Apisto. sp. "oroja"?/posting pics?

[swaldron]

hello all,
I'm new to this forum...it's a pleasure to join you all. I recently acquired a trio of an Apistogramma that is new to me, labelled as A. sp. "oroja". Curious if anyone has some information on them? As soon as I can figure out how to post pics on this forum I will.

best regards,
Steve Waldron

 

[swaldron]

here are the pics of Apisto. sp. "oroja"

if you follow this link, you can see the fish in question...not the best pics. The male's caudal has a yellow wash. They are not shy but camera shy for some reason. They are freshly imported and around 2" SVL, fairly large apistos...

http://www.pacificnaturalist.com/apistooroja.html

best regards,
Steve

 

[jose_vogel]

I think that could be A. sp. Pebas "Noronha" (A 88)

 

[swaldron]

Thanks Jose- do you have any more info.? They look to be quite healthy, wouldn't be surprised if they spawn in the next week or so.
best,
Steve

 

[Mike Wise]

Jose is correct that the fish pictured in http://www.pacificnaturalist.com/apistooroja.html are A. sp. Pebas, but they are mis-identified! The real (original) "A. sp. Oroja" is now called A. sp. Angle-patch/Winkelfleck (A44-45). Without actually seeing photos of your fish, I cannot say which species that you have. There are aparently 2 geographic populations of Angle-patch, but both breed in similar conditions - neutral to slighly acid and moderately soft water. The species is more aggressive than most other apistos - especially when brooding fry. If your fish are actually A. sp. Pebas, then they need moderately acid (~pH 6) and soft water for breeding.

 

[swaldron]

Thanks Mike and Jose...interesting...the dealer had another tank of Apistos labelled, A sp. Pebas. Perhaps they were mixed up? I'm tempted to go back and see if my LFS has the real sp. Oroja labelled as sp. Pebas.

Now that I know I have A sp. Pebas...do you have more info. on them? Are they similarly aggressive? are they in this regani/papagei type group.

I'm sort of out of the loop with any new apisto that might have appeared on the scene in the last 10 years or so. Is there a good current book out on the subject?

 

[Mike Wise]

Are you sure that you have A. sp. Pebas? It is similar to A. sp. Angle-patch/Winkelfeck in many ways. Compare photos of the 2 species. Look particularly at the size of the caudal fin and hight of the dorsal fin. Check the size & shape of the caudal spot. These will separate the 2 species.

 

[swaldron]

Thanks for your continued help with my apisto conundrum Mike. Well, I don't own any current Apistogramma books, so I'm relying on the web for my i.d. and have yet to see a great pic of either species, not sure what the difference is between the dorsal height characters... I've posted a few more photos at http://www.pacificnaturalist.com/apistopebas.html. These fish are really hard to photograph.

 

[Mike Wise]

The fish in the photos on http://www.pacificnaturalist.com/apistopebas.html show a pair of A. sp. Pebas. Note the differences with A. sp. Winkelfleck at http://rva.jp/apisto/ap_sp_winkelfleck_p.htm - particularly the shape of the vertical bars and the shape of the caudal spot at the base of the tail fin.

 

[swaldron]

thanks Mike- I finally get it!!! thanks so much for your help!!!

 

[swaldron]

update

Just to let Mike and all know...My A sp. Pebas spawned a few days ago! Hoping for free-swimming fry soon! thanks again
- Steve Waldron

 

[Mike Wise]

Congratulations!