ID on Parachromis
- Thread starter kody929
- Start date
The young fish are going to be an unreliable means of identification. The second pic I posted is from the first batch and is at 4-5" fish and it looks like they are going to turn out like that. What I find weird is their dorsal fin has the characteristic blue edge of the loisellei and to me their head just does not have the more Dovi type snout, that most mota have. Also there's a lack of that dot-like pattern most Motas have, especially the males. Aqua freak your fish is extremely similiar as well but I can't believe I they are RTM due to seeing what the 5" version looks like
My male is positively an RTM. He is 4" in that picture. He has blue edges on all of his fins similar to a loiselle, but most Parachromis have blue tinting on their fins to some degree. Honduran Jags have it more so than Mexican Jags, but most Mexican Jags have it as well. My Freddies had it too. Most people forget that there can be variants within a species and I believe we are seeing that here. My RTM have a different shaped head than some other's too, but that doesn't change the fact that they are RTM. They just may be a variant from a different locale, which might also explain the different patterning. Not all males will be identical, and there are many cases where fellow Jag keepers have had male patterns on females and vice versa. Give it time - it never lies!
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I'm not saying yours isn't a mota lol. I understand local variants and geographical morphs; I study polypterus as much as possible and that really gets nit picky for geographic morphs. I just can't figure out why parachromis morphs are at the same time similiar looking but so different. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what they are it's how they look and interact in the tank. As far as giving it time, I suppose I just wanted a decent looking RTM and would rather not work with all the needs of these Parachromis for them not to be it.
I didn't take it that way either. I was just saying I know he is 100% RTM and that it was a solid reference. Growing fish out is part of the excitement in my opinion! Keep us updated on these guys! :beer:Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
A few pics of my male as it was developing to its current state... Definitely Friedrichstali ,loisellei and motas look very similar in their juvenile form..., never had them before... but in my opinion based only on the many pics I've seen is that kody 929 fish appear loisellei.... correct or not in my opinion I'm looking forward to see what they turn into....
(Second to last pic is the latest)
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(Second to last pic is the latest)
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...wasn't specified at my LFS where I purchased... From what I understand I believe it's the Blanco strain that supposed to have more intense red, which my female is definitely beginning to develop.... It literally began to develop overnight.. of course I know without that specific information i can't claim what strain they are....
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That red over the gill cover is usually what'd I'd expect from a RTM. I've been looking for it because that is usually the first place it shows up. Now I could have some duller variant of Motaguense but I can't find any pictures without some bit of red or that brownish-red they have. Now out of the three I have it seems they follow two color schemes which are bright yellow or dark brown with verticle bands present. P.S. If anyone knows where to get some proven red motas if be stoked. Thanks. (EBJD and Festae in pic for color comparison) also if you look hard enough you'll see my cichlid gem (paretroplus menarambo) in the background .
