• 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!

Is this a barlowi or Diamond Face?

Melanochromis

Member
Messages
249
Location
Bangkok, Thailand
Two days ago a shop in Bangkok received an interesting pair of Apistogramma from Taiwan. The importer said that it was Apistogramma sp. "Diamond Face" (same fish as "Kelleri"?) but I noticed that he had Apistogramma barlowi in his import list as well. This particular importer is apparently not familiar with Apistogramma and has mis-ID fish before.

You can see the male of this pair here.
http://aqua.c1ub.net/forum/index.php?topic=172303.0

So is this fish really a Diamond Face or is it a barlowi? And how are the two species different from each other?

Thanks!
 

blueblue

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,876
Location
Hong Kong
Hi Friend, I cannot see any photo from the website. since I am not a member and i do not know Thai, it's difficult to know how to find the pictures... please check.

As a quick remark, the two fish (male) are quite different, Diamond Face usually has red dotted cheek, and double-elongated tails (upper and lower tips are orange).
The body is more blue than barlowi. The female of Diamond Face will have slighted double-pointed tails and the body dark markings are different from barlowi's.

(P.S: I have kept and bred both species myself).
 

Melanochromis

Member
Messages
249
Location
Bangkok, Thailand
Hi blueblue, thanks a lot for your answer. So it is barlowi. :biggrin:

Interestingly, on the very same day just hours before this barlowi arrived, a pair of real Diamond Face from Hong Kong showed up at a nearby shop under the name "Blue Flame". That Hong Kong male was very very pale, almost as pale as an albino fish. But He did have red marking on cheeks and a narrow orange-yellow line on the top edge of his caudal fin, similarly to what you said.

I'm pretty happy that Thai hobbyists now have 2 mouthbrooding apistos to choose!
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,201
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
The easiest way to differentiate the 2 forms is by looking at the females. A. sp. Kelleri/Diamond-face females show a short lyretail, while A. barlowi females show a round/truncate caudal fin.
 

blueblue

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,876
Location
Hong Kong
Congratulations. I myself love both species a lot and if the price and quality are fair, you should get a pair of the "blue face" :)
(Declaration: I didn't export "blue face")

Hi blueblue, thanks a lot for your answer. So it is barlowi. :biggrin:

Interestingly, on the very same day just hours before this barlowi arrived, a pair of real Diamond Face from Hong Kong showed up at a nearby shop under the name "Blue Flame". That Hong Kong male was very very pale, almost as pale as an albino fish. But He did have red marking on cheeks and a narrow orange-yellow line on the top edge of his caudal fin, similarly to what you said.

I'm pretty happy that Thai hobbyists now have 2 mouthbrooding apistos to choose!
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
17,915
Messages
116,199
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