# Apistogramma I.D.



## SirAldousSnow (Jul 26, 2012)

Hey people,

So I've had this pair of Apistogramma for about two and a half months now and after my water change this week they've started to display mating behaviour. They were sold to me as Apistogramma agassizii but have never displayed the bright colouration I see in pictures. I always assumed that it was because they were still juvenile but now that they're courting I'm not so sure. To me they resemble A. geisleri or A. sp. emerald alenquer. I got them at Big Al's in Kitchener, the same store that was selling Nannostomus beckfordi as Nannostomus eques... So I'm not confident at all that the store's I.D. is accurate.

My parameters are fairly soft... and acidic - pH 6.6 KH 2 degrees GH 11 degrees. Could that affect colouration? They're in a 30 that's full of plants and driftwood. The water is stained slightly yellow - even though you can't really tell in my photos. Their tankmates are eyespot rasboras and beckford's pencilfish which seem to ignore them mostly. I feed them frozen bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp and black mosquito larvae. I'm in the process of growing brine shrimp to feed them live. Am I doing this right?!

If there're any apisto experts out there that feel like they might be able to I.D. or tell me that they're still juvenile and haven't fully coloured up yet, I'd appreciate it so that I can adjust parameters/learn about them accordingly! Here're some pictures of them - the first is the male, the second is the female, the third and fourth are of the male in courtship mode.

Thanks!


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## Mykuhl (Apr 8, 2013)

I am not an apisto expert, but I know enough about them to know that that male is not an A. Agassizii. The biggest tip off is the shape of the tail fin, it should come to a point. As to what type of apisto he is; I don't know, I don't know quite enough about the different types of apistos to identify it. As to if he is at full coloration yet or not because he is showing signs of courting? Apistos will start to court or even breed before they have attained full size and coloration. Also, with a GH at 11 degrees, your water is considered hard, it is the GH reading that detirmines if your water is soft or hard. So you can have low KH and have high GH(although they are usually close)and still have hard water, the low KH simply means that your water's buffering ability is low. From what I have read , the water hardness will affect the color of fish if it is significantly different than what is ideal. Oh, and the food you are feeding them will bring them into breeding condition more quickly, especially if you start feeding live food.


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## jessbullock (Apr 20, 2009)

Heya,
I am leaning more towards Apisto eunotus. Geisleri (emerald) has more of a rounded blotch on the caudal with a good margin above and below that aren't black. Eunotus has more of a bar.

There's no way they should have been mistaken visually for agasizii, although from experience eunotus is found in some of the same areas of Peru.

Just my 2 cents

Oh, also, I didn't find either species particularly troublesome to spawn. pH 6-6.5, leaf litter, driftwood, terra cotta caves and a sponge filter. So it sounds like you're already on the right track, especially with all those great foods. Keep an eye on the females, bright yellow = spawn!


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## SirAldousSnow (Jul 26, 2012)

*Resticulosa complex.*

So I joined apistogramma.com just to try and figure out what my fish are and after a lot of guesses someone has identified them with some semblance of surety. Mike Wise, an apisto expert who's written many a paper and helped to translate the leading apisto i.d. book has told me they're definitely regani-lineage like eunotus but are actually from the resticulosa complex... So big al's has failed me again but I really like my fish all the same. If Mike narrows it down to a specific species I'll post it's identity here. For now, here are a few more photos. The first two are the male, the third is the female... starting to turn yellow! Thanks again!


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