A. hippolytae

[Apisto Mike]

I was wondering how rare A. hippolytae are in the hobby?

[Greg PL]

I was wondering how rare A. hippolytae are in the hobby?

I think I saw some with Dicrossus filamentossus shipped from Columbia, as a bycatch. I could not find any A. species more similar to what I saw - with the big spot over the lateral band touching the dorsal fin, and round caudal blotch, so I think those were A. hippolytae. they seemed to be slighlty more elongated than most of the pictures I saw, though. perhaps a matter of diet (I saw them in an importer - wholesaler's site, where the fish are... not overfed...)

very similar fish came once as A. sp. "blue" (one of at least 5 species named that way from Brasil ;) ), but the whole transport was lost within a few days, probably due to poor water condition.
now, this refers to Poland, a 103rd World country if you consider aquarium hobby :-)

[Apisto Mike]

ya, the ones I was looking at had come in as juveniles under the name of A. agassizi, but where actaully hippolytae. I was just wondering if they are a species seen very often or not in the hobby as I try to acquire more hard to find species for my breeding program so as to make them more readily availible to the everyday aquarist.

[Mike Wise]

I've had A. hippolytae on several occasions. They never came in under their own name, however, but as something elses. I was never able to interest many hobbyists into breeding this species. It is less colorful & harder to breed than A. steindachneri.

[Apisto Mike]

Thanks for the info Mike. It sounds like I will definitely be getting these guys for my breeding program.

[A_gibbiceps]

I have a couple of A. hippolytae. They were really tiny when I got them about 6 months ago and was hoping that they would be a pair. One fish is much larger and deeper bodied than the other fish. But both fish have rounded dorsal and anal fins. Is it possible that I've got a dominant female and a sub-dominant female? What characteristics should I be looking for?
Anthony

[blueblue]

i saw A. hippolytae many times
in bags of newly imported wild apistos with other more popular species.
As Mike mentions, hippolytae does not possess an attractive
appearance, it is NOT popular at all and very few people will buy them...
Usually, these fish are cleared in the local fish vendors at a very low price...

[Mike Wise]

You probably have a pair, but without a better description (or better yet, photos) it would be hard to say what you have. A. hippolytae is one of those species that has short dorsal fin extensions even on the males. Males are slightly larger than females and have a bit more blue on the body and face.