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Male inneutral coloration
Female.
Twoquarrellingmalesof theTeféAgassizii.
Thismalehas averybeautiful red-orangehead region.
Apistogramma agassizii ”Tefé”
Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid has a vast
distribution in South America, so it is
hardly surprising that geographical
variants have evolved. Some of these
forms are so typical that they could
easily be regarded as subspecies or
even separate species. Probably the
most divergent form of A. agassizii
known to date has received the
additional designation ”Tefé”, although
it isn't clear whether this form is
restricted to theTefédistrict inBrazil (on
the upper course of the Amazon,where
it is still known as the Solimoes), or
whether it also occurs elsewhere. A
characteristic feature of the Tefé
Agassizii is the four rows of zigzag
bands below the broad mid-lateral
band. That apart, however,males of this
Agassizii are just as polychromatic as
thoseof numerous other Apistogramma
species.The fishes recently imported by
AquariumGlaser sometimes have a very
red-orange head region, reminiscent of
the so-called Santarem form of the
Agassizii, although other males of the
same population are quite different, as
can readilybe seen from thephotos.The
females of all forms look the same and
cannot be distinguished from one
another. Hence it is very important to
keep the individual local variants
completely separate, as otherwise the
inevitable result would be amish-mash
formwith none of the special charm of
thewild forms.
