a bit of a search through the posts it seems this is a common question and pretty much all viejitas sold are actually macmasteri? How would it work if you wanted one of these? Ask for macmasteri or viejita knowing you'll get a macmasteri?

Do you think its the male?

 

[Anders247]

Yes, I'd say it's a male. Not sure how you get viejita, though.

 

[Mike Wise]

If you want a mate for your "A. viejita Rio Meta", actually a domestic color strain of A. macmasteri, buy a female "A. viejita Rio Meta". These are all domestic A. macmasteri.

 

[daisylane]

Thanks. Not sure we'll be looking now if he's actually sick rather than depressed/lonely

 

[Teodor Macovei]

But how old were those fish when you initially bought them? After 18 mths maybe he's just old...