viejita rio meta or macmasteri?

[Mike Wise]

I have not heard of any collections of A. sp. Rotflecken/Red-flecked (= "A. viejita" CF II) since the 1980s. This is genetically the same species as A. sp. Schwarzkehl/Black-throat (= "A. viejita" CF III). They are only color morphs of the same species. Rotflecken was found in pools while Schwarzkehl is found in streams and pools. I found Schwarzkehl among wild M. ramirezi, but never Rotflecken. The area where Rotflecken occurs is politically unstable. Kidnapping "valuable targets" is a business in that part of Colombia, so not much collecting by knowledgeable hobbyists/collectors is done in the area.

 

[dw1305]

Thanks Mike,
It should have occurred to me that it was in Columbia, and therefore the answer was probably no.
cheers Darrel

 

[electric eel]

i'm still curious as to whether or not size is a reliable means of sexing any species of adult apistograma or does the dominant male produce phermones that suppress the growth of any nondominant males in the tank.i have read that something like this happens with discus and that juvies tend to grow very slowly when they are with bigger discus.my male hongsloi is just starting to show good color and the male macmasteri is huge.i'm hoping that it was just a matter of them needing to mature.i've started doing 25% water changes every other day and i'm hoping they will both spawn soon.my agazizi and cacautoides were to me easier then rams but not so with these other guys.

 

[Mike Wise]

I don't think that size is an absolutely dependable method of sexing fish. Of course size has something to do with age, and age usually produces noticeable sexual characteristics. I usually ask about size only to know if the fish are still possibly immature and don't yet show well developed sexual features. Some of the more sexually dimorphic species will show considerable size differences in the sexes. This helps sexing the fish only if they are all fully grown.

 

[Sharpfish]

I thought I had this figured out a while ago. But now I am as confused as ever.
I got this from a reliable source as A. viejta 'Rio Meta'.

I got this from an auction as A. macmasteri.

Are these correctly ID'd?

 

[electric eel]

from where you're located i may have got my "a.viejita rio meta"/macmasteri from the same "reliable scource" you did.i wonder?

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes, the fish in both photos are domestic color enhanced strains of A. macmasteri. They are very good looking fish!

 

[Csababá]

Could someone please link in (picture) the three different types/variants of the viejita?

 

[Mike Wise]

There is only 1 color form of the true A. viejita. The other 2 color forms - not the commercially bred A. macmasteri forms sold as "A. viejita" - are another closely related species, A. sp. Schwarzkehl/Rotflecken. Photos of all 3 originally appeared in the first edition of Linke & Staeck's book as:

"A. viejita Color Form I" = A. viejita aka A. sp. Rotsaum/Red-seam
"A. viejita CFII" = A. sp. Rotflecken/Red-flecked
"A. viejita CFIII" = A. sp. Schwarzkehl/Black-throat

The same species can be found under the latter names in Koslowski's books and the DATZ book.

 

[Csababá]

Thank you very much. I hope more people will get it (right).