Black belt cichlid rescue

[Drgnball]

I rescued a adult 14" black belt last night from horrible conditions. Kept in a small tank shared with another adult 12" jag. Tank had statues filling 60% of the space to prevent fighting. His banged up with cuts and lost scales. His now in a 5ft with a Oscar although it's chasing the black belt around. Hoping with a wc tonight and rearrange things will calm down. Added salt to help heal him up aswell. Any estimation of age? His colours have faded

 

[Hybridfish7]

That is a melanura

 

[tlindsey]

Welcome aboard
Nice of you to rescue the Cichlid. You may have to have a plan B because the Oscar may not be compatible.

 

[Drgnball]

That is a melanura

Oh I just google. So not a black belt as I was told. Seems Melanura have more vibrant colours

Welcome aboard
Nice of you to rescue the Cichlid. You may have to have a plan B because the Oscar may not be compatible.

I have placed a divider for now. Give him time to settle for a few days as he'd be extremely stressed. See how the Oscar goes after. Plan B is rehome the Oscar but I'll do all I can to make it work

 

[Theos.dad]

No clue on the age but I'll bet as he settles in you'll see some outstanding colors start to come through with him. He's nice

 

[duanes]

I can't tell what it is at this stage, since it is probably stressed from the move.
Could be a combination of any two Vieja with all the amateurs producing generic looking mutts these days.
If it does have any maculicauda in it, your oscar may be in over its head, once the Vieja settles in.
Here is a very young (pure)melanura to compare.
.

 

[Drgnball]

What a difference a day can make. His colours are starting to come back. Keeping track of nitrates to make sure a wc is needed when it gets high. Giving every opportunity for him to heal and recover. Hasn't eaten yet so hopefully once on some good hakari pellets it will improve even more. The guy I got off said his about 5 years old maybe even more but I'll take that with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone could chime in with a better estimation?

 

[Drgnball]

I can't tell what it is at this stage, since it is probably stressed from the move.
Could be a combination of any two Vieja with all the amateurs producing generic looking mutts these days.
If it does have any maculicauda in it, your oscar may be in over its head, once the Vieja settles in.
Here is a very young (pure)melanura to compare.
View attachment 1509467.

Judging by google photos he may be mixed not pure? Possibly blue spotted perhaps? It's seems melanura have a more profound hump though and his is decent

 

[duanes]

Yes....Looking much better.
With the band along the lateral line, and the blotch above it, to me is looking close to .bifasciata.
But you will probably not ever know for sure, because of the deluge of hybrids these days.
Here is one of a number of pure bifas I had.

Note the horizontal line, running from just behind the gill plate.
And the dark mid body blotch above that line, one of the ways to distinguish bifasciatus from other Vieja.
The hump is not relevant, all Vieja species can sport a steeper one, or not depending on alpha status

 

[newworld]

Looks like your typical “Synspilum”..