Re: "biotope project"

["V Kutty" <kutty@earthlink.net>]

Per,

Your email is fairly thorough.  Felipe, Marcelo, Nathan Okawa and I sampled
a few roadside marshes right outside the town/village of Contitucion, about
40 km north of the town of Salto back in March 2001.  We spent an a few
hours on that location but the only cichlid we collected were Cichlasoma
pusillum and Gymnogeophagus meridionalis.  I did not catch any apistos there
even though it certainly looked like apisto habitat.  I just assumed that it
got too cold in the winter for apistos.  Like you say, the water was soft
and neutral.  The habitat is best described as a savannah marsh.  There was
no water flow and the substrate was sand and clay - not the kind that you
sink into.  The area was full of emersed and submersed aquatic plants and
the marsh was connected to a lake that was eventually connected to a "bay"
of Rio Uruguay.  There was quite a bit of riparian vegetation along the
lake.  And a very curious horse.  Some Rheas too.  The interesting thing
about this habitat is the extreme variation in seasonal temperature - just
below freezing on July nights (28°F) and over 110°F in February.  March,
luckily, was much more comfortable but the water temps were still close to
90°F.  This was all prior to my digital photography days, so I have not
scanned any of the slides to share with you.  Sorry.

In 2002, Nathan went back (bastard!) and they found this apisto in the same
location!  They actually brought a pair back to California but it got killed
by, of all things, some small characins.  What a pity!  I didn't get the GPS
location of that spot but a few miles to the north where we collected a new
Ancistrus and Crenicichla species was S 30° 59.026.  So this could quite
possibly the southernmost known location of an apisto.  I did not go to the
locality Bella Union in Artigas, which is at least 100 km north of
Constitucion.  Nathan's pictures of Bella Union show a more hilly and rocky
habitat.  He did not collect any apistos in Artigas.  However, across the
river in Entre Rios and Corrientes, Argentina, the vegetation and habitats
are very similar - the apisto may be found there as well.  I know it is an
apisto.  Is it commbrae?  Dunno.  I leave that up to Mike Wise and you guys
to tell me.

Vin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Per Wigstal" <per_wigstal@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <apisto@v2.listbox.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 8:46 AM
Subject: Re: "biotope project"


> Hi
>
> I have had some correspondance with a couple of guys that have collected
A. Commbrae in Uruguay.
> Felipe Cantera, Pablo Laurino, Marcelo Casacuberta and Vinnie Cutty.
>
> Felipe and Marcelo have confirmed that they have collected Commbraes "in
Salto, near a dam called Salto Grande". Felipe have a photo of one of these
fishes on his website.
>
http://www.aqvaterra.com/photos/peces/galeria_ciclidos/apistogramma_commbrae_550x380.jpg
>
> Pablo Laurino wrote that the Commbraes could be found near Villa
Constitution (Departemento de Salto) and in the area of Bella Union
(Departemento de Artigas)
>
> Pablo Laurino wrote about the habitats;
>
> "The habitats of Apistos are quite simmilar between each other, but
> often we collect isolated individuals in different conditions. The most
common ones are ponds that are inundated during floods, and after get more
or less isolated from the main bodies of water.
>
> It is actually neutral or sligthly acid in pH, and quite soft to little
hardness. This are not like amazon waters, not brown at all. They are clear
when the sediments are deposited as
> water gets quiet. They come from the rivers filled with rain, and with
> sand substrate mainly and some mud and lime, but little vegetable debris.
> The ponds that apistos inhabit are regularily plenty of vegetation, mainly
> on the shores, where they are found among the multiple species, like
> Ludwigia, Higrophila, Miriophyllum, Pontederia, Echinodorus. They get
protection from the several predators that live within them, as Serrasalmus
(Piranha), Oligosarcus, Crenicichla, Hoplias, etc."
>
> Lee, who are your contact person in Uruguay?
> Hoping to get some info from your trip in July! :-)
> (Really would like to go there myself.)
>
> Best regards/ Per
>
>
>
>
> Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com> wrote:
> Per,
>
> I'd be very interested to learn the Uruguayan collecting localities of
> A. commbrae.
>
> Mike Wise
>
> Per Wigstal wrote:
>
> >Hello Greg!
> >
> >Sounds like a great idea! It would be very interesting with such a list.
Altough there are problems to make a list that covers all the habitats for a
species like for example Ap. Agassizi. Since it is spread over the major
part of the amazon, it is sharing it´s habitats with numerous different
species, depending on where in the amazon the Agassizi´s are collected.
> >Some other species will be easier of course. At least there are some
apistos that are endemic to certain rivers.
> >
> >I will try to help if I can. I have at least some info about collecting
sites in uruguay for the Ap. Commbrae. (Perhaps the southest collecting site
of any apisto species)
> >
> >Best regards/ Per
> >
> >
> >Grzegorz Prusinowski wrote:
> >Hi all,
> >
> >It's a little bit quiet lately, but perhaps you will be
> >willing to help me with one giantic project, that I saved
> >for summer time. We have an apisto dedicated website with
> >some friends from Poland and try to gradualy improve the
> >content. For some time I have been thinking about a
> >"compatibility list" of species occuring simpathricaly with
> >the dwarf cichlids. I know it's a lifetime job, but if I
> >start with some popular species and limit to other fish
> >known to aquarium hobbyists it could be a great help for
> >those, who plan a biotope tank.
> >
> >I poped onto some links to collecting trips' diaries, that
> >are very helpful. I hope you know of some more, perhaps have
> >your own experiences and remarks to add. Or maybe somebody
> >already "been there did that"?
> >
> >Counting on your help.
> >
> >Greg
> >
> >Grzegorz Prusinowski
> >www.apisto.pl
> >
> >
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