How can festae look so different?

[josh1986]

Hey people,

I'm growing out some festae. These are the two I got from a breeder. They are siblings from the same batch purchased at the same time and were the same size. Why does one have a really rounded front head and the other is more defined? Is this just the way they grow, the larger female (established from earlier posts, thanks guys) looks really different. Is the smaller one a female aswell? Could the parents have been from different regions? I know the colours on the smaller one won't be as defined as there is no dark gravel but it's just a grow out tank. I'm more puzzled by the difference in body shape?

 

[Kittiee Katt]

One may have a deformity? I honestly don't know.. Hopefully duanes can help you out.

 

[josh1986]

One may have a deformity? I honestly don't know.. Hopefully duanes can help you out.

Not sure but yeah could be. I used to have a female festae a couple years ago that was similar shape to the smaller one. Here is a pic of her. I'm just puzzled and the size difference between them is huge aswell.

 

[BIG-G]

Top fish looks normal.
The one in questions mouth looks similar to the parrot fish.
It may be the angle of the picture, but it looks like the head and mouth are similar to short body fishes.
Is this fish a shot body Festae? If so first I’ve ever seen.

 

[astrocreep]

I think its a deformity. I had some Rivulatus fry that had similar but different facial deformities. It probably should've been culled by the breeder.

The rest of your fish look great. Especially the other Festae and the Rivulatus in the background

 

[Kittiee Katt]

Not sure but yeah could be. I used to have a female festae a couple years ago that was similar shape to the smaller one. Here is a pic of her. I'm just puzzled and the size difference between them is huge aswell. View attachment 1351506

Size can vary a lot between siblings. Even with people there can be a large difference in the way siblings look. For example I'm 5'3 and my younger bro is 6'6. Same can occur with fish.

Your little one may just be the "runt" of the litter hence the slower growth. It could also be eating less and/or stressed more, all of these things and more can slow down a fish's growth rate.

 

[josh1986]

OK so the size difference only came on as the larger one started to hit maturity and really get her colours. She's about 4 to 5 inch maybe, the smaller one is still around 3.5 inch. I thought the top one was male... I have made a time line so you can see how they grew... Is it a deformity?

 

[astrocreep]

TBH after looking at these last pics you posted, the odd looking fish doesn't look all that bad. The first set of pics must have been a weird angle that made it look worse.

I'd love to get ahold of a nice pair. I think thats my next step-up from what I'm keeping currently. I can't keep anything that gets too big, and would be cool to produce some fry to put into some stores around here. They really are a beautiful cichlid.

 

[josh1986]

Yeah it's not bad just they are so different I was wondering if festae from different regions had different features or whether this is normal to have such different looking cichlids.

 

[astrocreep]

Yeah it's not bad just they are so different I was wondering if festae from different regions had different features or whether this is normal to have such different looking cichlids.

Man it looks different from most of the pics I've seen. I'm guessing its male due to the white specks in the fins. The other fish is lacking those specks and is showing more barring. Most males lose the barring, which also looks to be happening with this supposed male. I think it resembles some of the fry from my GT pair. Some looked like the blood parrot cichlids kinda, just didnt look right. I would guess that he has a slight deformity and would not let them spawn. Your female looks great though.

Once again I'm not an expert by any means. But I do think the pretty one is a female, and the other one is male.