what is it?

[Greg PL]

This baby apisto came with a shipment of Otocinclus sp., probably from Peru.
it seems to be a female. is it too early to ID it or can someone give it a try?





I will upload a better picture as soon as I manage to make her stay in one place for a moment

Greg

 

[Mike Wise]

I know what it isn't, but it is still too young to positively identify (possibly atahualpa-complex species).

 

[Greg PL]

who's that girl?

that's how she looks now. any more thoughts?

 

[Mike Wise]

I still cannot say what it is for certain; perhaps A. atahualpa.

 

[Greg PL]

all photos in the net show the atahualpa females in breeding mode, while mine joined the lonely heart club, so it's hard to compare. but the pattern seems to be very different. this one never shows lateral blotch/spot, always a solid line from the eye to the end of caudal peduncle. it has black lower lip if it helps.

 

[Mike Wise]

The more photos of this female that I see, the less I am sure what it is. It probably is not A. atahualpa. The dorsal spots run into the dorsal fin on female A. atahualpa. They do not on this fish. It does not have the rows of dots below the lateral band, on the caudal peduncle, which are visible on A. atahualpa. It looks very much like a female A. cacatuoides, but none of the photos show the wavy abdominal stripes that are typical of A. cacatuoides. Does it ever show abdominal markings?

 

[Greg PL]

It looks very much like a female A. cacatuoides, but none of the photos show the wavy abdominal stripes that are typical of A. cacatuoides. Does it ever show abdominal markings?

I'm not sure, but I think it does, rarely, show 2 spotted lines below, and parallel the lateral band.
A. cacatuoides was my first guess, but I didn't expect it to be that obvious
besides, for a couple of decades now, cacs only come to Poland from Czech Republic and the Far East, not from SA

 

[Mike Wise]

It probably is A. cacatuoides. Put her with a male & see if she is interested in him.