Apistogramma ID

[Andrew C]

A friend sent me these pictures of some wild caught Apistogramma at his lfs and i am hoping you are able to ID them for me;

Apistogramma "Bimbo" ?

Apistogramma "Bimbo" ?

Apistogramma curutu ?

 

[Mike Wise]

The first photo looks like A. sp. Harlequin/Harlekin. The second is A. sp. Nanay/Melgar (not Papagei). The third could be a female A. bitaeniata from the Río Curutu, but I don't see the abdominal band below the lateral band. It could be an A. agassizii female, too.

 

[Andrew C]

Thanks Mike
I'll try to get some more photographs.

 

[Rolo]

The first photo looks like A. sp. Harlequin/Harlekin. The second is A. sp. Nanay/Melgar (not Papagei). The third could be a female A. bitaeniata from the Río Curutu, but I don't see the abdominal band below the lateral band. It could be an A. agassizii female, too.

I agree with first and third picture.

But at the second photo, my first thought was A. acrensis.
Could also be A. sp Nanay.. I'm not sure.
Can you surely exclude A. acrensis, Mike? Why?

best regards,
Rolo

 

[Mike Wise]

I don't think it is A. acrensis because:

1. The caudal spot on the fish in the picture is very small and square, like that of A. sp. Nanay. The caudal spot of A. acrensis is slightly larger & oval.

2. The fish in the photo appear to be males (no black on the ventral fins). Male A. acrensis have cross-stripes over the entire caudal fin. A. sp. Nanay males rarely show cross-stripes on the tail. When they are visible, they only appear in the central part, close to the base of the caudal fin. The fish in the photos show no obvious cross-stripes.

3. I have kept both species. My A. acrensis never had color in the pectoral fins. The fish in the photo have yellow/orange pectoral fins, which are characteristic of A. sp. Nanay. This might not be important.

I must admit that better photos are needed for a positive identification, but based on what I see, the fish look like A. sp. Nanay to me. What, in your opinion, identifies them as A. acrensis?

p.s. I admit that am far from perfect when it comes to identification. Still, I try to do my best.

 

[Rolo]

I must admit that better photos are needed for a positive identification, but based on what I see, the fish look like A. sp. Nanay to me. What, in your opinion, identifies them as A. acrensis?

It is not easy to see on the pictures, if the yellow colour is in the pectoral fins or on the breast. Of course, I agree, that A. acrensis does not have yellow pectoral fins.
The lateral band becomes wider from eye to the caudal fin, which is a characteristic of A. acrensis... that's the main reason for me, why I said A. acrensis. But it is not wide enough for A. acrensis.

Cross stripes / no cross stripes are not visible well in the picture, but I think you are right. They maybe would be more visible if there are stripes.

The laterals spot could be higher and more oval at A. sp. Nanay, too, but is bigger at A. acrensis.

So, all in all, after looking at some more pictures of both species, I agree with you to say it is A. sp. Nanay.

p.s. I admit that am far from perfect when it comes to identification. Still, I try to do my best.

Well, I'm not perfect, too... it's hard to be perfect in identification! ;-)

best regards,
Rolo

 

[Andrew C]

Sorry, but these are the only other decent pictures i could get of the tanks.

Curutu tank.

Bimbo tank

 

[Mike Wise]

Rolo,

If pressed hard, I would say that the fish are actually Orangestreifen, but Ingo doesn't like using this name for any but the original fish.

Andrew,

Most of the fish in the photos are A. bitaeniata, but the one at the top might be a female A. agassizii. Honestly, this looks like some of the collections of "asst'd (assorted) dwarf cichlids" that we used to get in from time to time in the 70s & 80s. Now they give you a collecting locality & charge more. It depends on the buy if the trade off (locality vs. cost) is worth it.

 

[starforsaken]

Do female Bits have a dot on their lateral line???

Could the be a female bitaeniata if they do not have that???

I have both Apistogramma bitaeniata curutu and Apistogramma agassizii alenquer... I had a female I was sure was a bit but now she looks WAY more like the aggie females..

anyway to decipher them?

My female looks like the picture of the one posted:
-rounded caudal
-no dot on lateral line
-blue specling on face (both adult bits and aggies of mine have this, so doesnt help)

I had taken a pair of bitaeniata to the store but took the female back monthes later because the male was sold or dead. However, now it just loooks way more like my aggies...

 

[Mike Wise]

Females of both A. bitaeniata & A. agassizii have a lateral spot on the lateral band (the lateral line is a senory organ that is split on cichlids; the upper part running from the eye along the base of the dorsal fin, the lower part running the length of the anal fin). On females 5 cm/2" or more the caudal of female A. bitaeniata are more truncated (squared off at the end) while the caudal of female A. agassizii are more round. In smaller fish it is difficult to tell them appart if the A. bitaeniata do not show the abdominal band below the lateral band. Female A. agassizii tend to be stouter.