1 or 2 firemouths...or imposter

[Jeff5347]

OK so for the longest time I have questioned if I have 2 firemouths or 1. I bought them at petsmart a few yrs ago but now question what one of them is.
This I'm more than sure is a firemouth




This one I'm not all that sure. Coloring and bars seem off to me. A pale head...maybe a firemouth but something going on I'm not aware off. In one of the pics is a firemouth and then the one I'm not sure of

 

[tlindsey]

OK so for the longest time I have questioned if I have 2 firemouths or 1. I bought them at petsmart a few yrs ago but now question what one of them is.
This I'm more than sure is a firemouth


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This one I'm not all that sure. Coloring and bars seem off to me. A pale head...maybe a firemouth but something going on I'm not aware off. In one of the pics is a firemouth and then the one I'm not sure of

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Possible hybrid but not sure.

 

[cichlidfish]

It's a firemouth. I've had some show some strange markings over the years. Could be stressed and that is why.

 

[BIG-G]

Stanzzzz7 may be good for this information. He knows his Thorichthys

 

[duanes]

I edited your photo to get a closer look.
My first impression was hybrid, because with today's hybrid cichlid fad, that would be an all too common scenario.
But in any spawn there can be a number of darker individuals that look slightly different, and a number of light colored individuals.
It may be that yours is one of the darker individuals with a gene creating more melanin than normal.
Back in the 80s I had a pair of normal color managuense that in each spawn, had a number of fry that would have few or even no spots (today popular as a gold morph), and a few fry that would be much darker than normal.

 

[Jeff5347]

When I got the fish they were at the same time and in a tank full of firemouth's. Pretty much the same body shape and such. The pale face has been present now for quite some time ...not so much when I got them 2 yrs ago. It does seem a bit more lazy than the other firemouth but my thought was if something was wrong it would have already presented itself. This one has been pale and lazy like for at least a yr. I was more curious than anything.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

It actually looks a lot like the black rio mopan meeki. A relatively recent meeki to the hobby.
It shows a lot more black on the underside and and Gill covers than most meeki.
Having said that the black meeki is a relatively well sort after fish.
I think this is a thorichthys meeki just showing unusual pigmentation as Duanes described.
I like it,looks like a nice fish.

 

[BIG-G]

I found this on the web says it a black meeki. They have a very similar pattern. This picture is obviously in bright coloration. But the large black spot and the markings on the gill plate is similar.

 

[Jeff5347]

I looked into the black Rio and it does look more comparable. What made me question was the black bar on the body, the lack of the blue ring on the gill coloring like the other firemouth, and also on the anal, pelvic, dorsal and caudal find...the lack of the blue neonish coloring. The pale face though is throwing me as it seems the black Rio has more coloring

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I have bred one or two thorichthys species and none of the fry have grown up to look more variable than those of meeki.
I think the fish is every bit a Meeki,just a unique one.
I think it looks a bit like the mopan meeki but like I said, they are not very common and would cost more than a fish without catch location.
spangles vary among siblings and barring changes with mood.
I just think it will be nice to see how he develops.

 

[duanes]

In many cases these "color deviations" don't survive in nature, unless the environment changes.
A bright cichlid (like a gold morph managuense) will usually get picked off in nature, or a dark individual on a sandy bottom, may stick out like a sore thumb, but if there is a rock slide near a river, and the rocky deposit is dark, it may favors those dark meeki individuals, and create a location variant different from the norm.
When I had gold managuense fry, I'd always need edto remove them quickly (if I wanted to keep them), or their normal color bros and sisters would even try to eliminate them.