Re: Interbreeding

[Steph & Dave <caligula@tig.com.au>]

Mike & Diane Wise wrote:
> 

> > Can anyone give me a good way of ID'ing the two different females? So
> > far I am going on head shape the aureo's? seem to have a 'roman nose'
> > and the anomala's seem to have a flatter head and a protruding lower
> > jaw? Am I right?
> 
> No. Body shapes are virtually identical for both species. So are finnage. They
> are so similar that for a time Kullander questioned whether or not N.
> aureocephalus was just a color population of N. anomala. The best way separate
> the species is looking at the scales on the flanks. In N. anomala the scales are
> dark with lighter edges. N. aureocephalus is just the opposite. This species has
> light scales with dark edges. Unfortunately this is not as easy to see on females
> as it is on males.
> 
When I look at Linke and Staeck (pgs 204 & 206) is see quite different
head shapes.. am I seeing things?

When I look at my fish some show a more protruding lower jaw, and some
do not.  They are all MEANT to be aureocephalus, but I have never kept
mature fish of either species before so Im a little in the dark as to
waht they are all meant to look like, and can only work of the pics in
the books.

I started to wonder about the obvious male as he occassionally shows
some green colouring the flanks/body and his anal fin has a dark line
across the bottom, but I cant see any pattern of dots in it, as
described by L&S.  This may be because he is not mature enough for this
yet?

Are there any other diagnostic features other than scale pattern that
can be used to distinguish the two species?

> Unless you can definitely ID the males & females, I would ditch the offspring if
> they were mine. I don't know how you mixed the two species in the first place,
> but it's always a good idea to keep closely related species well separated to
> avoid mixing & hybridizing. In my fish room I have the luxury of alternating
> tanks so that species of the same group are never side-by-side.
> 
I would never deliberatly mix fish that are so closely related and never
mix ones that I was not able to distinguish between.  However when
buying juveniles of a species I havent bred before, I am reliant on the
other person telling me the right thing, my fish came from two sources,
one was private and I trust them, the other .. who knows.

Steph


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@listbox.com.
Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!