New Apistos – Need Help with ID & Sexing

[JJ90]

Hi everyone,

I hope I'm posting this in the right place! I recently picked up two Apistogrammas from my local fish store here in the UK. They were sold to me as A. viejita, but after doing some research, I’m starting to think they might actually be A. macmasteri.

I’d really appreciate any help with confirming the species and possibly sexing them as well. Thanks in advance!

 

[MacZ]

I'm starting to think they might actually be A. macmasteri.

They are. True A. viejita you will not find for sale in the normal retail trade.
A. viejita is also the most common tradename for A. macmasteri.
You can usually make sure by going by price: A. macmasteri go for 12-15€ a piece, true A. viejita for 75 a piece last time I saw them offered (some years back). A. "viejita" usually go for 30 a piece. People won't even notice if the fish are housed in tanks right next to each other.

As for your fishes sexes: Too young to tell, sorry.

 

[anewbie]

They are. True A. viejita you will not find for sale in the normal retail trade.
A. viejita is also the most common tradename for A. macmasteri.
You can usually make sure by going by price: A. macmasteri go for 12-15€ a piece, true A. viejita for 75 a piece last time I saw them offered (some years back). A. "viejita" usually go for 30 a piece. People won't even notice if the fish are housed in tanks right next to each other.

As for your fishes sexes: Too young to tell, sorry.

In usa folks have jacked up the price for macs labelled as viejita to $75+ nearly twice mac which is why they use the fake name on them.