Other beautiful species of Apistogramma

[Eddy. E.]

I have made a small selection of Apistogramma species that are rarely imported (Germany), or generally appear only rarely in the trade and which, in my humble opinion, are extremely beautiful specimens of their species. All information without guarantee.

From Peru come two species of so-called lyra-tailed Apistogramma, which are very similar to each other: A. martini and A. pantalone. Both are among the most delicate and difficult Apistogramma species ever; however, this is not a law of nature, but depends on currently unexplored circumstances in nature. Shown here is Apistogramma pantalone.

Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma sp. "Assurini"

This dwarf cichlid is a species from the immediate family of A. sp. Xingu. Like so many other dwarf cichlids, A. sp. Xingu, first introduced in 1988, forms numerous variants. Sometimes such color variations occur within a population, sometimes they are more geographically based. Since the name "Assurini" is probably a locality (the Assurini are an Indian tribe on the Rio Xingu), it certainly makes sense to list these animals, which differ from the A. sp. Xingu originally introduced from the Altamira area by the red dots on the face and the red stripe/dots below the longitudinal stripe, as a special form.

Male
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Female
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma sp. Xingu (Many-spot)

Apistogramma sp. Xingu is an undescribed species of Apistogramma from Brazil.

Male
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Female
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Not an Apistogramma, but a dwarf cichlid species, Teleocichla proselytus

This rarely imported species occurs in the Rio Tapajós in Brazil. This species has a reduced swim bladder, similar to those of humphead cichlids of Africa, and therefore always live near the bottom. A striking feature of this species is the pretty orange coloration in the fins.

Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma sp. "Diamond Face"

Originally imported in 2009, the animals are said to originate from the Rio Jutai, a southern tributary of the Amazon River (still called Solimoes there) in Brazil. Furthermore, very little is known about this species and they have never turned up at dealers since. Nevertheless they are a very nice Apistogramma species!

Male

Impaling Male
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma eremnopyge

From Peru comes this both, scientifically and aquaristically, still relatively unknown species.
It was collected in the Tapiche river, a tributary of the Ucayali river, near Requena. Mr Edgard Panduro named the species Apistogramma "BARBAROJA", i.e. "red beard", because of the conspicuous red spots on the face. This species reminds in several respects to A. bitaeniata, which is also one of the most beautiful Apistogramma species. At first glance, however, the new "Red Beard" can be distinguished from all known Apistogramma species by the large tail root spot, which has not yet become known in this form from any dwarf cichlid."
Then, in July 2004, Ready and Kullander described the species as Apistogramma eremnopyge based on specimens collected two years earlier by Oliver Lucanus in the Rio Pintuyacu (inlet of the Rio Itaya), 29 miles along the road from Iquitos to Nauta (Loreto Province in Peru). Since then, unfortunately, it has become quite quiet about the pretty little fish. Sexually mature wild-caught fishes are usually not larger than 5 cm, females always remain smaller, but it is of course possible that the species grows a bit larger if kept in the aquarium for a long time. In any case, it is a true dwarf cichlid.

Top male, bottom female
Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma mendezi "Santa Isabel"

One of the prettiest representatives of the genus Apistogramma. Of course, the males of this population are also polychromatic, so there are hardly two specimens with absolutely identical coloration, but the high proportion of orange color in the fins and on the body is just as striking as the gill skins, which are deep red in most animals, at least in the rear part.

Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Apistogramma bitaeniata "Putumayo"

In my opinion Apistogramma bitaeniata belongs to the top 5 of the most beautiful Apistogramma species at all, but the locality variant from the Rio Putumayo in Peru puts still one on it!
The large males with their huge fins are truly breathtaking. The females seem downright underdeveloped in comparison. And yet all this splendor serves exclusively to impress the delicate ladies...

Source: Aquarium Glaser, Rodgau, Germany

Dicrossus foirni

Dicrossus foirni, formerly known by the synonym Dicrossus sp. "Rio Negro". Also a dwarf cichlid, which leaves you speechless in terms of color. The ladies seem inconspicuous, almost colorless, but what can you say? With the fishes the world is still in order ;-)

 

[Eddy. E.]

Some more pictures of Dicrossus foirni

Unfortunately, you can only show 20 pictures maximum in one post. So here are a few more impressions.

 

[anewbie]

What is your opinion of Apistogramma Abacaxis. Also bit confused by Tom's comment on bitaeniata as he notes several males can easily co-exist but my understanding is that trifasciata are quite aggressive - or maybe i read too much into the complex and different species are well radically different in behavior even in the same complex.
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I wanted to ask a different question - you mention the visual appeal of the fishes but what about behavior - which if the apistogramma display unique and interesting behavior.

