I was just wondering if this could be done.. I have a large male elongatus and trying to find a female in his size range around my area has come uup empty.. the lfs has some larger red jewels, and I was thkinking about picking one or two up to see if maybe I can get some fry.. an 8 inch jewel that's bright red would be a sight to behold.
hybridizing hemichromis?
- Thread starter cepon3
- Start date
cepon3;3987832; said:
Hemichromis species as a rule, tend to be reluctant to cross species lines but; if given no other choice, they most likely will do so. However, I would be rather surprised to see a 5-spot variety cross with a red species & believe that hybridization should be discouraged at any rate. Most hobbyists tend to lump all of the species as 'red jewels' in any event not realizing that there are probably at least a couple of dozen distinct species. Keep 'em pure!
I aware of all the species of "red jewels" and the differences. I was walking through the lfs store and saw them, not really paying attention to what they actually were. Ofcourse I wouldn't distribute said fry, I would probably just use them as feeders, I just wanted to know if it could be done.
I think anything can be done. I just watched a vid of a Dovii and a Jaguar pair with about 1000 fry. Imagine that. Talk about an unlikely pair. If I could have a hybrid hemichromis. I think I would want a elongatus and frempongi pair. That would be nuts.
Way back in the 'dark ages', Guy Jordan happened to mention a spawning between a 'green terror' & a h. elongatus as reported by one of his correspondents. Guy seemed convinced that it was a credible report so I supposed getting a '5-spot' to have intimate relations with a country cousin should be do-able enough. An incomplete divider would be a good idea. I hope that the end result is not a westie flowerhorn 
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I would also like to mention that Hemichromis frempongi would probably be your best bet to cross breed. They look pretty similar. Very hard to find though. I've been looking for about 2 months now.
How large is your male? You better keep a close eye on any fish you put in there with him as he'll probbably tear them up.
If you get it to work, keeping a couple of grow outs would be nice. But make sure you don't sale any fry =). Use them for feeders.
How large is your male? You better keep a close eye on any fish you put in there with him as he'll probbably tear them up.
If you get it to work, keeping a couple of grow outs would be nice. But make sure you don't sale any fry =). Use them for feeders.