Buying males and females - same species?

[Siggi]

Hi, all.
When buying apistos at LFS, what way do you recommend to have at least some certainty that the males and females are the same species?
Thx

 

[Mike Wise]

This is my philosophy - and the first slide in all of my programs:

Do your research.

 

[Siggi]

Nice intro...
The problem, as I see it is from the point of capture (where locals often can't tell similar species apart) all the way to the employees in LFS's (who often can't tell the difference between a krib and an apisto).
Even in nature several apistogramma species live side by side in the same streams - and rarely hybridise.
It's possible and fairly easy to tell the males apart, but the females can be tricky.
And to make things worse, frequently the species have wrong labels and other times the same batch has females from different species...

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Hi, all.
When buying apistos at LFS, what way do you recommend to have at least some certainty that the males and females are the same species?
Thx

It is often really difficult, particularly as all the colours tend to be washed out. I just watch them in the tank, and you can often pick out males and females, and sometimes even pairs.

cheers Darrel

 

[Russ Hennessey]

yes....that is the question we all have to answer...male or female or sleeper...or ,,,, lol
best advice as Mike says is know your fish and always remember that females get yellow coloured when they are mature...

 

[Mike Wise]

My philosophy is, "when in doubt, buy at least 6 specimens of varying size". Yes, it's expensive, but you'll have a better chance of getting both sexes. As for the same species, knowledge - or buying from dependable and knowledgeable sources - are the only way.

 

[Siggi]

As for the same species, knowledge - or buying from dependable and knowledgeable sources - are the only way.

Yes, that can be the only help available...
My LFS knows me - quite well I'd say...have sold some 'excess production' from my breeding tank a couple of times and once changed me a female - should have been a nijsseni and turned out to be a baenschi (I think...)
But there isn't really much else to do about 'stowaways' in a batch of apistos, then?

 

[Mike Wise]

No, not really. Me? I used to go to wholesalers in town and pull the odd apistos from tanks of wild tetras and corys. Sometimes it would take months to match a pair; sometimes it never happened. Sadly, there are no fish wholesalers left in town.