Amph. 'Red Isleta'

[heavyhitter]

I have never seen a 'Red Isleta' are these the Amphilopus sp. that are from Costa Rica?

Whats the difference bewteen these and the chancho and amarillo

 

[cichlidinsomniac]

is that a saggitae?

its sp. red isletas way too stocky for a sagittae

 

[bigguapote]

I have never seen a 'Red Isleta' are these the Amphilopus sp. that are from Costa Rica?

Whats the difference bewteen these and the chancho and amarillo

Good question heavy hitter. At first glance most of these barred Amphilophus species appear very similar.

Chancho and amarillo are endemic to specific crator lakes in Nicaragua. Chancho hail from Lago Apoyo and amarillo from Lago Xiloa.

I imported the original wild stock of sp. isletas from Lake Nicaragua. It was determined to be different than the barred citrinellus found in the big lake for a few reasons.

My collector made it a point to explain this and not to mix the two up. He is a PhD student at the University in Managua and has been there studying cichlids for many years.

The sp. isletas were found in grassy, muddy flats behind a large island (hence the name 'isletas').
He had never encountered citrinellus in this type of habitat. They are found in rocky areas with far more water than this habitat.

Another valuable observation was that all sizes of the sp. isletas were found occupying this same shallow, muddy habitat. So it was not a 'nursery' for babies or feeding grounds for a particular sized or aged group of fish.

 

[toomanyfishes]

Adding a couple shots of my RedIsletas with a fresh batch of fry! Got these from Rapps a couple months ago.
View attachment 332398

RMac - Very nice pair - they look awesone with thier breeding dress on

View attachment 332399

nice fish should get a hump in no time

Thanks CI - he is awesome and has quickly become one of my favorites.
He is always very happy to see me when I come home from work. So he gets spoiled with special treats.
Funny thing about the hump; it comes and goes. I guess I'll have to get him a mate, maybe that will do it for him.

Good question heavy hitter. At first glance most of these barred Amphilophus species appear very similar.

Chancho and amarillo are endemic to specific crator lakes in Nicaragua. Chancho hail from Lago Apoyo and amarillo from Lago Xiloa.

I imported the original wild stock of sp. isletas from Lake Nicaragua. It was determined to be different than the barred citrinellus found in the big lake for a few reasons.

My collector made it a point to explain this and not to mix the two up. He is a PhD student at the University in Managua and has been there studying cichlids for many years.

The sp. isletas were found in grassy, muddy flats behind a large island (hence the name 'isletas').
He had never encountered citrinellus in this type of habitat. They are found in rocky areas with far more water than this habitat.

Another valuable observation was that all sizes of the sp. isletas were found occupying this same shallow, muddy habitat. So it was not a 'nursery' for babies or feeding grounds for a particular sized or aged group of fish.

Hey Jeff, thanks for commenting and for educating us on the differences between the Amph species. I have found very little info on these guys as well as the Xilo's you sent me, and the articles I have found always seem to leave me wanting for more.
I have been contemplating a request to you for a female friend for the male you sent. Although, I would like to try to mate him to an unrelated female or wild caught if I can. If you can, please let me know what my options are.
BTW the 4 Xiloaensis you sent are doing great and growing quickly. It has been a real pleasure to watch these guys change colors as they grow. They will go from a stark white tinged with pink and orange tones, to all pink, to a tangerine color, and sometimes, one of them in particular gets some nice black and blue splocthes. The tough part is capturing them with my camera. They are so fast and when they see me they just can't stay still as they beg to be fed once again.

 

[heavyhitter]

Good question heavy hitter. At first glance most of these barred Amphilophus species appear very similar.

Chancho and amarillo are endemic to specific crator lakes in Nicaragua. Chancho hail from Lago Apoyo and amarillo from Lago Xiloa.

I imported the original wild stock of sp. isletas from Lake Nicaragua. It was determined to be different than the barred citrinellus found in the big lake for a few reasons.

My collector made it a point to explain this and not to mix the two up. He is a PhD student at the University in Managua and has been there studying cichlids for many years.

The sp. isletas were found in grassy, muddy flats behind a large island (hence the name 'isletas').
He had never encountered citrinellus in this type of habitat. They are found in rocky areas with far more water than this habitat.

Another valuable observation was that all sizes of the sp. isletas were found occupying this same shallow, muddy habitat. So it was not a 'nursery' for babies or feeding grounds for a particular sized or aged group of fish.

Ahh an answer from the man himself
Thank your for that info Jeff! And keep doing what you are doing I love your fish!

 

[Mad About Cichlids]

Glad I checked back on this thread and see Jeff post in here. So if they're from the grassy areas are their main preys still invertebrates, snails, small fishes, etc or more vegetarian? Reason I ask is I was about start pumping mines up with Massivore Delite.

 

[RMac]

heavyhitter, how would I know if the fry I have are inbred? Yes, I got both the male and female from Rapps. Does he only have one pair of Isletas? The male looks to be from a different batch than the much smaller female, but are they off the same parents..., I really do not know? Can't be any different than what anybody else would be breeding since there aren't too many sources for them that I know of. I hadn't planned on selling them anyways, just wanted to grow out a nice pair.

 

[toomanyfishes]

Well here he is with his new gurl
I put in a request to Jeff a few days ago for a female, as the male was looking sad and deflated (losing his nuchal hump anyway).
Well, she has been in with him for less than 2 days (arrived yesterday morning) and they are already preparing the "Pot of Love". I expect to find eggs tomorrow morning.

 

[UMBEEKING]

Beautiful fish.

 

[toomanyfishes]

Thanks, all credit goes to Jeff Rapps and TUIC.