Wild Apistos From Brazil - Help with ID please

[Bev N]

Here are some not so great shots of the apistos I got in from Brazil. There are some very pretty ones in the lot. Please excuse the bad pictures. I need a tank for pictures in the worst way.

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi Bev,

Image 1: no idea just now

Image 2: possibly Apistograma agassizii, I've had wild fish showing double lateral spots before.

Image 3: Apistogramma pertensis (or at least from this group), big paddle size caudal fin with vertical barring is quite distinctive.

Andrew

 

[Gillie]

The fish in the second pic looks pulchra'ish' and the third pic looks like meinkeni, but I'm probably wrong I'm still working on my id skills.

 

[Bev N]

Oh don't feel bad at all Gill. I figure this is one good way for me to learn to identify them. The two lateral spots on the second one had me stumped. There are only a few of them in the bunch but they are very pretty fish. Even this young the blue on them in stunning. They are still rather small and it's hard for me (bad eyesight) to see them really well. They are still setteling in and I need to divide them up. Once I get them in a tank that isn't so dark it might be a little better to get decent pictures of them also. I do think the second one might be one I hang onto to work with. I think it's going to be a georgous fish.

 

[Gillie]

The second fish is definitely nice the double spot is probably the key to identifying it. I don't know how many of them you have but if you decide to hang on to some and have a pair left over please let me know.

If those are bad pics it may be time for me to hang up my camera.

 

[Mike Wise]

Well, the first fish is a juvenile, but I can't say what. There aren't any distinguishing markings.

The second is an agassizii-group species. It might be A. elizabethae, but needs to grow a lot bigger before I would be certain.

The third is A. cf. pertensis.

Just a silly question. How do you "work" with just one specimen when you don't know what it is?

 

[Bev N]

Ok...I guess I didn't spell that all out. There are a couple in the tank that look like this. I haven't sorted them all out as they have only been here less than a week. My first concern is to get them healthy. They came in rough and unfortunately there were some doas. There were I believe 150 to start. I don't know how many there are of this type or if I even have a pair. Out of 100 or so remaining fish I'd say I might have a fair shot. I guess I was just taking that for granted. Sometimes I do my musing outloud so to speak. I'ts a fish that I happen to really like and if I am fortunate to have a pair and once I get it identified then I may decide to keep it to work with it.

The third one I thought was pertensis but had no idea about the first or second. I had not thought of elizabethae. And yes he is small. There are some larger specimens like him but they are shy. He however was very difficult to get a shot of because he seemed to like the light on the camera.

With one speciman it would be pretty hard to do much..lol. I guess that did sound pretty strange.

 

[james595]

Could number 2 be Apistogramma paucisquamis? How are these guys doing Bev?