Anybody know's these?

[Jacco]

Hi all,

I was looking at some fish from an exporter in peru ( http://www.stingray-aquarium.com) who has quite a few different apisto's. One of them is this one, which looks unfamiliar to me. Any idea's what this is?

 

[Cor]

If I'm correct there is a discussion on a german site going on about this fish. I believe some call it Apistogramma Gigas, other don't consider it to be an Apistogramma. The site I refer to is "das zwergbuntbarschforum".

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I don't think that is A. "gigas", the original picture is below (link here: <http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/field/Pipe_Expedition/other fishes 2.html>

That looks like a grossly fat male fish somewhere near to A. pebas, A. "Algodon" or A. "Roca Eterna" (I'm really poor at ID).

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

It's hard to say what it is because the blue scales overpower any of its diagnostic dark markings. Darrel may be correct that it is A. sp. Pebas. The original species sold as A. sp. Blue was a eunotus-subcomplex species that looks similar to A. sp. Pebas. It comes from the middle Río Shishita, where TomC & I collected some in 2008. I lost that group, but was lucky enough to bring back some from Peru this Fall. I call this species A. cf. eunotus Shishita. It isn't collected commercially.

 

[Jacco]

thx for the responses! didn't think it would actually be an apisto.

 

[gerald]

Wow that Apisto sp. "gigas" Rio Curua on the acnatsci website is bizarre. Looking at the male I can see why some folks don't think it's an Apisto, but that shot of the female below it looks pretty convincingly "apistoid" - almost like a baenschi x macmasteri-group hybrid if such a thing was possible. Anyway it offers nice "visual support" for the evolutionary connection of Apistogramma with the Geophagus clan, supposedly their closest cousins.

 

[Mike Wise]

The females of "A." sp. Gigas have very irregular borders on the vertical bars for an apisto. They remind me more like those seen on some of the other geophagines. I'm one of those not really sure if it's an apisto, based on the few photos available. Rumors on the German dwarf cichlid forum suggest that it will be scientifically described sometime in the near future.

 

[Melanochromis]

Rumors on the German dwarf cichlid forum suggest that it will be scientifically described sometime in the near future.

Do the rumors say it will be described as an Apistogramma?
But whatever it is, it looks quite bizarre indeed.

 

[Mike Wise]

No, just that the species will be described relatively soon.

 

[aquaticclarity]

Not that my vote matters but I'm in for either Apistoghagus or Geogramma!

 

[Melanochromis]

Geogramma would be cute.