Re: Red Apistos

[swaldron@slip.net (Steven J. Waldron)]

>Doug,
>
>This is an interesting topic.  Be curious to here what others have to say.
>In talking with some of the "experts" some theorize that perhaps they are
>slightly different color variations or regional variations, others say
>they are the same fish.
>
>I found four in this group, the ones you mentioned
>
>"Red Point" aka "Rotpunkt"
>aka "Puerto Narino"
>
>also in this group is Swartzsaum (?sp) also known as the black edged
>apisto.  Some of the Rotpunkt don't have the red on the face that I have
>seen in pictures of Red Point.....  So, far no one has straightened out
>the naming on these that I know of.
>
>Either way I think they are beautiful fish, the male had great coloration
>and the females were more the typical macmasteri complex group.  These
>guys have also been listed as possible bridging species between groups.

Hi folks,
I've seen hundreds of wild "rotpunkt" (aka Apistogramma sp. schwarzsaum,
aka A. sp. aff. taeniatum, aka A. weisei, aka A. sp. "puerto narino"?) in
my day and can say that they are extremely variable. If the origin of these
commercially wild caught fish was from a single population, then you will
find black edged "rot punkt", red edged rotpunkt, red faced rotpunkt, non
red faced, black edged rotpunk... ad infinitum (actually, it could be
quantified) together. Just know that if you are considering purchasing any
of the above "species" it will be the fish pictured on pg. 135-136 of Linke
and Staeck or a variant thereof. I prefer to call it "rotpunkt", I'm sure
it can be called many things.

Kathy's second point is interesting. I always considered the male rotpunkt
a bit more on the cacatuoides side of the spectrum than macmasteri. The
females show strong affinities to the macmasteri group. Great fish though,
adaptable to hard/alkaline water and very productive.
- - Steve

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Steven J. Waldron                       phone/fax: (415) 386-7377
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