Mystery Apistos from Grab-bag

[Zack Wilson]

Hey all, hoping you might be able to assist me in IDing a few fish. I recently got in a shipment from Brazil, and brought in a box of mixed Brazilian Apistos. Probably 80% or more were gibbiceps with a few hippolytae thrown in, but a week or two ago I was looking through the tank and picked out a couple fish that were definitely not like the others. I just seperated them to their own tank and finally got some pictures. If anyone wants to take a crack at them, I'd appreciate the input. The pics aren't the best, but hopefully they'll serve okay, as they're still a bit shy. All of these fish are young, and probably only about 4cm right now.

After looking at some photos, I'm starting to think this one may be paucisquamis? Doesn't seem to match anything else quite. At first thought maybe mendezi, but the anterior dorsal rays don't look right, amongst other things...

 

[Zack Wilson]

No idea on this one. I can't find any pictures that really seem to match up. By the finnage I would guess female, but I've never seen such an orange Apisto female.

 

[Zack Wilson]

This last one isn't an apisto obviously, but I'm not sure what it is. I found it with some of the biotecus I got in. Looks to be some sort of Crenicara type cichlid, but not sure what. The pattern is invariable by mood and always looks the same, though the pictures don't capture the dark markings very well. It could obviously be a juvenile and have such patterning, but I've noticed no growth either.

Sorry for all the pictures, but just hoping to have some ideas about these fish. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Regards, Zack

 

[tjudy]

That last fish looks more like a Biotodoma sp. to me.

 

[fishgeek]

watch how wrong i can be:tongue:

i would guess biteaniata and prehaps elizabethae
i'm pretty poor at this though

andrew

 

[blueblue]

You have got many male paucisquamis (first group of photos),
and the female fish (second group of photos) looks like an eliza to me (any more photos?) ^.^

 

[aquaticclarity]

Zach,

Would you be interested in my lone, what looks to be, female A. paucisquamis? Or would you rather part with the male?

Jeff

 

[Zack Wilson]

To clarify, each set of pictures is of one individual. The paucisquamis? male is a lone male.

The second fish can't be elizabethae--only one lateral body spot, not two. Although I must say the orangy-redness certainly made me think in that direction at first. Morphologically she really reminds me of my iniridae female, but they have no where near that color.

Jeff, I'd love to have a female for the male paucisquamis. Right now I've got my fishroom cooking and the apistos are spawning like crazy, so it would be as good a time as any to try and get them spawning. If you're interested perhaps we could work something out. We don't get them around here too often so it would be nice to try and get some propogation going.

 

[Lolojil]

Hello,

The first fish is A. paucisquamis.

I think that the second is not A. elizabethae but A. uaupesi/A. sp "Segelflossen" or A. iniridae (on the third pic, you have a male iniridae).

I have a female A. uaupesi which is orange like that .

 

[Zack Wilson]

Lolojil, the uaupesi idea does seem to have some potential. I can definitely see the similarities. I actually have a pair of iniridae (the male of which is seen in the background of the third picture), and I'm pretty certain the second fish in not of that species. I'm not familiar enough with uaupesi, but this could be it.

 

[blueblue]

After reading the photos again, i agree that the second female is not eliza, but a member of the uaupesi group.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with Lolojil. The first apisto is A. paucisquamis; the dark anal spot is diagnostic of the species. The second is an iniridae-group species; probably A. uaupesi if it is from the Rio Negro. Although not all A. elizabethae show 2 flank spots, all show lateral spots higher on the body than on your specimen. The third specimen looks like a very young Biotoecus to me, possibly the true opercularis.

 

[Zack Wilson]

Cool, well thanks for your help everyone. So, now I guess I either enjoy these fish or try to find them some mates.

If anyone here in the US has a male Uaupesi and would like a nice healthy female, let me know. If you want to pay for shipping you can have her. If fry result I'd like some down the road so I can try them, but she'll do me no good by herself and I hate to take a fish out of the river and waste them. Or if you have a male you don't need I'd do the same deal.

Jeff, if you don't mind parting with the female paucisquamis let me know.

Mike, when you say *true* opercularis, does that mean there is some common confusion about this species' ID? I only ask because I picked this fish out from a bag of B. opercularis. They were all uniform in appearance and conformed to what I usually see as opercularis, except this one. It was noticeably different from all the other fish in dark markings as well as morphology. I'd be curious to know more.

 

[tjudy]

That third fish is the spitting image of a very young Biotodoma cupido. Bar through the eye, high profile in the front, body spot, black with some white on front dorsal rays... Bioteocus adults have the black/white dorsal spines and may have the body spot, but I have never seen one (or a picture of one) that has a bar through the eye.

 

[Mike Wise]

There are 2 opercularis-like species from the Rio Negro. The body shape is more like the type B. opercularis. Ted could be correct, too, wait a couple of months and send photos again.

 

[Lolojil]

I don't know very well Biotodoma's genus but I agree with Ted, I have never seen Biotoecus species with a black cheek band.

 

[Zack Wilson]

I suppose I will have to wait and see what becomes of the little guy. One of the main things that I noticed from the start was the strongly downwards-oriented mouth, which did not seem typical of Biotecus. I would agree that Biotodoma is about the only thing that seems to match up with markings, but I've never noticed this downwards pointed mouth or body form in Biotodoma and the dark spot seemed farther back, though admittedly I've only seen them a handful of times.

 

[HaakonH]

Hey,

I have a feeling that last one may actually be a young Acarichthys heckeli. That white and black colour in the first part of the dorsalfin makes me guess so. Wait and see as it grows

-Haakon

 

[Chromedome]

Well, now that I can finally post, I can say with pretty good certainty that the third fish is Acarichthys. The bright red spot in the iris of the eye, combined with the black fin rays and the small lateral spot, makes it just about 99% certain. Some years ago I managed to get some tank raised young, which looked exactly like that fish, and I spent two years growing them out. (Don't ask what happened at that point.) I believe I have a slide of one of them, if I can find it.

All known Biotodoma species have the lateral spot farther back, under the beginning of the soft rays of the dorsal. I suppose there is a remote possibility that it is an actual Geophagus, as I once mistook some G. taenioparius young for Acarichthys until I got them into a tank and had them color up properly.