• Hello guest! Are you an Apistogramma enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Apisto enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your fish and tanks and have a great time with other Apisto enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Black spots on wild Apistos

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Maybe those black spots are neither parasite nor melanoma (as suggested by ApistoDave in another thread) but simply a way to store excess DOPA (3,4-dihydroxy-phenylalanine). Fish make DOPA from the amino acids alanine and phenylalanine, and use it in a variety of body functions including nerve signals and production of thyroid hormones. DOPA is also one of the steps in making melanin, and I think fish can convert melanin back to DOPA if they need to. Maybe something about the water chemistry in Peru or content of alanine and phenylalanine in their food causes these fish to make extra melanophore cells to store excess DOPA. I'm just guessing ...

Jeff (aquaticclarity) and other folks reported they've had black-spotted wild-caught Peruvian fish live long normal lives and never lose the spots, and it never spread to their fry or to other fish in the tank.

There may also be contagious and non-contagious diseases with black spots as a symptom. I'm not saying that ALL black spots are harmless. Several kinds of fluke parasites can cause black spots in the skin, but they are not transmitted from fish to fish. The spots on Tuna's Apisto below look like normal melanin pigment in abnormal places; probably not "disease".

quote="tuna, post: 68708, member: 4153"][/IMG]
wild-apisto-peru.jpg
[/IMG]

These apistos were wild caught from Peru as adults and lived almost 4 more years and the fry never exhibited the spots.[/quote]
 

__CAV__

New Member
Messages
11
personally i think its an environmental condition thats causing the spots,
especially if its only wild caughts that exhibit this condition.

So what causes it? - diet?
amount of sunlight recieved - excess exposure may lead to them producing excess melanin, they could be like freckles - ever noticed how freckled people when they spend heaps of time in the sun get more freckles, maybe its a similar thing happening in the fish?

Who knows really, this would be a good subject for someone studying Ichthyology at Uni to do some research on perhaps for their masters degree.
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Considering the habitat and cryptic behavior of Apistos I'd be REALLY surprised if sunlight has anything to do with it. Maybe the folks who have collected freckled Apistos will chime in and say whether they tend to be found mainly in non-forested habitats. Something in their environment is making their melanocytes go goofy.
 

idefix

New Member
Messages
10
hi guys,

what can you tell about this?
I have a couple of wild A. cacatuoides. Female presents black spot. They fry in November. I have separate young fishes in an another tank but I can't catch everybody.
So, some stays with wild subjects.
Only those have stayed with parents show black spot. but not other fishes i'd separated

P1000845 (1024x768).jpg
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Can you indicate which spot that you are talking about? I guess that you mean the black pigment in the dorsal fin. This is not all that unususal on some wild populations of A. cacatuoides. Otherwise, I only see the dark markings typically seen on A. cacatuoides. BTW this is a very good looking young male.
 

idefix

New Member
Messages
10
Sorry, I did not been very specific and the photo is not good. I'm talking about the spots on the dorsal and anal fin. There are also on the tail but not visible in the photo

This is not as pronounced that the specimen above, but as these tasks appear to be specific to the wild subjects and the natural environment, I question their presence on F1

P1000845 (1024x768) (2).jpg
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
As I wrote before, such black blotches are not all that unusual on wild specimens. I won't guess at the cause (physiological or neurological) but based on my past experience it didn't appear to affect the fish in any way. Most with these black blotches lived long happy lives in my tanks.
 

idefix

New Member
Messages
10
I knew Mike, and i do not worried about his health. I like this "abnormality". That's what makes it so beautiful.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
17,915
Messages
116,201
Members
13,027
Latest member
tonc61

Latest profile posts

Josh wrote on anewbie's profile.
Testing
EDO
Longtime fish enthusiast for over 70years......keen on Apistos now. How do I post videos?
Looking for some help with fighting electric blue rams :(
Partial updated Peruvian list have more than this. Please PM FOR ANY QUESTIONS so hard to post with all the ads poping up every 2 seconds….
Top