Wild apistos shipment at NKS (13 Feb 08)

[illumnae]

They just announced a new shipment:

Apistogramma elizabethae - AP ELIZABETHAE (wild)
Apistogramma gibbiceps - AP.GIBBICEPS Red "Rio Negro" (wild)
Apistogramma sp - AP SP "Tiquiena" (wild)


I wish I had tank space for the wild Ap. Elizabethae

[trident]

again!!! really really no space liao, don't think I want to visit NKS, too dangerous!

[illumnae]

wild ap. elizabethae!!!!

[doubleace]

omg omg ... AP.GIBBICEPS (wild)!!!.. No space liao...
Got to get more tanks..

[doppelbanddwarf]

Wow. *drooling* Richard lets go!!!!

[trident]

chong yu,
don't poison me lah

[ccs]

Any idea how AP SP "Tiquiena" looks like?

[Wackytpt]

Chee Seng,

I am also interested to know how they look like.

Can't seems to find any information on them.

[wks]

chong yu,
don't poison me lah

Richard, this hobby is good for your health. We are all your good friends, how can friends poison you? Lets go!

[yorky]

where? where?
Wild eliz at this time of the year rocks!
Its already tail end of the season in Amazon.
Cheong ah!

[celticfish]

alamak, now then you arrive yorky.
tried to call you earlier but i suppose you were busy.
they've even got green farlowella!

[doppelbanddwarf]

Haha I'm afraid that I'll be tempted too if I go down....

[Samuel2618]

Haha..

Wow.. Not again another batch of wild caught apistos in NKS.. Sure to be crowded there again especially on weekends..

Think there will be no ending in obtaining tanks space for these ever tempting apistos.. And when we finally stopped one day.. Perhaps we already own a fish stall housing all apistos just like Biotope then..

Keep up the apisto hobby..

Cheers..

[Quixotic]

Any idea if Apistogramma sp. "Tiquiena" = A. sp. "Tiquié" where the locality is refering to Rio Tiquié?

[genes]

I got a feeling its very likely. Was told the dorsal is bluish. Very similiar to the Ap. sp. "Tiquie"

[yorky]

Yes it is under the Balzfleck group.

CCS, FYI.

[yaya]

Went there today, most of the apistos are juveniles. can't even tell the sex of them and each kind of the apisto has many of them. I'm not sure if they are wild form, they look like farm bred to me though.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

agree with yaya. mostly juveniles. didn't dare to choose any as i'm not so old bird in terms of sexing apistos. had to look pretty closely to spot the wild A.elizabathae tank. maybe some better players in this forum will be able to spot the hidden gems and share it with us! attractive pricing though. but a trip down to a lfs is never harmful! (spreading the poison)

sad that pleco stocks were pretty low though

[valice]

You saw any L260 left?

[SCOPE]

Yes it is under the Balzfleck group.

CCS, FYI.

There are interesting write up on this fish by Mike Wise. Its behaviour is very unique, different from other apistos:

===================

Apistogramma sp. Tiquie (you don't need the "1"; there isn't a "2", etc.) is a
real undescribed species discovered by Uwe R�mer in the Rio Tiquie, a tributary of the middle Rio Uaupes in northern Brazil. Pictures of both a male & female are pictured in on page 25 of: Romer, 1995, Uaupes, Aqua Geographia, v.11, 1/95:6-27.
The fins have been nipped, that's why it so ragged. It belongs to a group of tiny apistos belonging to what I have called the Balzfleck-Group.

The Balzfleck-Group has many unusual features that characterize it. They are an advanced species-group (having reduced cephalic pore counts), but exhibit
primitive physical features (low dorsal, round caudal, and display almost no
sexual dimorphism). They are all tiny species (less than 1 3/4 in. or 4.5 cm TL) with the male being SMALLER than the female! They have moderately elongate and slightly fusiform bodies, lack most pigmentation on the anterior dorsal fin rays, normally possess an enlarged lateral spot (flank patch), and where known tend to be preferentially monogamous. Those members that have been spawned in aquaria show a very unusual breeding behavior. The males actively seek out females with which to spawn. He then initiates courtship by dancing in front of his intended female, shimmying and displaying an enhanced lateral spot. He then entices the female to enter the breeding cave he has previously selected and breed there.
This is basically the opposite of other apistos.

The Balzfleck-Group presently has at least 3 and possibly 7 species in it. These
include:

A. sp. Balzfleck (Courting-spot) - Rio Uraricuera (upper Rio Branco), Brazil.
A. sp. Felsen (Rock) - Rio Negro? Possibly a pertensis-group fish belonging to
the iniridae-complex.
A. sp. Minima - upper Rio Negro/Orinoco area?
A. sp. Orangesaum (Orange-rim) - Upper Rio Orinoco, Colombia/Venezuela? Probably
a geographic color variant of A. sp. Minima.
A. sp. Pimental - Rio Pimental (Wherever that is - Even Marco couldn't help me!)
Possibly the same as A. sp. Balzfleck.
A. sp. Tiquie - Rio Tiquie, Brazil.
A. sp. Wei�saum (White-rim) - upper Rio Negro/Orinoco area? Probably another
color variant of A. sp. Minima.

I don't think A. sp. Tiquie has ever been imported for the hobby. For that matter little is known about any of the Balzfleck-Group species. None are real "keepers" where it comes to looks. They only come in as contaminants with other species.

Mike Wise


A. sp. Tiquie comes from the Rio Tiquie, a tributary of the upper Rio Uaupes on the Rio Negro. No precise distribution data are known for the other species. A. sp. Pimental is thought to come from the lower Amazon, possibly the Rio Tapajos or Rio Xingu.
A. sp. Minima/Orangesaum/Wei�saum come in with fish like Dicrossus
filamentosus and Paracheirodon axelrodi (Cardinals/Red Neons). This would
indicate the upper Rio Negro/Orinoco as their source.

One of the interesting behavioral characteristics of these species is that the
males initiate spawning. They try to entice the slightly larger females toward a
preselected cave by dancing in front of them and displaying their large flank
patch. This is the opposite of other apistos, where the females select the cave
and entice the male to it. A. sp. Balzfleck & Pimental breed under white water
conditions: pH 6.0 and low dH. The others are true blackwater species that
require pH values from 4 - 5.5 and no hardness at all. If given the opportunity,
females cover the entrance to their caves after spawning and only open it once
the fry become freeswimming. If they can't cover the opening, spawnings are
usually unsuccessful.

Mike Wise

=======================================

You can found pictures of this rarely availble fish at:
http://www.rva.jp/apisto/rio_tique.html

Cheers!