I had look bifurcated up.
Is this what you mean?
The kind of H, or fork, mid body?
Geophagus ID
- Thread starter Icecold Dan
- Start date
Is this what you mean?
The kind of H, or fork, mid body?
Yes. If you look at certain geos (some abalios, Tapajos, sp. Caqueta) the bars join in the center but fork out above and below the lateral line. Also, in Tapajos they are usually totally vertical. One of the fish in the first photo appears to have forward-slanting bars, which would be a trait of winemilleri...
I'd generally agree with Ryan on this, but ime breeding red head Tapajos the bars can vary in some individuals, as they can in some other fish. They're typically plumb and vertical but they can slant a little in some individuals.
That said, while I can't see some of the fish in the photos clearly or completely enough to say much about them, at least one of them looks potentially like a winemilleri to me. So, don't know, possible you did get winemilleri with a Tapajos red head mixed in?
Bifurcate-- I'm a writer, so I like words and it's one of my favorites. First encountered it 26 years ago as a software technical writer.
That said, while I can't see some of the fish in the photos clearly or completely enough to say much about them, at least one of them looks potentially like a winemilleri to me. So, don't know, possible you did get winemilleri with a Tapajos red head mixed in?
Bifurcate-- I'm a writer, so I like words and it's one of my favorites. First encountered it 26 years ago as a software technical writer.
This has turned into an interesting discussion. When I bought the fish, I got a group of 5. The one I tried to highlight is the dominate fish in the group. There is a second with similar coloration in the head and finnage. The last 3, two of which can be somewhat seen in the first pic, are much more muted in coloration. They also seem to have a slightly different head shape, although that may be perceived due to the lack of bold color. I just assumed they were females of the same species. I would be happy to take and post a few more pictures tonight of the group if interested. Thanks!
If you can post more pictures, yeah.
I’m curious now.
It’s definitely possible the group got mixed up when smaller.
As you are finding out , Geophagus look very similar when young.
What makes this even more interesting to me, is the fact that G winemilleri wasn't officially described until 2004,
yet that doesn't mean it wasn't in the hobby long before that, as simply "altifrons",
and red head Tapajós wasn't really noted until back in 2000..
And it doesn't mean that any slight variations of the "altifrons group" weren't combined before that by unknowing breeders.
And this mistaken identity is not unusual.
For years, all Paratilapia from Madagascar were considered one species, polleni (or 2 ,with the now defunct name bleekeri).
We now know (only recently) there are a number of separate Paratilapia species, but since thy've been in the bobby for at least 4 decades, the damage done hybridizing them as a pure entity (inadvertently ) is hard to ignore.
yet that doesn't mean it wasn't in the hobby long before that, as simply "altifrons",
and red head Tapajós wasn't really noted until back in 2000..
And it doesn't mean that any slight variations of the "altifrons group" weren't combined before that by unknowing breeders.
And this mistaken identity is not unusual.
For years, all Paratilapia from Madagascar were considered one species, polleni (or 2 ,with the now defunct name bleekeri).
We now know (only recently) there are a number of separate Paratilapia species, but since thy've been in the bobby for at least 4 decades, the damage done hybridizing them as a pure entity (inadvertently ) is hard to ignore.
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I swear these fish do not stop swimming.
The best I can do is screen shot of a video
The best I can do is screen shot of a video
