New mixed species

[Gwendal]

Hi all,


I write to explain my case.
Can you ID the species¿?

First i bought a pair, here is the male.

And here is the female.

I got the fry, but the male died and the fry too.

Then I decided to mix the female in my big tank, where I have other Apistos.


And I saw that my male of A. combrae want something with this female, so i wait.... And I finally get the fry.

The male.

Then, the babys grow up...

I have more photos...

Please help me in the ID, could be a mixed species?¿

Thanks for the info.

 

[Gwendal]

Here are some more pics.

After all, the first female got another fry with one of her male babys.

But finally I lost all my Apistos because of a problem with the filter in vacations.

As you see in the photos i notice that there are some diferents between each other.
I´m right and i got a mix of species?¿

 

[Mike Wise]

The female (and 1st male) appear to be a species of the resticulosa-complex. If you crossed the female with a male A. commbrae, then you have a hybrid of 2 species of 2 closely related apisto species.

 

[Gwendal]

Mike the first pair could be a A. cf. eunotus¿?

So as you say, may I have a new specie?¿

 

[Cooder]

Not a new species, simply a hybrid of 2 closely related apistogramma species. Selling/distributing hybrid fry as a different (new) species is generally frowned upon, and doesnt contribute much to the hobby.

As display fish though, they are beautiful. Nice photos too

 

[Mike Wise]

Mike the first pair could be a A. cf. eunotus¿?

I do not believe this. The dark markings are wrong for a eunotus-complex species. The dark markings are more like those seen on resticulosa-complex species. I doubt that one could cross a eunotus fish with a commbrae fish without seeing 'hybrid deformities'. Commbrae- and resticulosa-complex species are very closely related, thus this would be a more likely cross.

So as you say, may I have a new specie?¿

A hybrid is not a species. It is a cross between two different species, nothing more. In cichlid aquariums, we see this more often in Malawi cichlids. It is so bad that fish have been disqualified for show consideration at ACA shows where I was a judge. I know many serious Malawi fish breeders who will now only buy wild fish, or fish from known experienced breeders, because they cannot be certain that domestic fish are pure. The same is true for many rainbowfish and killifish breeders.

 

[Gwendal]

Ok, thanks for the info, now I understand better.

I´m not going to sell anything, is only nice info, and I feel happy about the fact.

The thing that is missing is to ID the first pair, that could be great.
Any idea?¿

Thanks for all.

 

[Mike Wise]

Without seeing all of the fishes' black markings, including vertical bars, it is impossible to really separate many of the species/forms of the resticulosa-complex, sorry.

 

[Gwendal]

Here are more pics of the first male.

So this Apisto could be a wild one?¿

 

[Gwendal]

Anyone got some new info?
Thanks

 

[Mike Wise]

Nope. Still not enough information on the photos for a good ID. Sorry. Now if you are really interested in knowing the species just send me several specimens preserved in alcohol, preferably after being chilled while alive to increase the darkness of the markings.