I.D please?

[swampy1972]

I got two of these little guys from a LFS yesterday.. They had no idea what they were. They initially tried to tell me they were Gold Rams :lol:

I'm sure they an Apisto of some description, but if I could get an expert opinion on the strain please. I'd really appreciate a link to a pic of an adult specimen if you can.

I think they're both male by the way they flare up at each other when ever they cross paths, although one has more red in the tail than the other.

Check out the German Blue Rams I got as well... :D They're still only young too. The male hasn't developed the dorsal fin extension yet although his colouration seems good.

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02704.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02697.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02688.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02712.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02687.jpg

[Rod]

I'd say 2 female Apistogramma nijsseni.....females hate each other!
Should show a black spot on the body
Males don't have as much black on gill plates
goggle for images.... :wink:

[steph]

Yep I agree with Rod, female nijsseni. They arent panduro or baenschi and nijsseni are the only other ones with the red margin on the tail.

Black lateral spot can be mood related, and I believe on nijsseni its often greenish rather than black.

I would see if you could trade one in for a male - these are pretty strict pair bonding apistos, not harems.

steph

[Hassles]

Two female Apistogramma nijsseni eh' ? well I wouldn't worry too much about that, pretty soon you'll have just one - unless of course you have a large tank OR you take one of the females out before it kills the other. A lovely apisto but a pretty aggressive one. Try to get a male or take the 2nd fish back to your LFS who incorrectly sold the fish to you in the first instance - an event I struggle to comprehend.

Well thats my last advice here on the forum as I embark upon a months holidays far far away :D

take care, and don't expect a post card :wink:

[steph]

Hey hassles,

Have a great trip, visit lots of exotic fish shops to drool over the fish you cant get here and log in every day from internet cafes because you miss us ?!?! ;)

Cheers

Steph

[gingerbeer01]

Nijsenni have been observed to have both pariing behaviour and harem behaviour.

I am inclined to believe that a lot of it is to do with space - They are nasty and no female will tolerate another and claim bigger territories, hecne in the typical aquariums we committ to the species we see them as being pair forming.

Certainly I have others that change behaviour on moving to a different size tank, or indeed even differnet substrate/ decoration of tank.

These are not good beginner fish IMO - for two reasons. One they are cranky bugers - real cranky and the aggression cna be a challenge to manage. Secondly they do need a real low pH to get to breed - panduro are so much more popular as they do not have this crazy level of requirements.

HTH

Steve

[Rod]

Hi Steve,

You've never really forgiven me for swapping my cranky Pair of A nijsenni for a pair of your N brevis when you first moved to Brisbane.....have you?

Regards....Rod :wink: :lol:

[gingerbeer01]

It's OK Rod - I still luv ya......

[swampy1972]

I'd say 2 female Apistogramma nijsseni.....females hate each other!
Should show a black spot on the body
Males don't have as much black on gill plates
goggle for images.... :wink:

Thanks for the I.D Rod.

These were purchased out of complete ignorance on my part unfortunately. I knew they were Apisto's of some description and the LFS had no idea what they were so gave them to me for $5ea so I couldn't turn it down. In hind sight it would've been better to leave them there.
I have them in a 2ft cube tank with quite a bit of cover. So far they seem to be keeping to themselves but I can see the aggression you all mentioned when they do encounter one another, but there's been no clashes...yet.
Unfortunately I headed off o'seas again till mid Aug before seeing all your replies so it's too late to swap for a male etc. I'm just hoping at least one of them is left when I get back so I can seek out a male. :oops:

Can anyone advise if these fish are reasonable quality? I've done a couple of Google image searches and they seem 'ok'. I just wanted to know what characteristics make for a good Apisto?

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02723.jpg
http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad348/swampy1972/Shrimp/DSC02725.jpg

[Rod]

Look healthy,straight Good colour

I'd be Happy to breed with them!

[swampy1972]

That's good to hear, thanks.

What do you think about their chances of not killing one another in their current environment? Will they actively seek each other out for conflict or are they happy to maintain separation if they can establish a territory of their own? And if so, how big a territory do they need?
As you can see in the pic, I'm gambling on the fact that line of sight across the floor of the tank isn't possible with the current scape. I'm hoping this will allow them to give each other some space to avoid conflict until I can find alternative accomodation for at least one. Is this a reasonable assumption?

[Rod]

All I can say is I've had a trio together a few years back......everything seemed fine.....no real issues

then one day I found one of the females dead and she looked like she had been in a fight.....she wasn't sick in the morning but she was dead in the afternoon....it happened pretty quickly without warning. I don't know if the male killed her or the female???

Perhaps they wont be as aggressive without a male??? but that is a pure assumption on my part

The tank looks well setup with plenty of hiding places.....I'd leave them and watch carefully.....but that's not a guarantee... :wink:

When you do get a male...I'd let him pick a favourite and remove the other female

[TW]

Hi Swampy

There are males around in Sydney at the moment. Whether they will sell them singularly (ie without the female) I'm not sure.

[swampy1972]

Good advice Rod, thanks.

At the moment, when they do come in to view of each other (which is rarely) they flare their gills and finnage briefly then tend to go their separate ways. No actual conflicts yet, fingers crossed it stays this way.

TW,

Thanks for the heads up but I'm in East Timor again 'till Aug (ADF funded 'holiday' :roll: ) so I'm not in a position to get more till then unfortunately. I'll put the word out on the forum closer to my return; hopefully one of our NSW based Apisto keepers has something available then..;)

Thanks again guys.