Apistogramma ID?

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Recently purchased two different species of wild-caught apistogrammas from my LFS; no collection point was given and I remain relatively uncertain of their species, as my LFS does sometimes mislabel their fish and none of the employees were able to provide any defining characteristics of the fish that matched them with the species they were labeled as.


Below is a male; was labeled as an Apistogramma sp. Purple, but I suspect it may be A. sp. Pebas. Definitely a species within the A. regani (?) complex.

Below is the female; also labeled A. sp. Purple; seems to be in breeding dress and has colored up substantially in the main tank.

Sold to me as an Apistogramma bitaeniata "Tefe"; I suspect this individual is a male, but I have not seen this fish since I placed him in the main tank. Has some fin rot from importation stress and improper pH.

Pictured below is the other A. bitaeniata "Tefe"; attempted to sex a pair at the store, but I believe all of the ones available were male and so I just got the two largest available (extreme size differences between all of them, though; the smaller of the two I purchased was nearly half as small as the larger one, and the other three left at the store looked to be barely older than four months of age).

The sp. Purple pair in the main tank; colored up significantly (not too visible in the image). Interestingly enough, the female took up residence in a small space underneath a few propped-up rocks and started displaying to the male, flashing her belly and attempting to lead (?) the male into the cave of sorts. The male (rather young, not even half grown yet) just chased her out, however.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Should've mentioned that the first four images were taken while the fish were in a temporary drip acclimation container; all apistos are now housed in a 75G community tank (bitaeniata will be moved to a separate blackwater 20G long soon, however)

 

[fishorama]

I don't know the answers but apistogramma.com & dwarfcichlid.com might have more info & better help. Females are very difficult to tell apart.
In general cichlid females tend to be ready to breed much younger than males & tend to be smaller too. I remember many a female of various species beating up reluctant males. Keep an eye on them!

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Thanks! I confirmed with a few local breeders, and the apistos have been identified as A. bitaeniata and A. sp. "Pebas". Both bitaeniata are apparently male, and the male pebas is relatively immature still and probably won't be too interested in breeding until it gets older. I've separated the two bitaeneata (larger male kept harassing the smaller male) and the pebas pair has enough room to escape one another if necessary. Might have to remove the male, though; he keeps bullying some flagtail porthole catfish kept in the same tank.