11: species & populations

[illustrator]

Please note: this subject will look empty for a while, I will gradually add bits and piecies of info ...

Every river is inhabited by different fish. This is not only true for Central America, but worldwide. For our convenience we group similar fish from different rivers as "species", but the important unit is the isolated population that has evolved in a single river, or sometimes in a part of a river, in a lake or in a part of a lake.

Also convict cichlids occur in many populations, which differ in size, colour, body dimensions and other characters. In recent years confusingly many different populations of convict cichlids have been imported. In this topic I present an overview of populations of convict cichlids that are kept in aquaria. I'll group them together in the species described by Juan Schmitter-Soto (2007) + HRP, but I expect that this will have to be updated when more research is done/published.

For this topic I need help, please feel free to add information!

[illustrator]

Amatitlania coatepeque

Distribution: only known from lake Coatepeque, El Salvador (Schmitter-Soto, 2007).

Population: Lake Coatepeque
History of import: has apparently been imported into the United States in the past; a photo of convict cichlids with characteristics of this species is printed in an old edition of the Innes book of Aquarium fishes.

[illustrator]

Amatitlania kanna

Distribution: "From rivers Canaveral, Cricamola, Sixaola and other localities in Atlantic Panama" (Schmitter-Soto, 2007).

Population: Rio Sixaola
History of import: imported by Michi Tobler into the United States.

Population: "Panama"
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.
Note: exact population not specified, may refer to the Rio Sixaola population.

[illustrator]

Amatitlania nigrofasciata

Distribution: "Pacific slope: from Rio Sucio, El Salvador, to Rio Suchiate, Guatemala; Atlantic slope: from Rio Patuca, Honduras, to Rio Jutipa, Guatemala" (Schmitter-Soto, 2007).

Population: Rio Choluteca
History of import: imported into the United States by Ken Davis in 2006
Note: according to Ken Davis identification is uncertain, it might be an undescribed species.
Link: http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5678&start=0
Link: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=185512&sid=6b280ac58556d77bacbff63c73176177

[illustrator]

Amatitlania siquia

Distribution: "Both coasts of Costa Rica (from Tributiaries to the Golfo de Nicoya on the Pacific coast and Rio Parisima on the Atlantic) to Nicaragua (including the Great Lakes and Mosquitian basins); also north to Atlantic Honduras (Rio Yeguare)" (Schmitter-Soto, 2007).

Population: Ahogados, Costa Rica (Pacific)
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Rio Aguan, Honduras
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Río Buen Suceso; Lago Ometepe, Nicaragua
History of import: Imported by Willem Heijns into the Netherlands

Population: Canas, Costa Rica
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Rio Cabuyo
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Rio Claro
History of import: possibly imported by Ken Davis into the Unites States; is currently kept in aquaria (under the name "Rio Claro red Fin) because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Rio Heuron, Honduras
History of import: imported by Rusty Wessel and Ken Davis into the United States in 2007.
Link: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 3c73176177

Population: Naranjo Punta Arenas, Costa Rica
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Rio Sapoa, Costa Rica
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Lago Nicaragua
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.

Population: Costa Rica (unspecified)
History of import: is currently kept in aquaria because some photo's of these convicts are on internet.
Link: http://www.cichlidmadness.com/forums/index.php?s=b77269e0c89f55bcf434c48c79e8276a&showtopic=22209&st=0&p=268120&#entry268120
Note: may refer to any of the above mentioned populations.

[illustrator]

Amatitlania sp. "Honduran red point"

Population: Rio Danli
History of import: imported by Rusty Wessel into the United States around 1997.
Link: http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5808
Link: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=185512&sid=6b280ac58556d77bacbff63c73176177

Population: Rio Mongo
History of import: imported by Ken Davis, Dan Woodland and others into the United States in 2002.
Link: http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5808
Link: http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3879&p=23366&hilit=belaire#p23366

[illustrator]

Amatitlania sp. introduced populations of aquarium (possibly hybrid) origin:

Population: French Guyana
History of import: seen in a petshop in the Netherlands in 2008, sold as F1 from "wild caught" parents
Note: introduced population

Population: Austria
History of import: imported to Slovenia by Paul Veenvliet in 2007-2008, also kept in Austria by people who live near the location
Note: introduced population, tentatively assigned to A. kanna

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And a small note: I found that also fish from the following localities are kept, but I still have to check which "species" they could/should be:

"Guatemala" (Kept by Bas pels, the Netherlands)

[Ken Davis]

