Apistogramma salpinction

By Pet Zone SD Team • November 2026

Overview

Apistogramma salpinction, the Sapphire dwarf cichlid, has one of the more unusual timelines of any species on this site: Sven Kullander and Efrem Ferreira formally described it in 2005, yet it didn't reach the aquarium trade in any form until January 2025 — a full two decades later. German wholesale exporter Aquarium Glaser announced that month that a breeder had produced "the very first offspring of this novelty," noting the species had "so far escaped the attention of ornamental fish catchers" in the years since its description. Kullander and Ferreira described it in the same 2005 paper as this site's own A. angayuara — both from the Rio Trombetas drainage in Pará State, Brazil — making salpinction angayuara's sibling discovery and, in a real sense, its opposite number: angayuara still has no documented aquarium history at all, while salpinction has at least made it into the wholesale pipeline, even if actual retail availability remains unconfirmed.

Aquarium Glaser describes it as "a showy fish" resembling this site's own A. cacatuoides group, with adult males developing caudal fin streamers and elongated front dorsal fin lappets much like cacatuoides does. Its color pattern includes a lateral band, abdominal stripes that darken toward the tail, and a caudal spot broken into elongated blotches — with the caudal peduncle pattern serving as a genus-diagnostic feature, per the original description.

Natural Habitat

Salpinction's type locality is about as different from angayuara's as this genus gets. Where angayuara was pulled from genuine rapids, salpinction comes from a large, muddy-bottomed swamp — part of the Igarapé Caxipacore drainage roughly 40 miles from the cachoeira (waterfall) Porteira, with Aquatic Republic separately locating it along the BR-163 road in the same Rio Trombetas system. The water was very shallow when sampled, in places no more than 5cm deep, though it runs deeper during high-water periods. The breeder behind the 2025 Aquarium Glaser offering was explicit that salpinction is "clearly not a running-water fish" — the opposite of the current-loving habitat documented for angayuara, despite the two species sharing a river system and a scientific paper.

Tank Setup

No source checked for this guide documents a tested aquarium setup for this species beyond the breeding-tank basics below — it's simply too new to the hobby. The following leans on its muddy, still-water swamp habitat as the best available guide.

• Tank size: Not documented. Given its small adult size (1.3in/3.4cm SL), a 15–20 gallon setup would be a reasonable genus-standard starting point; see our tank setup guide.
• Substrate & décor: Not documented species-specifically, but a muddy, still-water swamp origin points toward soft substrate with driftwood and leaf litter rather than the rock-and-current setup this site recommends for angayuara.
• Water chemistry: Aquatic Republic's breeding-tank guidance calls for pH 6.0–6.5 and roughly 5 dH; no general everyday range is documented. See our water parameters guide for building soft, slightly acidic water safely.
• Filtration & flow: Gentle flow is the safe default, consistent with its still-water swamp origin — the opposite of the stronger-flow recommendation this site gives for angayuara.

Feeding

Aquatic Republic gives genus-standard guidance: sinking flakes and granules as a daily base, with live or frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp recommended specifically for conditioning a breeding pair. No source checked for this guide documents anything species-specific beyond this. See our general feeding guide for broader conditioning strategy.

Temperament & Compatibility

Undocumented. No source checked for this guide rates aggression, territoriality, or tankmate compatibility for salpinction — unsurprising for a species that only reached the trade in 2025. Treat it like a typical small apisto until a keeper with firsthand experience documents otherwise: calm tankmates, and never house multiple Apistogramma species together given the hybridization risk.

Breeding

Salpinction is genuinely further along than most of this site's thinly-documented species on one specific point: it has already been bred in captivity. The German breeder behind Aquarium Glaser's January 2025 offering reports finding it easy to keep and breed, at water conditions of roughly pH 6 and 26°C (79°F), and that batch of offspring was the first ever offered in the trade. That said, Aquatic Republic's own species page — typically the first place this site checks for a registered breeding report — still shows none, which simply reflects how recent that 2025 announcement is rather than any real difficulty. For the breeding tank itself, Aquatic Republic recommends the same approach used across this genus: one male with several females, and a dedicated breeding surface such as a small upturned plant pot, at pH 6.0–6.5 and around 5 dH. Follow our general breeding guide for the broader conditioning-to-fry process.

Sourcing Notes

This is about as newly introduced as an Apistogramma gets. Aquarium Glaser's January 2025 article is the only confirmed trade entry point found for this guide, offered under stocklist code 628352 — and Aquarium Glaser supplies the wholesale trade only, not individual hobbyists directly. No source checked here confirms the species has reached general retail or hobbyist stock lists since. If you do see salpinction offered, ask specifically about import recency and collection documentation, the same caution this site gives any species this new to the hobby. See our general sourcing guide for broader guidance on vetting a brand-new offering.

Final Thoughts

Salpinction and this site's own angayuara make an unusually clean natural pair: the same 2005 paper, the same river system, yet one species that's never been seen in the hobby and another that only just arrived, twenty years after its own description. If you want an established, well-documented species to start with instead, try cacatuoides — the very fish salpinction's own describers compared it to on looks. If the genus's newest arrivals are what draw you in, salpinction is about as current as this site's species library gets.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the connection between Apistogramma salpinction and Apistogramma angayuara?

Sven Kullander and Efrem Ferreira described both species together in the same 2005 paper in Neotropical Ichthyology, "Two new species of Apistogramma Regan... from the rio Trombetas, Pará State, Brazil." They come from the same river system but strikingly different habitats: this site's own angayuara was collected from genuine rapids, while salpinction's type locality is a still, muddy swamp. Their paths into the hobby have been just as different — angayuara has no documented aquarium history at all, while salpinction only entered the wholesale trade for the first time in January 2025, two decades after its formal description.

How big does Apistogramma salpinction get?

Small. FishBase lists a maximum of 3.4cm (1.3in) standard length for males or unsexed fish, and Aquatic Republic's independent figure of 34mm matches it exactly. Neither source gives a separate female measurement — a real documentation gap, not an oversight on this guide's part, and a common pattern for a species this recently introduced to the hobby.

Is Apistogramma salpinction available in the aquarium trade?

Only very recently, and only in a limited way. German wholesale exporter Aquarium Glaser announced in a January 2025 article that a breeder had produced the first offspring ever offered in the trade, describing the species as having "so far escaped the attention of ornamental fish catchers" since its 2005 description. Aquarium Glaser supplies the wholesale trade only, not retail directly, and no source checked for this guide confirms it has reached general hobbyist stock lists yet. If you do find it offered, this is about as newly introduced as a species gets — worth asking the seller about collection and import recency.

What water parameters does Apistogramma salpinction need?

Aquatic Republic's breeding-tank guidance calls for slightly acidic, soft water: pH 6.0–6.5 and roughly 5 dH. The one documented captive account, from the German breeder behind the 2025 Aquarium Glaser offering, used pH around 6 at 26°C (79°F). No source checked for this guide gives a broader everyday range beyond these breeding-specific numbers — treat them as the best available starting point, not a confirmed general range.

Is Apistogramma salpinction endangered?

The IUCN Red List assessed it as Data Deficient in 2018 — genuinely unresolved. Cichlidae.com separately lists it as "not evaluated," but that page was last updated in 2010, eight years before the actual IUCN assessment, so FishBase's more recent and specific dated assessment is the more reliable answer here.