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Confirmation of species - Paulmuelleri

bludfire

Member
Messages
47
Location
Witney, Oxfordshire
Hi all,

I purchased a trio of Apistogramma sp. Masken at an auction earlier this year and was hoping for confirmation that this is indeed Apistogramma Paulmuelleri.

I've heard 'Apache' and 'Masken' used for other species before but understand that true Masken have been classified as Paulmuelleri.

I've attached 2 photos of the male and 2 of one of the females. The caudal spot seems to be a giveaway as it's fairly unique in paulmuelleri however other photos I've seen of them often look quite different.

There doesn't seem to be many around the UK so there isn't many pics to compare them to.

Love to hear your thoughts.

DSC_0032.JPG
DSC_0033.JPG
DSC_0104.JPG
Female Ap Paulmuelleri.jpg
 

bludfire

Member
Messages
47
Location
Witney, Oxfordshire
Thanks Mike. They're F1's (my first non-shop bought Apisto) - I'm looking forward to seeing them breed hopefully!

Do you see many of them around? I never hear much about them and I'm not sure whether it's because they're only found in one small location so haven't been collected much or whether they're just not that popular in the trade.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
The species regularly available from Peruvian exporters. They are usually sold as 'A. sp. Apache'. My guess is that they aren't as popular, commercially, as they were when they first appeared in the hobby. This happens to many fish species. This is a more or less blackwater species, so it needs soft and acidic (~ph 6.0) water. Given proper conditions they are very prolific and the fry grow really fast. Have fun!
 

bludfire

Member
Messages
47
Location
Witney, Oxfordshire
I was at a talk by Uwe Romer the other day on the future developments of apistogramma clarification and on the example of Paulmuelleri he mentioned that it may eventually be split in to two separate species - one being the larger more colourful type and the other a smaller less colourful type.

From your paper on Apistogramma Species List By Species-Groups/Complexes August, 2011 you mentioned the following and I wonder which one of the two you think mine would fall in to?

A. sp. Masken/Masked -
A. sp. Apache; Carapintada (in part); Peru (II); A. cf. regani (Belem)
M. Rio Ucayali (Contamaná, Peru)

A. cf. Masken/Masked (Esperanza)
A. sp. Peru-regani = less colorful population of A. sp.Masken
L. Río Ucayali


 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
We really don't have a good idea of how many genetically distinct species similar to A. paulmuelleri there actually are. My guess right now is that there are several regani-complex species/forms similar to A. paulmuelleri in Peru and western Brazil. The type A. paulmuelleri is a form from the lower Río Ucayali system, mainly from the Río Itaya and farther north. This is the colorful form that's been labeled in the past as Masken, Apache, etc. Who knows? Maybe these include more than one distinct species. We just don't have enough data to say for sure. The less colorful forms, like Peru-Regani and some others very recently found populations, all appear to be from the middle Río Ucayali system, from the Río Marañon and farther south. As you can see from the change in distribution, we have some better understanding of distribution since the 2011 list. Then there is a similar form Heiko Bleher found in the Middle Rio Juruá near Eirunepé, Brazil.
 

rasmusW

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
455
hi bludfire!

i'm resurrecting this thread, because you i'm interrested in hearing about your experience with this fish.
i have seen 3 different size descriptions from from my tour around google. how big are your fish now? -i guess they are fully grown now, since this thread a few years old.
did you succeed in breeding, etc.?

thanks in advance.

-r
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
I don't have A. paulmuelleri any more. It's been almost 4 years since my above post and now I've concentrated on keeping and breeding apisto species not commonly imported into the trade. As for my A. paulmuelleri, which corresponded to Römer's type material, males grew what I would say is a moderate size - 2¾" / 7cm SL (without tail) - almost twice the size of the type specimen. These, of course were tank raised and lived much longer and healthier lives than specimens in the wild. These were easy to reproduce because I used water parameters similar to those TomC & I found in the collection site: pH 5.5 - 6.0 and moderately soft, 35 - 60 µS/cm @ 26 - 30°C (79 - 86°F). They bred like most regani-complex species in a casually monogamous manner with little aggression between the sexes, except when the females had fry - and then it was more like gentle 'nudging' of the male away from the fry. The fry grew very fast, typical of many blackwater species, but still were not visually sexible until about 8 month of age. Hope this helps.
 

rasmusW

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
455
thanks a lot mike... that do indeed help. the fish size you describe here fits better with what i have seen in other articles on the web (-sorry, can't remember where and which).
it's a beautiful fish nonetheless:)

-r
 

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