 

[Mike Wise]

What is your opinion of Apistogramma Abacaxis.

It's a nice fish and fairly attractive. It does require a blackwater tank if you want to keep it happy and healthy for any time.

Also bit confused by Tom's comment on bitaeniata as he notes several males can easily co-exist but my understanding is that trifasciata are quite aggressive - or maybe i read too much into the complex and different species are well radically different in behavior even in the same complex.

A. bitaeniata and A. trifasciata are in entirely different groups.

A. bitaeniata: trifasciata-lineage, agassizii-sublineage, bitaeniata-group, bitaeniata-complex
A. trifasciata: trifasciata-lineage, trifasciata-sublineage, trifasciata-group

A. trifasciata is actually more closely related to A. cacatuoides than A. bitaeniata.

-
I wanted to ask a different question - you mention the visual appeal of the fishes but what about behavior - which if the apistogramma display unique and interesting behavior.

The most interesting behaviorally to me that I've kept and bred is A. wapisana; reversed courtship to other apistos.

 

[anewbie]

It's a nice fish and fairly attractive. It does require a blackwater tank if you want to keep it happy and healthy for any time.

A. bitaeniata and A. trifasciata are in entirely different groups.

A. bitaeniata: trifasciata-lineage, agassizii-sublineage, bitaeniata-group, bitaeniata-complex
A. trifasciata: trifasciata-lineage, trifasciata-sublineage, trifasciata-group

A. trifasciata is actually more closely related to A. cacatuoides than A. bitaeniata.

The most interesting behaviorally to me that I've kept and bred is A. wapisana; reversed courtship to other apistos.

I don't think a. wapisana is relatively available nor am i sure it will fit my needs for this aquarium. However I wanted to ask between Abacaxis and bitaeniata which would you recommend in a group of at least 3 males and 5 females. The aquarium being designed will be near blackwater (whatever that means) and it is 4ft cube. I intend to make the back foot portion caves with rock/drift wood and then cover with substrate to reach around 14 inches where i can plant emersed crypts and similar - the front 3 feet will be more normal scaped. I had an earlier thread on this topic and it seems that abacaxis were peaceful enough in a group of a tank this size but i am unsure of bitaeniata (though @Tom C website makes a note saying that males can co-exist with proper scaping). The other stocking will be pencil fishes maybe a blackwater rasbora and i might try to squeeze a pair of nannacara in there under the presumption the front area is large enough for them and they have shown to be quite peaceful around other cichild. These are the plans but until it is done well things always change - still planning can sometime be helpful.

 

[Mike Wise]

I've never kept either species as more than breeding trios. When I had more I kept them in multiple tanks. Try it and let us know how it works out. Good luck.

 

[Eddy. E.]

What is your opinion of Apistogramma Abacaxis. Also bit confused by Tom's comment on bitaeniata as he notes several males can easily co-exist but my understanding is that trifasciata are quite aggressive - or maybe i read too much into the complex and different species are well radically different in behavior even in the same complex.

Apistogramma abacaxis is Apistogramma wilhelmi sp. abacaxis. Its original habitat is in the Amazon and in Lago Glemende on the Rio Abacaxis. The latter habitat also gave the animal the alternative synonym Apistogramma abacaxis. However, it is an A. wilhelmi. By the way, this species can become very aggressive, especially against females of the same species.

With A. trifasciata we are talking about a species from the Rio San Martin in Bolivia (Rio Guapore basin). The species is considered polychromatic because there are also specimens with blue heads. They are usually considered peaceful, but can show aggressive behaviour towards conspecifics when they are breeding.

I would keep Apistogramma bitaeniata, if they are wild-caught, as individuals and only keep them with inconspicuous species, such as Nannostomus etc. pp.
Generally speaking, if the aquarium is large enough and densely planted, more than one pair can be kept. Only an experiment can clarify whether this works well.

 

[Tom C]

The fish you call A. sp. "Diamond Face" is, as far as we know today, identical to Apistogramma megastoma
(former A. sp. "Kelleri"). It is regularly available in the trade.

....However, it is an A. wilhelmi.

This is wrong. A. sp. "Abacaxis", also called A. sp. "Wilhelmi", has never been scientifically described. So "Apistogramma wilhelmi" is not a valid name, and therefor should never be used.
The species was dicovered by Linke and Wilhelm in 1999, and the preliminary/trade name refers to one of the dicoverer, Mario Wilhelm.
To give fishes preliminary/trade names which look like scientific names, is a bad idea. It may confuse many people, and obviously did so to you too.
The name we should use for this species is A. sp. "Abacaxis", which refers to the place where it was first found; in a jungle lake (Lago Glemende, near the town Waledo) connected to the Rio Abacaxis.
According to Römer (2006), the fishes were found in water with a temperature of 29.8 °C (!), pH of 3.9, a conductivity of less than 8 µS/cm, and not detectable GH and KH (< 1).
However, in captivity, the species is surprisingly easy to keep and breed, and doesn't need the extreme water parameters as measured in the field. A pH of 5, conductivity of 50-70 µS/cm, and a temperatur of 25-26 °C is good for both keeping and breeding.

