Re: will the real A. agassizi Tefe please stand up?

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Well, there are at least 2 aggie-like species from the Rio Tefé.  One is a true
A. agassizii. Other than the lateral band it doesn't show any other pattern on
the flanks. The other species, A. cf.  agassizii (Tefé) or just plain A. sp. Tefé
looks much like any other aggie but shows a series of spots or wavy bands along
the flanks parallel to the lateral band. All A. sp. Tefé males show these
spots/bands at least below the lateral band (A. sp. Tefé I) but some show them
above the lateral band, too (A. sp. Tefé II). See Southamerican Cichlids II book,
p. 19, second row from the top for pictures of this (1 or 2?) species. I have
seen photos of yellow forms (like yours) as well as blue forms. The aggie you
mention is a yellow aggie, probably from the lower Amazon (Alenquer/Santerém
area).

There was an article in DATZ a couple of years ago about cross breeding the
species. A. sp. Tefé was reported to cross with A. agassizii from the Rio Tefé
only if given no choice of females, but the fry showed irregular scales and other
deformities that indicated that they were probably hybrids. This was found to be
the problem with trying to breed many of the offspring from the first Tefé
imports. Female aggies & Tefés are almost impossible to tell apart. The crosses
that occurred produced mostly infertile offspring. I understand that this has
been eliminated for the most part. Still, it is not an easy fish to breed.  Hope
this helps.

Mike Wise

swaldron@slip.net wrote:

> so I guess if you guys can discuss eight foot long rams than I suppose I
> can imbue my aggies with the ability for bipedalism...
>
> Hi folks,
> Long time no read... glad to be back amongst the apisto-philes- the only
> cichild hobbyists with good taste...Question for those in the know...I
> recently aquired some aggies sold to me as Tefe aggies but no so sure that
> is what they are...they do have the same caudal pattern as a Tefe aggie but
> different from photos that I have seen of Tefe's in that the male's of
> these fish (btw, just starting to come into maturation) have a strong
> yellow/orange coloration to the ventral region of the body (i.e. 1/2 the
> caudal, the pelvics, anal fin) with a purple sort of wash to to the lateral
> body scales and bright blue irridescent scales on the opercula. The body
> shape is pretty much the standard aggie-look- nothing like the elongated
> purple/yellow aggie in the Koslowski book and not very "gephyra-like"
> either. it's a beautiful fish but not sure what is diagnostic of a Tefe.
> Any ideas? thanks!
>
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