Apistogramma gephyra

[Heidge]

Hi fellows,

This fish I have from more than 2 years, and never got a female for him :cry:

Link for a bigger pic:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid142/pca8c3909348ae4d2e23acd8351e0c31c/f6a92e4d.jpg

See ya!

 

[fishgeek]

can somebody explain why this is different to an aggie?

 

[Apistt_ed]

..

Hello, If you look closely you can see that A. gephyra does not have the classic caudal tail "v" line as aggies have. Instead it will have the spots as the one in the picture. I have had the pleasure of having a few not too long ago and they were not colored like any of my aggies also but were equally magnificent! A.gephyra is a close relative to A. Aggassizi but it is an entirely different fish. Maybe Mike has the more technical stuff to say about it! A great picture it is too!

 

[Heidge]

Hi,

Thanks Apistt_ed ! :lol:
About this picture, I have to take almost 50 others that dont look well 8) . But finally one was fine...And the camera help either

Fish geek, to reinforce what Ed told us, I give a link of one detailled caudal photo of this A.gephyra. Look how the dot pattern is different from all around aggies.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid142/p3721c508778e7c4a74ccbdb927ab0622/f6a92e35.jpg

To view a bigger picture, copy and paste the link above and put ".orig.jpg" on the end. Ok?!

Best reguards,

 

[Mike Wise]

The difference between A. gephyra & A. agassizii is not easy to determine. I have seen photos of fish from the middle Rio Negro, home to A. gephyra, that look more like A. agassizii. I have also seen photos of A. agassizii that show the lacy spotted pattern associated with A. gephyra.

So how do I decide? Well, on dead specimens I look at the breast area. A. gephyra has very few breast scales - similar to A. pertensis in this respect. On live specimens I look at the male's lateral band during threat display. On A. gephyra the lateral band is visible over its entire length from back edge of the gill cover to the root of the caudal fin. On A. agassizii the lateral band will be dark near the gill cover back toward the lateral spot. Then it fades noticably back to the caudal peduncle. From the caudal peduncle to the root of the caudal fin it darkens again. It is a good bet that if the fish shows the combination of a solid lateral band during threat display, a red margin on the dorsal fin, a tail fin with a narrow white submarginal band & lacy spotting inside the submarginal band, and fairly short tip on the dorsal fin, then it is A. gephyra. Their body color is usually not as bright either.

Brooding female A. gephyra in threat display also show a continuous lateral band, while similar A. agassizii females show only a large lateral spot. Like I said they can be hard to tell apart