ID help

[Nick123]

Hi, these came in as wild agasizzi, but I am confident that ID is wrong. I separated a pair (I think) that I hope will color up soon but any info helps!

 

[Frank Hättich]

It's either a resticulosa-complex species, e.g. A. sp. Wangenflecken, or A. sp. Steel-blue. In the latter species males develop a pronounced caudal pattern consisting of vertical stripes. So watch out for this feature.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with Frank that it probably is a resticulosa-complex species, but it doesn't look like A. sp. Wangenflecken to me. This species shows vertical bars that are more bowed. To me it looks like one of the many A. taeniata-like species.

 

[Nick123]

It's either a resticulosa-complex species, e.g. A. sp. Wangenflecken, or A. sp. Steel-blue. In the latter species males develop a pronounced caudal pattern consisting of vertical stripes. So watch out for this feature.

I agree with Frank that it probably is a resticulosa-complex species, but it doesn't look like A. sp. Wangenflecken to me. This species shows vertical bars that are more bowed. To me it looks like one of the many A. taeniata-like species.

Here are some updated pictures for you! Let me know what you think

The male has this bright fluorescent blue to his body that doesn’t get captured well on camera

 

[Nick123]

Some more photos

Looking forward to hearing what you guys think!

 

[Frank Hättich]

A. sp. Steel-blue and A. (cf.) taeniata are ruled out because they show a pronounced pattern of vertical bars in the caudal fin. So your fish are either A. sp. Wangenflecken or one of the A. (cf.) resticulosa forms. Because of the lack of any pattern in the caudal, the very short lateral band, the vertical bars being present mostly in the upper half of the body and the body height, I tend towards A. sp. Wangenflecken.

 

[Mike Wise]

I admit it is an odd species. To me the caudal spot is too large and set to far back on the caudal peduncle, seemingly mostly on the caudal fin itself. That plus the bars still appear to be much less bowed than on Wangenflecken. The face of the male, however, does strongly resemble that of some specimens of Wangenflecken in its color pattern. Whatever it is, it is a very nice apisto.

 

[Nick123]

A. sp. Steel-blue and A. (cf.) taeniata are ruled out because they show a pronounced pattern of vertical bars in the caudal fin. So your fish are either A. sp. Wangenflecken or one of the A. (cf.) resticulosa forms. Because of the lack of any pattern in the caudal, the very short lateral band, the vertical bars being present mostly in the upper half of the body and the body height, I tend towards A. sp. Wangenflecken.

I admit it is an odd species. To me the caudal spot is too large and set to far back on the caudal peduncle, seemingly mostly on the caudal fin itself. That plus the bars still appear to be much less bowed than on Wangenflecken. The face of the male, however, does strongly resemble that of some specimens of Wangenflecken in its color pattern. Whatever it is, it is a very nice apisto.

Interesting! What do you think I should call it then? Is there anything I can do better to help identify the fish?

 

[Mike Wise]

Interesting! What do you think I should call it then?

I can't give you a name, sorry. One thing I will say is that Wangenflecken does not occur with any form of A. agassizii that we presently know about. There is one species of the resticulosa-complex that is little known but has similar, but not identical, features and does occur in the same area as A. agassizii - and an area that is still collected commercially - is A. cf. resticulosa (Arapuanã) A15.

Is there anything I can do better to help identify the fish?

I guess that you could send me a preserved specimen and I can compare it to my preserved Wangenflecken specimens and some other resticulosa-complex species. I doubt that you want to do that however.

 

[Nick123]

I can't give you a name, sorry. One thing I will say is that Wangenflecken does not occur with any form of A. agassizii that we presently know about. There is one species of the resticulosa-complex that is little known but has similar, but not identical, features and does occur in the same area as A. agassizii - and an area that is still collected commercially - is A. cf. resticulosa (Arapuanã) A15.

I guess that you could send me a preserved specimen and I can compare it to my preserved Wangenflecken specimens and some other resticulosa-complex species. I doubt that you want to do that however.

I was told they came in as WC A. Agassizii. Either way it is an exciting fish to have and I look forward to trying to spawn them! Do you think the female is the same species?

Also I am planning on setting up another tank for them, what color sand would you recommend to make the blue on the male pop?

 

[Frank Hättich]

Do you think the female is the same species?

Yes.

Also I am planning on setting up another tank for them, what color sand would you recommend to make the blue on the male pop?

For Apistos inert, fine, rounded, non-dyed sand is recommended. If you find a darker colored one that meets these criteria, go for it.

 

[Nick123]

@Frank Hättich @Mike Wise successful spawn today! The parents seem to be very gentle with each other. The female lets the male approach the fry with no problems and the male seems to be leaving the fry alone, is this typical for resticulosa complex fish?

Once the fry are grown up I’ll send you a live pair for better identification lol!

Also I have 5 ember tetras in the tank as well as a tiger otocinclus, should I remove these dithers?

 

[Frank Hättich]

I always kept some Otocinclus and small numbers of small tetras in my tanks and never had any problems. However, if the female gets stressed, remove them.

 

[Nick123]

I always kept some Otocinclus and small numbers of small tetras in my tanks and never had any problems. However, if the female gets stressed, remove them.

How are you able to tell if the female is stressed? She has a beautiful breeding suite on and is being a good mother herding here young around the tank. She chases off the tetras if they get anywhere remotely close to the young. She will sometimes leave the young and run back to her cave and then come right back

 

[Frank Hättich]

How are you able to tell if the female is stressed?

If the tetras would constantly try to come close to the fry I suppose it would be stressful for her.