I'll add what I know of the fish I keep. All the wild and F1 Amatitlania I keep were collected by me or companions on various collecting trip to Honduras except the population of A. siquia I have from Lago Nicaragua that were imported in a commercial shipment by Jeff Rapps and the 2 pairs of F1 A. Kanna that I got from Rusty Wessel.
A. cf. nigrofasiata Rio Chuloteca, Honduras, we collected a group of young fish while there to catch Anebleps dowii. I noticed some had orange fins and kept about a dozen, As they matured it became obvious that the orange was restricted to the females and the males were a purple/blue color, they proved to be very easy to breed and now several thousand have been distributed in the hobby. These fish stay very small, females mature at 1.5" and max out at about 2-2.5", and males may reach 3-3.5". I did an experiment with one of my wild females who had bred with a wild male many times, I put her in a tank with 3 domestic male nigrofasiata, two black and a pink, she laid eggs several times and never let any of them near the eggs, which all fungus, when placed back with a wild male she bred normally. Thus I believe they are not A. nigrofasiata, but possibly a new species, Dr Mitch Tobler collected some from the same site and keyed them out as A. nigrofasiata, I'd love to see DNA done on these. Using Soto's distribution range for A. nigrofasiata they would be at the extreme southern range for the species.

[Ken Davis]

A. siquia Rio Claro Honduras, I collected one pair in the Rio Claro which is a small tributary on the north bank of the Rio Aguan about 20 miles west of Trujillo. All fish in the hobby are descendants of this one pair, a small species, mature females are 2-2.5", males 2.5-3.5", Males have bright red fins and both sexes have blue gill plates and some have blue into the belly area. A very similar fish to the HRP from Rio Monga, but with a higher body. The Rio Monga is also a tributary of the Rio Aguan, but on the southern bank.
A. cf. siquia Rio Heuron Honduras We collected about 20 of these and lost almost all of them in the field, we ended up with 2 males and 7 females, Rusty Wessel and I took one male each and 3-4 females, Both of us managed to bred this fish. Rusty tentatively ID’ed them in the field as A. nigrofasiata, but in my opinion they are either A. siquia or a new species and the northern most collection of any Amatitlania species on the Atlantic slope to date. (Soto’s northern range to the Rio Jutiapa, Guatemala, is incorrect; the Rio Jutiapa is in Honduras and only contains Cryptoheros cutteri) The Rio Hueron is about 30 miles south east of Jutiapa on the same highway and in a different drainage basin. The Rio Heuron is a small stream in the upper drainage of the Rio Aguan, this fish differs in size and color of the Rio Claro fish in that it matures at 1-2” and never gets much larger that 2.5”, The blue is less intense, but they do have pink/red fins in both sexes, This fish has very small spawns like HRP where the Claro fish has very large spawns.
A. siquia Lago Nicaragua, commercial shipment Jeff Rapps, large robust fish, Males can get over 5”, lots of color, red/orange caudal fin, yellow to orange dorsal, bight red belly on the female, various shades of blue in the gills, belly and body. One of the most colorful wild type Amatitlania. These have huge spawns, are very aggressive. I think it is the true A. siquia and the small species we found in north east Honduras may be a different (or several) species.
A. cf siquia, Tilla Sunta, Brus Lagoona, Honduras. We collected a lot of these in a cut off pool, but due to extremely high temperatures in the field and very bad water lost all of the, Small species, purple gill covers, pink fins. Biggest we caught were 2.5” I’ll go back and get this fish again in the next year.

[Ken Davis]

A. sp. Honduran Red Point, Rio Danli, Honduras Rusty Wessel originally collected by Rusty Wessel and Ross Socolof. A slender blue fish with red in the caudal fin. Max size 3”. Small spawns, least aggressive of any fish in the genus. Very blue race has been developed in the hobby with selective breeding. In wild fish the bluer fish are females. Males can be solid blue or grey with blue gills. Red in the caudal can be absent to a bright splash.
A. sp cf HRP Rio Monga, Honduras Collected numerous times on several collecting trips and introduced by several members of these groups. It is very established in the hobby. We go to the Rio Monga every trip to Honduras to secure new breeding stock. This fish is very prolific, though it has smaller spawns than the Rio Claro fish, it breeds often and they are good parents. Wild fish range from plain grey convict looking fish to bright blue with blazing red fins, females tend to be the bluer fish, and many of the females do not have the red belly common in other Amatitlania species. We originally thought both HRP and nigrofasiata existed in the small river, but I am now convinced they are all the same fish, but with much variation in color. It is obviously different from the Rio Danli HRP, Taller body, redder fins, but with the same body markings, Tobler has crossed the Danli race and the Monga race in his lab, so they see each other as co-specifics, but both will also cross with domestic convicts and numerous hybrids exist in the hobby. There are several hundred miles and a mountain range between the two collecting sites, but very few people have been in the area between them so who knows what lies in that area.
A. kanna, Panama via Rusty Wessel, Small slender species, yellow fins, hard to bred, very small spawns

[newworldsss]

I have "convicts" from Rio Mongo, Grenada, IIopango, Coatepeque collected by me and also "convicts from Cubayo and Calico's...., all are breeding except the pair from IIopango.. i like convicts