Eunotus or Cruzi

[blueblue]

I have acquired the following wild caught fish, under the
label of A. sp. Pebas - Algordon I. However, after a close
examination, i think it is NOT Pebas, but maybe it is a cruzi
or eunotus. When the fish displays, there are sometimes several dark
spots appearing on its body (near the lateral band). So, which
species, cruzi or eunotus (or others), do you think this fish belongs to?
Thanks ^.^

 

[Mike Wise]

None of the fish in the photos show black markings needed to identify the species. If you have some photos of the fish with a submissive/fright pattern (& females, too) it might be possible to ID the fish. I doubt that they are the true A. eunotus nor true A. cruzi.

 

[mematrix]

Re to Blueblue

Hi Blueblue Nice fish. I can not help you with ID. But Here are a few pics of my Cruzi male and female thease might help.

sorry for fuzzy pics of female
Curtis

 

[Apistt_ed]

as far as I am aware, A. cruzi, shouldn't have any patterning on its caudal fin in the males. Instead it should be just pink on top and orange on the bottom only. Curtis, your fish is gorgeous but I don't believe it's the true cruzi.

 

[Mike Wise]

mematrix, Your fish does not look like the true A. cruzi. Your male fish has rows of spots on the caudal fin. True A. cruzi do not have spots on the tail. Your fish is a cruzi-like species, probably A. sp. Nanay (sensu Melgar, Koslowski, & Staeck, but not Römer). Don't compare your fish with those in Römer's Atlas, either. He as at least 3 species listed as A. cruzi.

 

[blueblue]

None of the fish in the photos show black markings needed to identify the species. If you have some photos of the fish with a submissive/fright pattern (& females, too) it might be possible to ID the fish. I doubt that they are the true A. eunotus nor true A. cruzi.

Thanks Mike. Well, i read some books published locally and a fish which looks quite close to the one i posted is named as A. cf. Eunotus...

Anyhow, the following are two photos of the female fish:

 

[blueblue]

Thanks mematrix and Apistt_ed, i now get very confused as the fish as shown by mematrix has been traded here in Hong Kong as Cruzi for a long time... so, what are the most reliable sources of identifying these species?

I personally feel that Eunotus, Cruzi and many other Apistos under the
Regani group can be easily crossed... it directly implies that we will
have an infinite number of fish that look close to them but carry some
differences... it will make the identification work difficult...

 

[Mike Wise]

blueblue, Your photos of the female are just what I need for identification. They are A. sp. Papagei/Parrot, also known as A. sp. Algodon I (notice the diagnostic double caudal peduncle spot). It seems that you have one of the less colorful populations of this species, however. "i now get very confused as the fish as shown by mematrix has been traded here in Hong Kong as Cruzi for a long time... so, what are the most reliable sources of identifying these species?" This has been a problem ever since several fish species have actually been imported under this name. The true A. cruzi (from the type locality) is rarely seen in the hobby, but there are some photos available: Römer' Atlas pages 359 bottom, 360 & 361 top (the females on pages 361 bottom thru 365 top probably are true cruzi, too; Koslowski (1986 as Parrallelstreifen-Apistogramma) page 84 top right & page 85 bottom; Koslowski (2002) page 86, Glaser & Glaser (Southamerican Cichlids II as A. cf. cruzi) page 30 S03459-4; Yamazaki et al. (1997 as A. sp. Parralel-streifen) page 97; Stawikowski et all (2005) (DATZ Extra) page 49 A-83. The other fish listed as "A. cruzi" or Parallelstreifen/Parallel-stripes are in these and other books are different species. The problem is that when Kullander described A. cruzi in 1986, he used specimens from 3 different river systems that were widely separated. These other populations are actually closely related, but different species. The DATZ Extra shows the 3 different populations as: A. cruzi (A-83), A. sp. Caquetá (A-84), & A. sp. Putumayo (A-85 from the Rio Putumayo & A-86 from the Rio Ampiyacu). Add to this A. sp. Nanay (not the fish that Römer calls Nanay, which we call Papagei) and several other eunotus-like forms that have abdominal stripes, & the picture becomes very complex! For those who depend on Römer's Atlas for ID, here are my best guesses on his photos of "A. cruzi": page 355 - A. sp. Putumayo; page 356 top - I cannot say; page 356 bottom & 357 - A. sp. Winkelfleck/Angle-patch; page 359 top - A. sp. Putumayo; page 359 bottom to 365 top - A. cruzi; page 365 bottom & 366 (top 2) - A. sp. Putumayo; page 366 bottom & 367 - A. sp. Winkelfleck/Angle-patch.

 

[blueblue]

Thanks Mike for the detailed explanation.
I agree with you that the female fish is Algodon I,
and how about the male fish? As they are wild caught
fish, i am not sure if the male is the right species.
(please take a look at the following, it is a fish known
as Algodon in the local market
http://forum.apistogramma.com/showthread.php?p=21817
)
Thanks again.

 

[Mike Wise]

The photo at http://forum.apistogramma.com/showthread.php?p=21817 seems to be a colorful form of A. sp. Papagei/Parrot, but I need to see its fright pattern of black markings to be sure. The Parrot Apisto is also called A. sp. Algodon I (among other names). A. sp. Papagei/Parrot as several color morphs, but all show the same black markings. I will need to see the black markings on your males to be certain which species they are.

 

[LyreTail]

It does look like some of my male Papagei juveniles. and the female looks exactly like my female Papagei