by Marco Lacerda <marcolacerda/ax.apc.org>
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Maladorno, Dionigi wrote:
>
> About two weeks ago I ordered at a nearby store two pairs of Apistos,
> one of them listed under the name of A. broad band.
>
> Well, once they arrived to the store, it was quite evident that they
> were not the "breitbinden", since they lacked the lyrate tail and only
> the first few dorsal fin rays were well developed.
>
> So, it seems to me that instead they are very close to A. trifasciata.
> Taking as a reference the picture on page 149 of the book by Linke and
> Staeck (the short-finned form of A. trifasciata) , the male I have is
> nearly identical, except for the fact that the dorsal fin is more
> developed (but not as much as the incredible one on page 147) and that
> the "third", ventral line is not visible.
>
> Here is my question: from the book it appears that A. trifasciata is
> characterized by some amount of variability. Is the ventral line a
> characteristic that may not be visible in some individuals? Should I
> instead think of some other species?
Dear Dionigi,
Regarding the A. trifasciata-complex, presently there are three
species within the hobby. According to Kullander (pers. comm.), the
species A. trifasciata is restricted to the Paraguayan (I mean from
Rio Paraguay and its tributaries) form, that have spotted caudal fin
as main diagnostic character. At Rio Mamore-Guapore region in Brazil,
we've two additional forms of this complex: a) one is found from
tributaries of lower Rio Mamore, and has been identified by Kullander
as Apistogramma maciliense, which was first described by Haseman as a
subspecies of A. trifasciata a long time ago. It is very similar to
A. trifasciata, but lack the spots on caudal fin, and sometimes (but
not in all specimens!) the 'third stripe' (ventral one). b) second is
found at tributaries of upper Rio Mamore, and is known in the hobby as
Apistogramma sp. 'Rio Mamore' (see DATZ - a German magazine - 9/96,
pages 548-549) for its introduction in the hobby ("Staeck, 1996. Neu
Importiert: Apistogramma aus dem Mamore"). It also appeared in the
1997 German edition of Linke & Staeck's Tetra boo, page 142) and in
the new Mayland's book - also in German - (Zwerg Buntbarsche,
Sudamerikanische Geophaginen und Crenicarinen), page 146,
MISIDENTIFIED as Apisto. maciliense (which is a DIFFERENT fish, see
letter (a) of this e-mail). [personally, I don't recommend Mayland's
book, it's full of mistaken identifications, and also the fish colors
are not real, but a sort of Photoshop-joke=8A]. There are two color
varieties of the A. sp. Mamore, the red and blue. I consider the red
one a SPLENDID fish, to be compared to the prettiest species of
Apistogramma (its caudal fin is deep red, even in wild fish!).
We're presently keeping and breeding both A. maciliense and A. sp. Rio
Mamore, both are very easy species to breed, no problem.
About the size of dorsal-fin rays of males, this is quite a variable
character, this condition is find in given populations of all three
forms of the A. trifasciata-complex, and I believe it cannot be used
as a diagnostic character.
I suggest you ask the owner of the petshop the origin of the fishes he
sold you. This might help on the identification. Also look for spots
on caudal fin (true A. trifasciata), broad lateral band + never the
third ventral stripe (A. sp. Mamore) or very similar form to
A. trifasciata, but no spots on caudal fin (A. maciliense). I hope
this can help you!
> Anyway, that purchase worked great for me. They spawned barely a week
> after I got them, and now the female is watching a very large cloud of
> fry! In addition, the store gave me for free a pair of A. Njesseni sinc=
e
> I politely asked them to see if the relatively high price I paid was
> justified for a less uncommon species! Not bad al all!
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Dionigi Maladorno
All the best, Marco.
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by "Ed Pon" <edpon/hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
>Lcrabo wrote:
>
>> I am curious what other Apistogramma species (and varieties)
>> other subscribers on this list find the most beautiful. If beauty
isn't your
>> thing tell me what your favorite species is and why (behavior etc).
>> I hope that this an appropriate post. I thought this type of
poll might be
>> of interest to a number of enthusiasts.
>
My favorite is A. Trifasciata. I had a pair that was imported from
Germany about 10 or 15 years ago. The metallic blue on the male rivaled
that of the metallic solid blue discus. The wild one's I'v had in more
recent years were a duller blue, but still nice. I don't know if the
first pair I mentioned was bred for color or if they were from a
different locale than the more recent ones that I've had. Trifasciata
are also among the smaller of the dwarf cichlids, whereas many of the
dwarf cichlids like MacMasteri, Steindachneri, Rotpuncts, etc. will have
males that get to three or four inches iin total length.
______________________________________________________
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by Alysoun McLaughlin <alysoun/patriot.net>
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998
To: "apisto/majordomo"/pobox.com
After many failed spawns which were either eaten, or unfertilized, or
molded, or all of the above, I finally have gotten a pair of apistos to
produce free-swimming fry. Out of all of my apistos, the trifasciatas
are the smallest. On top of that, they are wild caught so I really
didn't expect them to be spawning any time soon. These particular
specimens are about 1 1/4 inch long and I bought them about four weeks
ago.
