View Full Version : Once again-Please ID this for me
akskirmish
03-06-2008, 7:31 PM
Maybe in the right spot now-
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7048.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7042.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7064.jpg
damn nice shots.
not familiar with african cichlids
akskirmish
03-06-2008, 7:37 PM
damn nice shots.
not familiar with african cichlids
Thanks-
Them were my first shots-
I got new ones that are much better than these----Just have to upload them...
Kobeclone
03-06-2008, 7:44 PM
I am not very familiar with african cichlids.
This will sound funny, but whatever that is, it looks to be great quality.:grinno:
mike dunagan
03-06-2008, 7:47 PM
Metriaclima estherae (O)
akskirmish
03-06-2008, 7:48 PM
Metriaclima estherae (O)
What does this stand for-(O)
mike dunagan
03-06-2008, 7:51 PM
lol, sorry orange... they are not red, but orange (not sure if found in wild orange) and have a blue hue to them... classic... I had to be sure with the shaping of the face and spacing of the eye as well... It is a great looking one... Most likely male, but sometimes females have the egg spots, but almost all real orange are males...
akskirmish
03-06-2008, 7:55 PM
Thanks-
With just surfing the web-
I'm finding that I better keep this one-
It certainly is a looker compared to the other pics out their...
mike dunagan
03-06-2008, 8:02 PM
oh def one of the nicest I have seen....
theheffners
03-06-2008, 8:10 PM
wow, fantastic pics, did u enter them in the potm contest? and nice fish. love the colors, definatly a keeper!
looks like a hybrid, red zebra (metriaclima estherae) with a peacock. I've seen a similar pic on the webLooks nice either way.
those nice looking orange cichlids again
I was leaning towards a male Zebra.... males will have the blueish hue to them. Very nice fish.
akskirmish
03-07-2008, 9:53 AM
Thanks guys-
I guess until someone tells me something different-
I have a male red zebra on hand---Is their mouth suppose to be linned with teeth also....He has a nice set of teeth that I'm gonna have to toss on my macro lense and try to show off..
mike dunagan
03-07-2008, 5:48 PM
yes teeth are normal...
akskirmish
03-07-2008, 7:16 PM
Thanks-
I took some macro shots today----
Hopefully I got some good results..
RDFISHGUY
03-08-2008, 10:09 AM
Its a beautiful fish but not likely pure estherae. Looks to be a cross with a strawberry peacock.
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 10:41 AM
Hybrid or no Hybrid-
That is the ?
mike dunagan
03-08-2008, 10:51 AM
I doubt hybrid... the face is more mbuna than peacock in the face shape, color is common in male O of this type... not as great looking normally...
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 10:54 AM
I doubt hybrid... the face is more mbuna than peacock in the face shape, color is common in male O of this type... not as great looking normally...
Well-
I'm going with your answer's....You seem to get a bit more in dept about things---
Makes sense and thanks for the explination...
RDFISHGUY
03-08-2008, 11:25 AM
Whether or not the head is shaped like a mbuna has no bearing on the parents. I've seen labeotropheus that were crossed with female peacocks and the babies had the face and body of the labeotropheus and color of peacock. How many other estherae have you seen in the past 15yrs with that color morph? Very unlikely that this is a pure estherae.
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 11:28 AM
I got some macro shots I need to upload yet....
Will give a good shot of the head....If it helps at all...
And not that it holds much wait----But I have had good luck with finding quality specimens in the past....
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 11:29 AM
Just another shot until my macro's upload...
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7093.jpg
RDFISHGUY
03-08-2008, 12:10 PM
One things for sure: That is one awsome looking fish.
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 12:13 PM
Thanks-
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7112.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/newer%20pics/IMG_7144.jpg
More pics on the way...
RDFISHGUY
03-08-2008, 12:31 PM
Here is a link to a female strawberry or sunburst or red dragon or whatever you want to call it peacock:http://www.cichlids.com/pictures/pic/female_strawberry_peacock.html
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 12:44 PM
---LOL---
I got one of them also...
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/misc%20fish%20pics/IMG_2388.jpg
akskirmish
03-08-2008, 12:45 PM
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/AKSkirmish/misc%20fish%20pics/IMG_0654.jpg
RDFISHGUY
03-08-2008, 1:08 PM
Yours are a lot more orange than the ones I've seen up here but same fish. If you look closely at the face of the one you posted you can see the wormlike lines that are typical in peacocks. You won't see those in metriacima estherae.
http://www.cichlidforum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1730
mike dunagan
03-08-2008, 8:10 PM
the blue in the body is common in many red males.... seeing that red males are not that common in the wild and that males of red x red are hard to even determine for females I would venture to say that over the last 15 years much about the males referred to as orange because of the common blue shine to them, makes them looks less red. Over time and breeding you can see a good looking specimen.
