Apistogramma bitaeniata cf. Peru

[rasmusW]

Hey all!

I was hoping that some of you cool cats could help me identify which color form my bitaeniatas are.
When i bought them i asked my LFS if he could ask his reseller, where they got them from. All he could say was that they are wild caught from Peru.
So i checked the interwebs for matching fish, i have narrowed it down to either Nanay or Putomayo... -but that's my own conclusion. i would like to hear if you think the same.
They are all more or less fully grown (7-8cm.). The one pair is a little larger than the other (-the life of being an alpha, right? ).
I have read somewhere around this forum that the most common color form is Shishita or Shushupe (-not sure about the spelling here). -The thing is my large male show a lot more orange in his fins than those two forms.
However, my LFS still have a few left from the same batch as mine came from. In his tanks, they do show the same yellow color as Shishita/Shushupe. -Could this just be tanin or light issue? -I got faily dimmed light and a lot of floaters to block the light further, but still i find it odd if that could change the colors that much.
Last scenario, i can think of is that it's fish from different river systems, that's just shipped together.

Well, enough babbling here's the pictures (sorry for the quality in some of them).
They show the male alpha and small female.

looking forward to hear your verdict.

-r

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes, they are one of the many populations from the Peruvian/Colombian Amazon. These can vary in color, etc. and many look the same. So without a known location it is simply A. bitaeniata.

 

[rasmusW]

Thanks a lot Mike.
They sure are beautiful fish no matter where they come from.

Do you think that water chemistry could influence the intensity of the color? Like with some of the small tetras, or is it more likely that they got more color the bigger they became. -or it was just a mixed bag of bitaeniatas..?
The remaining fish (-the ones with bright yellow fins) at the lfs is half the size of mine.

Well, now that i wrote all this i kinda came up with the most likely answere.. -how should you/i know...

Anyway.. thanks.

-r

 

[Mike Wise]

Most cichlids can change color depending on mood, water, and especially foods. Those foods with color enhancing properties will help.

 

[rasmusW]

Thanks again Mike.

-r

 

[yukondog]

I know anybody can slap a name on a fish, but the ones I got from apistodave, for what its worth were sold to me as wild caught Brick Reds, Bits. They look exactly like yours down to the blue markings on the face.

 

[yukondog]

I know anybody can slap a name on a fish, but the ones I got from apistodave, for what its worth were sold to me as wild caught Brick Reds, Bits. They look exactly like yours down to the blue markings on the face.

 

[rasmusW]

cool. thanks yukondog. do you have any idea of where in peru, apistodave got his from?

-r