View Full Version : New fish. Need ID please!
This 3" guy was marked as conkelli cichlid ... i googled the name but none came with a scientific name ... could it be a hybrid? the top, dorsal fin & cheeks are orange .. somebody tell me what this might be ...
he looked a little tattered ... the teenage girl at the fish shop had the fish jumped to the floor twice ... he's a jumper
rallysman
06-10-2007, 9:47 PM
vieja synspilum ?
santoury
06-10-2007, 9:50 PM
Too elongated for a synspilum.... not sure what, though. Hartwegi?
Modest_Man
06-10-2007, 10:09 PM
Looks like an underfed, stressed P. fenestratus that is morphing to the red phase, which Don Conkel carries. www.donconkelstropicals.com
They're the only vieja type that have a red phase, so if it isn't that I'd speculate a hybrid.
santoury
06-10-2007, 10:11 PM
that would have been my second guess - but like you said, skinny shape.
lymiq
06-10-2007, 10:32 PM
Looks like an underfed, stressed P. fenestratus that is morphing to the red phase, which Don Conkel carries. www.donconkelstropicals.com
They're the only vieja type that have a red phase, so if it isn't that I'd speculate a hybrid.
Is Don Conkel hybridizing his fish? wonder why the petshop has his name for the fish 'conkelli'?? is he calling the red/orange fenestratus species his new found? also you wrote P. fenestratus is that supposed to be a Veija (V.) fenestratus ...
i looked in his website ... don't see anything similar to the fish i bought ... more info would be helpful ...
Modest_Man
06-10-2007, 11:45 PM
Long story short, yes, Conkel has had hybrid fish before. Though it is few and inbetween. Though a store with a mislabeled fish would be nothing new.
The valid scientific name for a fene is now Paratheraps fenestratus, not Vieja fenestratus. They are one and the same.
On this page http://www.donconkelstropicals.com/paratheraps.htm under "sp catemaco" is the lake isolated red form of P. fenestratus, fully faded. Yours appears to be in mid phase, if it is a fene.
Edit: Here's a good shot of morphing fenes from Catemaco, courtesy of cjexotics.
http://www.cjexotics.com/pictures/Catemaco.JPG
ewurm
06-10-2007, 11:52 PM
Interesting fish!
thanks modestman, rallysman, santoury, ewurm for your comments ... that clears it up quite a bit ... the petshop has several both faded and pied like mine ... do you know if the viejas/paratheraps improve/change color drastically as they get older .. are the catemaco type hard to come by?
also, on the scale of 10 (with red terror at 10) where does the fenestratus fall into? thanks again
Modest_Man
06-11-2007, 11:50 AM
They used to be hard to find, but I've seen them quite a bit locally the last year. As the fish matures the colors will continue to change, much like a red devil or midas. The fish can end up all red, or have some white or black markings as well, but it will definitely look better than it is now. Right now is the fugly stage...
For the scale, are you talking aggression? I'd put them at the most aggressive fish I've ever kept, more so than festae. Mine is swimming solo in a 60 as she killed all her tankmates; lyonsi, argentae, pleco, and giant danios well before she was 5".
santoury
06-11-2007, 11:53 AM
About 15 years ago I saw a big community Cichlid tank with a host of fenestratus - they were doing OK with other tankmates, other cichlids. This was a monster tank though, not just a 100 or a 150. It all depends on the individual I am sure. Nice fish.
ammerman19
06-11-2007, 2:00 PM
The valid scientific name for a fene is now Paratheraps fenestratus, not Vieja fenestratus. They are one and the same.
I thought this was still in limbo?? Did I miss it? Could you show me where this info is located please :)
vicedretard
06-11-2007, 2:18 PM
im baffled i definately think its a hybrid i just dont know with what its got characteristics of every fish mentioned so far...
Modest_Man
06-11-2007, 4:49 PM
I thought this was still in limbo?? Did I miss it? Could you show me where this info is located please :)
http://ctd.mdibl.org/detail.go;jsessionid=7D97D78DDA213366924655302C692 CE5?type=taxon&acc=252142
I can't find actual scientic paper, comp is acting funny right now. As long as cichlidae.com and fishbase.org have it as Paratheraps, I will too I guess. :P
ken 429
06-11-2007, 5:07 PM
looks like a paratheraps fenestratus
ammerman19
06-11-2007, 5:21 PM
http://ctd.mdibl.org/detail.go;jsessionid=7D97D78DDA213366924655302C692 CE5?type=taxon&acc=252142
I can't find actual scientic paper, comp is acting funny right now. As long as cichlidae.com and fishbase.org have it as Paratheraps, I will too I guess. :P
good point
ken 429
06-11-2007, 5:32 PM
this is my paratheraps fenestratus hes about 5 years old and almost 7 inches. right now hes in solitary for multiple killings.
ammerman19
06-11-2007, 5:43 PM
this is my paratheraps fenestratus hes about 5 years old and almost 7 inches. right now hes in solitary for multiple killings.
wow do they really grow that slow? I figured they grew much faster. I just bought my first one a week ago
ken 429
06-11-2007, 5:46 PM
grew preety fast up until last year hes seem to hit a wall
Modest_Man
06-11-2007, 7:23 PM
What I bought as a fene (odds are it isn't) grew from 3" to 7" since January, and she's still going strong. Just about 1" a month.
damn ... i was hoping he's going to be tame or at least semi-aggressive as he's going into a comm tank ... he's in quarantine right now and will have to send him into the comm tank early to get his aggression checked and let others tame him down. hate it when high hopes turn into fears. good thing i only got one .. heheh =)
nice fene ken .. when (age/size) did you put he in solidary confinement? what did he kill, how big was the tank? was there decorations? what are the others in the tank he didn't kill or messed around with before you put him away.. =)
ken 429
06-12-2007, 4:36 PM
1 male rt 1 female dempsey but never bothered my 6 inch shovelnose.rt and jd wre both his size.tank is 110 gal with driftwood and plenty of caves.confinement is about 6 mos.