A. agassizi Tefé or Tefé? ID, please.

[Ismael Monroy]

Hello, I have a question, I bought the following apistogramma viejita (I know, it is wrong), reviewing photos i don't know if this is a Apistogramma agassizi Tefé or only Tefé, you help me identify it?

Thank you.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Definitely a male

Apistogramma agassizi

and possibly A. agassizii "Pastel", but you'll have to wait for some-one who know what they are talking about for a definitive ID.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

It looks like a holotype form of A. agassizii to me; definitely not A. sp. Tefé. The A. agassizii population from the Rio Tefé is the holotype form.

 

[Ismael Monroy]

Thanks Darrell & Mike, definitely is agassizi, I'll take a photo, but now of the female to confirm.

Greetings from México City.

 

[Mike Wise]

I doubt that anyone can visually separate A. agassizii females from A. sp. Tefé females. I know that I can't.

 

[Ismael Monroy]

I got the pair in the same shipment, I think you better show it later to distinguish. Currently I have a female in the quarantine tank.

Thanks.

 

[Ismael Monroy]

Would it be hybridization if I try to pair two different varieties of agassizi? I saw some very interesting double red females.

Regards.

 

[Mike Wise]

In the past, when A. sp. Tefé was first exported, it was often mixed with A. agassizii from the lower Rio Tefé. This caused all kinds of problems with low productivity and deformed (hybrid) fish. The collectors are now more knowledgeable and usually keep the species separate.

 

[FancyDress1]

I know that I can't.

 

[Mike Wise]

Would it be hybridization if I try to pair two different varieties of agassizi? I saw some very interesting double red females.

This really depends on the varieties. What is presently considered A. agassizii (sensu lato/in the broad sense) appears to actually be at least 3 and probably more distinct species with in the A. agassizii super-species. These species show different features and also show patterns of distribution that are separate from each other. For your purposes, breeding your yellow A. agassizii male from the Tefé with a domestic (and probably from mixed populations) domestic produced Double-red female should be OK. Just don't claim that they are A. agassizii from Tefé, because they are not!