Apistogramma sp. “Zwilling/Twinâ€

[Tom C]

An Apistogramma not very often imported to Europe, is Apistogramma sp. “Zwilling/Twin†(A181).
I brought some back from my latest trip to Peru, late 2008.

At first glance, the males seem identical to Apistogramma nijsseni, which gives it its common name.
It belongs to the Apistogramma-nijsseni-complex, and compared to Apistogramma nijsseni, the main differences are;
Adult males of Apistogramma sp. “Zwilling/Twin†develop a serrated dorsal fin with slightly extended dorsal fin membranes, and they usually show a lateral band while in a neutral emotional state, unlike Apistogramma nijsseni.
The caudal spot is larger and more distinct, and there are one or two rows of dark spots on the caudal peduncle below the lateral band.
Females of Apistogramma sp. “Zwilling/Twin†have a wide cheek band, but it does not cover the entire gill cover as on Apistogramma nijsseni.
Apistogramma sp. “Zwilling/Twinâ€â€™s lateral spot is comparatively smaller than the flank patch on Apistogramma nijsseni.

It has been sold as Apistogramma sp. aff. payaminonis, Apistogramma sp. aff. nijsseni and Apistogramma sp. “Nijsseni IIâ€, and even as Apistogramma sp. “Oregon†(which actually is another, closely related, species.)

This species is found far up in the Rio Nanay in Peru, close to the border with Ecuador.

A young male:

And a young female:

An adult female:

Here the males show body colors quite similar to Apistogramma panduro.

A male:

A pair:

A female shows her breeding dress:

The male also shows nice colors when it’s â€romance in the airâ€:

A typical black water species which requires quite acid and soft water to thrive and breed.
In my tanks, it so far shows a lower level of aggression compared to its cousin Apistogramma nijsseni, even if they now breed in a tank with several other Apistogramma.

 

[Mike Wise]

Tom, this is the only species that I brought back from Peru that I lost.

I just removed 13, 1-cm long A. sp. Oregon from the parent's breeding tank and put them in their own grow-out tank.

My red A. bitaeniata Río Tigre have fry, as do my A. sp. Nadelstreifen, A. cf. eunotus Huanta. Lost the fry from the "Nijsseni-New" species & A. sp. Papagei. They'll breed again soon, I'm sure. The A. cf. eunotus from the Río Shishita look like they are going to breed soon (I hope; I have a spectacular blue male). I still need to give the A. sp. Roca Eterna a suitable breeding tank. All together, not bad.

 

[Csababá]

borrowed plumes

First i saw them mentioned as Oregon when they caught my eyes. Let me post my fellow countrymen's fish

I hope the're identified correctly.

 

[Tom C]

First i saw them mentioned as Oregon .......
I hope the're identified correctly.

A. sp. "Oregon" is probably the right ID. (They are definitely not A. sp. "Zwilling".)

 

[Csababá]

Thank you very much. I forward it to them.