From Peru a beautiful dwarf cichlid regularly comes to us, which is called “Apistogramma juruensis” on the exporter´s lists. The animals are very similar to A. cacatuoides and to A. juruensis, but can usually be easily distinguished from both by one coloration feature: a black chin spot, which was decisive for the common trade name in our country: Black Chin. The species was finally described scientifically by Römer et al. in 2012 as Apistogramma allpahuayo. It originates from an area near Iquitos, which belongs to the drainage of the Rio Nanay. For pictures of this form see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/apistogramma-allpahuayo-2/
As said, the black chin spot is normally a very good identification mark of the species. Now we have received a shipment of these animals that shows the chin spot almost not at all. Additionally it is noticeable that in “normal” A. allaphuayo the membranes of the first three dorsal fin rays are black in excited males, in the newcomers only the first two. All in all the differences are only minor, but they show once again that in Apistogramma you always have to expect a certain range with regard to pattern characteristics.
For our customers: the animals have code 622723 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
