thank you for replys.
TC Montium: thanks for pics. I bought a "pair" of very young fish. they don't look like yours really. they don't look like anything else that I have come across. they seem to be quite striped. A bit like yours on the 8th picture but more pronounced. Some might say" Are you sure they are apistogramma?" and yes I am. You mentioned yours were cf ortegai. I doubt we get much cf of anything here in Australia. i suspect they might be ortegai as aopposed to cf ortegai.
Mike Wise: one is bigger and more dominant. guess that could be a clue toward sexes. Often in Australia fish are sold as pairs and end up only being one sex so I wouldn't be surprised if they both turn out to be female in view of above photos.
I wish I was better at taking decent pics. It would make everything so much easier.