What kind of Apisto are these?

[Amy D]

Hi All, first time poster here. I just recently ventured into dwarf cichlid keeping and man is it fun! I picked up a couple of apistogrammas in the last few weeks and would love some help identifying them please and thank you The 1st and 3rd were sold as just "wild apisto". The 2nd one is quite young but was sold as a borelli and I've heard they can be a few others sold under that name. Thanks!

 

[gerald]

my best guesses:
1) cacatuoides, or something similar in that group
2) borellii
3) one of the many "regani group" species

 

[Amy D]

Thanks for your response! I assumed they were a little young to accurately identify but it was worth a shot. This is my first time owning fish that I do not know exactly what they are when I buy them. It is a lot of fun researching and studying the fish and you have given me a general idea of what to research. I will wait a few months or whenever they start to color up a bit and try again. Thanks again !

 

[MickeM]

A wild,wild guess....1) might be A. atahualpa..??????????

2) borellii.. is probably a female..

I would say that you have got 3 different Apisto species .. in other words.. the start of a collection!!

Maybe you can buy some more for a cheap price..? ..since the dealer can`t guarantee what they really are..??
The odds for several/further different Apistos in their tank may not be that high if you are lucky..so you may get some matching partners to the ones you`ve already bought..??? No guarantee though..
I guess you ought to have a good chance to separate a borellii male from the others in the Pet Shop..(if yours is a female!!).. by the zig-zag lateral band..
+ borellii males have much more color + larger fins than a females!!.. and grows larger than females too...

I posted a male borellii pic in this thread if you need some help..
http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/t...-do-i-have-a-boy-and-a-girl.19808/#post-97149

.. and here is another nice borellii thread..
http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/borelli-from-natural-biotope-argentine-corrientes.14700/

 

[MickeM]

... I forgot this thread.. if you want to check out the atahualpa!!

http://apisto.sites.no/fish.aspx?fishIndexID=2379&gruppeID=1

 

[Amy D]

Wow I hadn't even looked at the atahualpa when I was researching the heck out of that one. He/she is quite the active little bugger when I'm near the tank so it was really difficult to get a somewhat non blur pick. I actually snagged two of those baby borelli's but at their age they both look pretty much the same so I only grabbed a pic of one. I intend on grabbing many more apistos in the near future when I get my 7 fish tanks organized and figure out where to put what. I think I'm already a little bit obsessed and I havent even owned a full grown one yet! Lol thanks for your input and links