The tank setup was a ten gallon with a half cocnut shell, a bogwood log,
a waterfall filter with a large sponge on the intake, a huge (half the
tank) clump of java moss and some stalks of hygro. Two tiny corydoras
also live in the tank. Half the water was from the tap (pH 7.5, gH 4
degrees) and the other half distilled. I am running peat through the
filter and added about two drops of Tetra Blackwater Tonic per gallon
and a quarter teaspoon of sodium biphosphate when I filled the tank.
The water looks like tea. The pH today was 6.5 and I have no reason to
believe it was any lower when the fish actually spawned. I was feeding
them a combination of dried bloodworms, brine shrimp flakes, and
community flakes. The male now hides on the other side of the java moss
from the mother and the kids, while she diligently watches her cloud of
40-50 fry. The fry seem to mostly eat particles and infusoria that
gather in the java moss though I am also feeding frozen baby brine.
Besides the spawn report I do have one question. I have heard that the
male trifasciatas will not develop the long dorsal rays if they are not
raised in water with a significantly lower pH. Does anyone have any
experience with raising the fish that can attest to the validity of
this? If this is in fact the case, how should I lower the pH without
causing any stress to the mother and fry? I was thinking about using a
combination of distilled water and more sodium biphosphate in very small
doses until the tank gets to a pH of 5.5 but if this in superfluous,
I'll just leave them alone.
Thanks much.
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by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Alysoun McLaughlin wrote:
Besides the spawn report I do have one question. I have heard that the male
trifasciatas will not develop the long dorsal rays if they are not raised in
water with a significantly lower pH. Does anyone have any experience with
raising the fish that can attest to the validity of this?
Alysoun,
I've never heard that pH was a factor, rather that soft water affected the length
of the dorsal fin lappets. I can't verify this, but my A. trifasciata had fairly
long lappets in my moderatley soft water (~2.5º GdH and 2º KdH). I personally
feel that fin development has more to do with age, clean water, and offering the
best (meaning good quality & varied) foods. A. trifasciata doesn't require super
acid or soft water for breeding. Your water conditions are fine like they are.
Mike Wise
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by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com>
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Notice they mention "soft" but only "slightly acidic" water". I personally
wouldn't intentionally drop their pH below 6.5, since they appear to come from
native waters that aren't particularly acidic (see table 20 in L & S).
As a side note this species has recently been separated into two different
species. A. trifasciata is now found only in the Rio Paraguay drainage. Those
from the Rio Guaporé drainage are now called A. maciliense. So now there are 3
trifasciata-like species (includes A. sp. Rio Mamoré). You won't find this in
any official list, since it hasn't been formally published yet. Which one do YOU
have??? (Isn't taxonomy fun!!!)
Mike Wise
cfonda-at-sentientconsult.com wrote:
> Check Linke and Staek (sp?) --- it is referenced in their book South
> American Cichlids I -- Dwarf Cichlids. Soft acid water helps to develop
> really cool trailers.
>
> Cliff
>
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by Jota Melgar <jsmelgar/compuserve.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
To: "INTERNET:apisto/majordomo.pobox.com" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Alysoun wrote:
> Julio Melgar imported these; he calls them "Rio Guapore".
Mike Wise responded:
>The only species I know that goes by this name is one shown by Heiko
Bleher at the ASG
>meeting at the last ACA convention (1997). It was a cacatuoides-group
species,
>probably A. luelingi. Your short description sounds like we're talking
about the same
>fish, but I'd need more detailed information.
The fish Alysoun mentions is A. trifasciata "Guapore" as opposed to A. sp.
"Guapore".
> Besides
> origin, what are the distinguishing characteristics or differences
> between the "Guapore" and the original trifasciata?
Both are the same species. The only differences besides what Mike has
already said between A. trifasciata and A. maciliensis is that A.
maciliensis (and for that matter A. sp. "Mamore") has a deeper body and
grows slightly larger than A. trifasciata.
Julio
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by Jota Melgar <jsmelgar/compuserve.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
To: "INTERNET:apisto/majordomo.pobox.com" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Andrew and Alysoun,
All I have to add to what Mike has posted is that the known range for A.
trifasciata extends from the Rio Guapore, down through the Rio Paraguay,
and as far south as the Rio Salado in Argentina. A. maciliensis and A. sp.
"Mamore" come from the Rio Mamore, a tributary to the Rio Guapore.
The fish you got is definitely A. trifasciata.
Take care,
Julio
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by Ken Laidlaw <kl/roe.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000
To: "'apisto/majordomo.pobox.com'" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Hi,
A.trifasciata was the first Apisto I had success in breeding and from what I
remember they did not require anything special in terms of water or feeding.
They were in a 48x18x15 discus tank and the female spawned on a piece of
bogwood that was covered in java moss. I installed a divider to give the
female about 10" of the tank to herself. The water was soft (don't have any
numbers) with pH about 6.5, temp was 80f.
My main food for the adults was frozen bloodworm with the occasional feeding
of live white worms and brine shrimp. I fed the fry on live baby brine
shrimp followed by chopped bloodworm.
These are very nice fish. The male never got very big but had a nice dorsal
fin and blue body colour.
Ken.
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Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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