Re: A. Nijsseni ID

[Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw@roe.ac.uk>]

On Sun, 22 Feb 1998 21:34:53 -0500 gacasey@ibm.net wrote:

> Hello
> I have a problem with an ID on some of my Apisto's. I brought them back
> from a trip to Baltimore several months ago and now that they have
> colored up I am not sure what they are. I purchased them as A. Nijsseni,
> But I have been reading so much about mis-IDed fish I am wondering if
> that is in fact what they are.Of the 4 fish I have, There is 1 male and
> 3 females. The male is a light sky-blueover his body witha blk spot on
> his tail that extends onto his body. His paired fins are orangy-yellow,
> and there is an orange stripe around the outside edge of his tail fin.

Could be either A.nijsseni or A.panduro.  Is the anal fin 
blue or orange?  If blue then it is probably A.panduro.  
Also is the fish yellowish towards the head especially on 
the underside, if so then it is more likely to be nijsseni.

> Of the females 2 look alike, in that they have 2 spots on their side and
> the other only has 1 spot. The fish have a yellow base color with a blk
> stripe through the eye and a blk spot on the side with 2 of them havind
> another spot at the base of the tail.

A.nijsseni females have black spots at the base of the 
tail, panduro do not.

 Paired fins are the same as the
> male and so is the circle{stripe} around the edge of the tail. They are
> in a 55 that is heavily planted with some other Apisto's, A. Gibbiceps,
> A. Borellei, and A. Agasizzi. There are also  12-15 Cory's in the tank
> and a pr of angelfish. The A. Nijsseni look to be in spawning color and
> I am wondering if I should remove them and give it a whack or wait and
> try later whan I am a little more ready for some fry. One last item, I
> also have some  A. Pandurini juveniles and I am wondering just how much
> this fish looks like the A. Nijsseni look alike when they are adults as
> I don't want to get them mixed up and end up misidentifing some fish if
> I sell the fry. 

They are alike and unless you can make sure you can  
separate them it probably is not wise to house them 
together.

Hope this is helpful.
Ken.