It is not a "firefish" peacock for sure. I can see the blue in the face add lots of confusion to the matter.
RDFISHGUY
03-09-2008, 8:22 AM
I'm not saying its a firefish . I'm saying a male estherae(R) not (O), as the males of the orange variant are generally a pale orange or peach color,was bred to a female firefish and the picture above is the result. Its not impossible that it has been line bred to produce the vibrant color but the pattern on the face makes me question the viability of it being a pure estherae. That said ,I didn't breed the fish and without seeing it in person it is a tough call. The fact that he put the fish on here for ID to start with tells me he doesn't know the background of this fish and that itself leads me to speculation.
Metriaclima estherae (Red) not O, and most likely a cross as suggested above. M. estherae O males have a blueish sheen to them, but certainly not anything like the fish shown in this thread. Most O males are rather washed out looking compared to their female siblings.
Red males are ultra rare in the wild, but have been line bred in captivity to the extent that the males can be as vibrant as the females. Having said that, I have yet to see one that has the markings shown on the face/gill plates as this fish. Those markings (which are common on some of the man made peacocks) are certainly not typical for any variant of M. zebra.
akskirmish
03-09-2008, 11:47 AM
I'm not saying its a firefish . I'm saying a male estherae(R) not (O), as the males of the orange variant are generally a pale orange or peach color,was bred to a female firefish and the picture above is the result. Its not impossible that it has been line bred to produce the vibrant color but the pattern on the face makes me question the viability of it being a pure estherae. That said ,I didn't breed the fish and without seeing it in person it is a tough call. The fact that he put the fish on here for ID to start with tells me he doesn't know the background of this fish and that itself leads me to speculation.
Your right-
I bought it from a Local fish store-
How could one know it's background....
akskirmish
03-09-2008, 11:48 AM
And again
Back to the top...
Ne one got more input
ak - if you're looking for a definitive answer, I'm afraid that you'll be waiting a long time. Short of some DNA work performed on this fish, there's no telling with 100% certainty exactly what you have.
Either way, it's a great looking fish!
kay-bee
03-09-2008, 12:41 PM
I agree with what RD. said.
To add, I'll go as far to opine that the fish in question appears to have a significant dose of metriaclima estherae in it, but will stop short of categorizing it as 'full' m. estherae of any color morph. It's quite plausible it may be the offspring of an m. estherae hybrd X m. estherae.
I'll also add if you have any other m. estherae in your tank and wish to breed them, it's recommended to remove this fish from that tank due to its apparent questionable lineage.
I'll also add if you have any other m. estherae in your tank and wish to breed them, it's recommended to remove this fish from that tank due to its questionable lineage.
Good point, and I concur.
akskirmish
03-09-2008, 12:49 PM
Thanks-
This fish was only bought for coloration-Nothing more-
He or she or whatever I have....Lives in an extremely packed 125 gal community tank with a wide variety of fish.....
And I dont care about a deffinate(sp) answer-
Just dont like being told it's one things to find out it is another......
navygirl76
03-09-2008, 1:06 PM
wow! that is one beautiful fish! you better keep him
akskirmish
03-09-2008, 1:10 PM
wow! that is one beautiful fish! you better keep him
I shall be...
mike dunagan
03-09-2008, 8:30 PM
I agree with what RD. said.
To add, I'll go as far to opine that the fish in question appears to have a significant dose of metriaclima estherae in it, but will stop short of categorizing it as 'full' m. estherae of any color morph. It's quite plausible it may be the offspring of an m. estherae hybrd X m. estherae.
I'll also add if you have any other m. estherae in your tank and wish to breed them, it's recommended to remove this fish from that tank due to its apparent questionable lineage.
agreed... especially with getting the one out if you want to breed...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v442/hotblooded/Critters/Fish/young2.jpg
not the best pic in the world but as you can see the male to the right is less orange than the female to the left
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v442/hotblooded/Critters/Fish/DSCF0022pb.jpg a little better shot of a male. I have not noticed the face marking on any of mine and a lot more egg spots.
Here is a pic of the Dom male
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v442/hotblooded/Critters/Fish/cichlids/Mbuna/aceizebra.jpg