Help with a Saxatilis ID

[Peanut_Power]

My buddy ro AJ can't post pictures on the forum, so he sent me pictures of his pike. Been scratching my head about this one for a few days. I still am not quite sure which species it is.

I mean its got the look of sveni, but is missing the mottling down the body, kinda like frenata. Its missing the spangling of most of the other Saxatilis pikes.

So, lets have it Crenicichlaholics. What say you?

 

[HiImSean]

i was going to say sveni but it's a bit different. the head shape does look frenata

 

[fish_n_vw]

Thank you peanut you have been so kind. So a little info on the fish. I got it at 4.5 inches and that was a little over year its a little over 7 now. And it was sold to me as a belly crawler wich obviously its not. Also I have no idea m/f? Once again thanks peanut. And thanks for looking.

 

[Peanut_Power]

Almost 100% positive its male. Sorry I couldn't help you get an accurate ID right off the bat. Hopefully we'll be able to finally narrow it down and bring some closure to this mystery eh?

 

[fish_n_vw]

Yeah. I hope so. We will see. And you did plenty man.

 

[Peanut_Power]

I'm going to have to stick with Crenicichla sveni. Perhaps the splotches down the body are just faded in these pictures? You can faintly see them.

 

[BigPic]

Sveni would be the obvious choice, they are ALWAYS mixed in with Belly Crawlers. If you look really close, you can see that the black band is a bit uneven with VERY faint yellow markings at the top edge. . . Good luck with that I am gonna say male too by the way.

PP - you beat me to posting my answer! LOL

 

[Peanut_Power]

PP - you beat me to posting my answer! LOL

Sorry 'bout that Ray. We must've been on the same wave lengths or something hmm?

 

[darth pike]

Well after clicking all the links on Jen's site, the closest I can come up with is Crenicichla sp. "Guariquito" ... but don't think that's it either.

 

[fish_n_vw]

I will add I've never seen defined splotches on him. He was a little stressed in those pics but it has always been a line running the length of the body. And then sometimes the line is absent from the middle of the body compleatly. While in this patern there is a eye spot in front of the tail fin and another behind the gill plate, and a stripe from the back of the gill cover to the nose. I do see how it looks like splotches kinda ran together though.