Vieja in Australia

[Washedupwannabe]

G’day all.
I’ve not found a definitive answer through searches here or online so, my question is; other than Coatzacoalcos, Synspillum, Maculicauda, Hartwegi, Argentea (please forgive my spelling if incorrect)
What other Viejas are available in Australia? I’ve been away from the hobby for some time so, I’m not ultimately aware of the state of things.
Thanks in advance!

 

[stiker]

G’day all.
I’ve not found a definitive answer through searches here or online so, my question is; other than Coatzacoalcos, Synspillum, Maculicauda, Hartwegi, Argentea (please forgive my spelling if incorrect)
What other Viejas are available in Australia? I’ve been away from the hobby for some time so, I’m not ultimately aware of the state of things.
Thanks in advance!

I will weigh in on this as I’m also from Australia.

The species of Vieja available are; fenestrata, melanura, maculicauda, zonata. Bifasciata has been here in the past but has died out. Argenteus is not in the genus Vieja, but the closely related sister genus Maskaheros.

Coatzacoalcos was never a species, it was given as a locality written as Vieja sp. Coatzacoalcos, through DNA testing the Vieja in the Coatzacoalcos drainage have been synonymised into zonata (aka they are V. zonata). All the fish that are sold in Australia I have seen listed as Coatzacoalcos have been hybrids. There is pure Zonata out there, but they are very few and far between.

On the topic of V. hartwegi, I have never seen a pure specimen in Aus, all of the ones getting around are hybrids and these fish have been called out on many Facebook groups by experts who have kept and collected true hartwegi.

Long story short, in Aus the percentage of pure Vieja is minuscule and you will have a hard time finding pure specimens. Even the melanurus has long been interbred between the Mexican and Belize form.