012003

Written by Kevin Korotev for the SPLASH, the official publication of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society, INC.
kevinkorotev@netzero.ne

The first time I saw Apistogramma iniridae, I was struck by the male’s dorsal fin. It was tall and long. This was, in fact, my first observation of any Apistogramma of the ‘pertensis’ group. As I understand it, members of this group are all similarly elongate and a little laterally compressed. They’re shaped like Dicrossus filamentosa; the checkerboard cichlid and found living among them in their native habitat. The first time I had males. Only males.
    The second time I found this fish, it was in among dozens of other "Wild Apistos" at a local store. I know I had 2 males and 1 female, but couldn’t prove that claim. The adventure of trying to ID and isolate these other Apistos, correctly ID and remove just the iniridae and then pair them off was…trying. I’ll never do it again.
    This little jewel appeared a third time this last fall of 2002. Some South American collector must have paddled into a gazillion of them. They were in stores everywhere…with a myriad of names. I purchased enough to guarantee myself a couple pairs. A note about this last statement: "I purchased enough to guarantee myself a couple pairs."
    I can not say enough about the value of this practice. It may be, in some cases, financially prohibitive, but if you want to SPAWN fish, it is the first and simplest rule. The attitude and temperament of many of the fish I’ve bought this way in enhanced, not diminished by living in groups. There are, of course, many fish you wouldn’t want to do this with, but that is a different discussion. I guess my point is that if you want the best odds, give yourself the best chance. If you can’t afford a group at retail prices, find another hobbyist with fry…or get on the internet and look for discussion groups with people keeping fish you like…or come to an MAS meeting and hang-out for the BAP auction at the end of each regular meeting. You will never see lower prices.
   Maybe I paid my "dues" with the first two attempts at spawning this fish. My Apistogramma iniridae spawned nearly non-stop. I tried them in straight Milwaukee tap water and in a softer R/O mix. They spawned at 75 degrees as easily as 80 degrees. Unfortunately, many fry died. Most deaths occurred within the first 2 weeks of free swim.
A final argument for having more fish than you THINK you may need:When I had finished my Apistogramma iniridae adventure, I shipped them off to a friend and fellow aquarist in Texas. No big deal. There was nothing unique about it. I ship fish all the time. Only the males made it alive.