Apistogramma Megaptera

[chris1805]

Hi all,

Recently i've acquired a pair of Apistogramma Megaptera F1. I was wondering if anyone knows if they are found with some small dither fish in the wild? The article that describes the Apistogramma Megaptera is in spanish, and sadly i can't read any spanish at all. I've try to scan through the article looking for names of other fish that i might recognize but sadly i don't. Hopefully someone can help me out

Otherwise i will just pick one of the thousand fish species occuring in the Rio Orinioco haha

Kind regards,
Christian

 

[Mike Wise]

No, the paper doesn't list other species found with A. megaptera (I checked). Since the species is found in the Rio Inirida, I'd suggest you check with Fishbase to see what other species come from the river.

 

[chris1805]

Not many species, gues i will go for some nannostomus or copella species than

Just for confirmation, is it really A. Megaptera, as I found out that there are many species alike. The male is about 6-7cm and the female about 4cm.

 

[Bart Hazes]

Megaptera used to be called sp. 'Kurzlappen-breitbinden' because it has shorter dorsal spine extensions and more limited to the front of the dorsal. So this looks like a proper megaptera to me. I should be able to get both megapter and piaroa next weekend and look more into their differences then.

 

[TCMontium]

It seems like there is more than the well-know 2 species. But I guess only rarely piaroa and mostly megaptera are imported worldwide. What differences A165 have from megaptera and piaroa?

"No, it's not the Apistogramma piaroa, nor the Apistogramma megaptera, but the
Apistogramma sp. "Breitbinden" (Rio Negro). (A 165)"

http://apisto.sites.no/page.aspx?pageid=53

And there is an A167 too. (but it is listed as possibly the same species as piaroa in Mike Wise's last list, which also has 2 or 3 more possible "breitbinden" species listed)

 

[chris1805]

Mine are F1s. I am quite sure they are not piaroa. Quite confident that they are megatpera A166, but confirmation from other people is always nice to have.

 

[chris1805]

After some nice bbs meal, they decided it was time for some flirting. I think the pictures below are pretty clear and usefull.

 

[Bart Hazes]

That is a spectacular male you have and I see even the female has some red just before and below the pectoral fin. I hope you get to see them breed.

 

[chris1805]

I hope so too. But currently my ph is about 6.5, so that should drop a bit more to get them to breed.

 

[Mtfallstodd]

Really amazing looking fish. Would love to see one in person.

 

[chris1805]

Really amazing looking fish. Would love to see one in person.

I made a very small video. Hopefully you will enjoy it

 

[Mtfallstodd]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

 

[rasmusW]

wauw! stunning fish.
good luck with them.

-r

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
They are beautiful fish.

I hope so too. But currently my ph is about 6.5, so that should drop a bit more to get them to breed.

Do you know what the conductivity is? and when did you measure the pH (were the lights on?).

If it is low conductivity water then the pH will vary quite a lot during the diurnal cycle as the plants photosynthesize.

I was calibrating a DO/pH/conductivity meter yesterday in the tank in the lab (pretty heavily planted). When I tested the meter about lunchtime the conductivity was ~100 microS and the pH about pH 8.4. This morning, before the lights came on, it was 96 microS (probably the water was a bit cooler) an the pH was pH 6.6. DO levels were similar in either case, about 95% saturated in the morning and 107% at lunchtime. I can't measure CO2, other than indirectly, via the pH drop.

Those pH differences are almost certainly attributable to changes in the CO2/O2 ratio in the water.

If it is similar water you should be able to lower the pH with a weak acid (<"citric acid?">) or by using a source of humic acids (like Oak leaves). You may be able to just put <"sphagnum moss or alder cones in the spawning cave">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Hellfishguy]

Beautiful pair. I hope mine will look even half as nice one day.

 

[chris1805]

Hi all,
They are beautiful fish. Do you know what the conductivity is? and when did you measure the pH (were the lights on?).

If it is low conductivity water then the pH will vary quite a lot during the diurnal cycle as the plants photosynthesize.

I was calibrating a DO/pH/conductivity meter yesterday in the tank in the lab (pretty heavily planted). When I tested the meter about lunchtime the conductivity was ~100 microS and the pH about pH 8.4. This morning, before the lights came on, it was 96 microS (probably the water was a bit cooler) an the pH was pH 6.6. DO levels were similar in either case, about 95% saturated in the morning and 107% at lunchtime. I can't measure CO2, other than indirectly, via the pH drop.

Those pH differences are almost certainly attributable to changes in the CO2/O2 ratio in the water.

If it is similar water you should be able to lower the pH with a weak acid (<"citric acid?">) or by using a source of humic acids (like Oak leaves). You may be able to just put <"sphagnum moss or alder cones in the spawning cave">.

cheers Darrel

Hi Darrel,

Sadly i don’t have a conductivity meter. The ph was measered when the lights were on. I suspect that conductivity is quite low as I use about 80% RO water and 20% tap. Sadly conductivity meters are quite expensive. My kh is about 2-3 and the gh was 5. Not sure if this is of any help.

I have some peat in my cannister filter, and try to add 2 big catappa leaves to the tank each week (about 50 liters of real water volume in the tank).

It is hard for me to get sustainable water parameters. My tap water is too hard for apisto’s to thrive in and the problem is that my RO unit is still at my parents house and i can’t connect it in my own house. I therefore have not always RO water to my availability. Sometimes i skip the weekly water change, or sometimes i do a small one with tap water.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Sadly i don’t have a conductivity meter. The ph was measered when the lights were on. I suspect that conductivity is quite low as I use about 80% RO water and 20% tap. Sadly conductivity meters are quite expensive. My kh is about 2-3 and the gh was 5. Not sure if this is of any help.

I have some peat in my cannister filter, and try to add 2 big catappa leaves to the tank each week (about 50 liters of real water volume in the tank).

OK. as they look like they are in spawning condition I might try upping the amount of RO and adding a few more leaves or Alder cones and see what happens.

cheers Darrel

 

[chris1805]

Hi all,
OK. as they look like they are in spawning condition I might try upping the amount of RO and adding a few more leaves or Alder cones and see what happens.

cheers Darrel

Seems like throwing in some more RO water and some fresh peat did the job

 

[mrjbacon]

Any of these going to be available when they're big enough? Stunning fish right there.

 

[chris1805]

Well I normally never try to breed fish. I like to keep them in community tanks, and if they spawn and some fry survives than it's fine. These guys are lucky that I didn't find a suitable tank mate yet haha. So this will be the first time that I am going to try to raise the fry. In the past I got mostly males. I am currently feeding them twice a day with bbs and they respond well to it. If I manage to raise some females and males they will be available for sale. However this is my first time really trying and I am located in the Netherlands, so don't put to much hopes into me haha.

And btw if your dutch, the store I bought them from still has these stunners in stock, so you could get your hands on a mature pair already.