 

[Eddy. E.]

After digging through my sources, I can confirm your information.
An alternative name to Apistogramma sp. Wilhelmi is therefore A. sp. Abacaxis. This river, a well-known area for discus fishes, belongs to the inlet of the Rio Madeira. A. sp. Wilhelmi has not yet been scientifically described, so there is no scientific name for the species.

 

[anewbie]

The fish you call A. sp. "Diamond Face" is, as far as we know today, identical to Apistogramma megastoma
(former A. sp. "Kelleri"). It is regularly available in the trade.


This is wrong. A. sp. "Abacaxis", also called A. sp. "Wilhelmi", has never been scientifically described. So "Apistogramma wilhelmi" is not a valid name, and therefor should never be used.
The species was dicovered by Linke and Wilhelm in 1999, and the preliminary/trade name refers to one of the dicoverer, Mario Wilhelm.
To give fishes preliminary/trade names which look like scientific names, is a bad idea. It may confuse many people, and obviously did so to you too.
The name we should use for this species is A. sp. "Abacaxis", which refers to the place where it was first found; in a jungle lake (Lago Glemende, near the town Waledo) connected to the Rio Abacaxis.
According to Römer (2006), the fishes were found in water with a temperature of 29.8 °C (!), pH of 3.9, a conductivity of less than 8 µS/cm, and not detectable GH and KH (< 1).
However, in captivity, the species is surprisingly easy to keep and breed, and doesn't need the extreme water parameters as measured in the field. A pH of 5, conductivity of 50-70 µS/cm, and a temperatur of 25-26 °C is good for both keeping and breeding.

How about behavior. In a 4ftx4ft aquarium would i be better off keeping a group (both m/f) of abacaxis or bitaeniata or would they do equally well. My thought (since both are harem breeder) is 3 m and 5-6 f but not sure if this is a good idea.

 

[Mike Wise]

Apistogramma abacaxis is Apistogramma wilhelmi sp. abacaxis. Its original habitat is in the Amazon and in Lago Glemende on the Rio Abacaxis. The latter habitat also gave the animal the alternative synonym Apistogramma abacaxis. However, it is an A. wilhelmi. By the way, this species can become very aggressive, especially against females of the same species.

I definitely agree with Tom.

With A. trifasciata we are talking about a species from the Rio San Martin in Bolivia (Rio Guapore basin). The species is considered polychromatic because there are also specimens with blue heads. They are usually considered peaceful, but can show aggressive behaviour towards conspecifics when they are breeding.

A. trifasciata (sensu lato) is what I consider a superspecies that is composed of several geographic populations that most likely are distinct species. The population from the Rio San Martin/Guapore is one of these populations and shows characteristics not seen in the holotype population from Arroyo Chagalalina in the Rio Paraguay system.

I would keep Apistogramma bitaeniata, if they are wild-caught, as individuals and only keep them with inconspicuous species, such as Nannostomus etc. pp.
Generally speaking, if the aquarium is large enough and densely planted, more than one pair can be kept. Only an experiment can clarify whether this works well.

A. bitaeniata is another superspecies and a favorite apisto of mine (see avatar of male from the Rio Tigre in Peru). I feel this is a more polygamous species where younger males are in continuous 'rut', but older males 'mellow out' and allow females to raise fry with them in the same tank. It does not need to be kept by itself.

 

[Eddy. E.]

I definitely agree with Tom.

Already agreed.

A. trifasciata (sensu lato) is what I consider a superspecies that is composed of several geographic populations that most likely are distinct species. The population from the Rio San Martin/Guapore is one of these populations and shows characteristics not seen in the holotype population from Arroyo Chagalalina in the Rio Paraguay system.

I have different information on this from a local ichthyologist/biologist. Especially with regard to intra-species aggression during the breeding season.

 

[anewbie]

Already agreed.


I have different information on this from a local ichthyologist/biologist. Especially with regard to intra-species aggression during the breeding season.

What information do you have ?

 

[Eddy. E.]

What information do you have ?

You are talking about superspecies and several geopgraphic populations, etc. i was stating about intra-species aggression, during the breeding season. Maybe we were just talking at cross purposes.