130galcichlid;2889169; said:
130galcichlid;2889180; said:
LOL
...definitely not, it's a Malawi hap, Protomelas or some sort of Aulonocara.ID please
- Thread starter mukundam123
- Start date
LOL
...definitely not, it's a Malawi hap, Protomelas or some sort of Aulonocara.I do an image search on google for aulonacara females, I have identified many of my fish that way....you can compare females, I think yours looks like it is probably a stuartgranti usisya or something similar, here is a pic of the startgranti
and here is Protomelas taeniolatus "Tangerine Tiger" females..
and here is Protomelas taeniolatus "Tangerine Tiger" females..
I am not trying to make any claims, but guessing at what a female is by pictures online, is how fish are mislabeled and hybrids are introduced without knowledge or intent. Clouds up the lines. I hope that people are not breeding these unknown females. I am even unsure about wild caught females being the labeled right.
mike dunagan;2898017; said:
Thanks for making a very solid point. I know it may sound partial and discriminatory to some people, but whomever don't have the knowledge or patience to research their wanted fish and sources SHOULD really stick to having all-male Malawi setups. Safer for them, more esthetically pleasing as it exudes color and beauty, and it keeps it safe for the rest of the noobs out there that come into contact with African cichlids. There's too many hybrids out there, when there's already an incredible rich array of species available (800+ different variants in Lake Malawi alone).
One does not have to breed their fish. Please enjoy them first, let the exuberance of "new fish" pass you by, and once your heads are cooled down and ready to do some serious work -like breeding- then let the research begin.
It doesn't bother me in the least to help hobbyists identify their new pets, but, one rarely has the certainty in any ID of a female in a mix batch, without knowing anything of her origins. Just too damn hard, as females (especially Aulonocaras) are almost impossible to distinguish. I mean, you will be able to say that it is a Jacobfreibergi, or a Stuartgranti, or a Protomelas ...but unless there's more information on the table than some slight morphological differences, the similarities between the named classes of females make any precise ID pretty much impossible.
Education class over.
*Disclaimer: I just like to write a lot ...call it practice for school essays.
Good points both of you guys. The local 'cichlid expert' shop sold me a batch of 5 'stuartgranti's'. Later found out (thanks to mfk) that they were actually sp.44! lol! However, as you guys now all know, they were partially right - this is an alunocara! I've passed it on to a mate today, because I had no other alunocara's in my tank. Am going to try and get hold of some peacocks for breeding now....any tips for noobs out there to make sure that they're pure bred (or that the female and male are both the same species....)???
Cheers
Cheers
mukundam123;2898244; said:
Research the species you want first.
Research the source after, there's many, many solid vendors and sources around US, your LFS does not necessarily mean it is a bad source, you just need to make an educated one, and make sure you identify them first, before taking them home.
Let me know what size of the tank you want first, and if you really want to breed them, or just have a show tank.
mike dunagan;2898017; said:
I wasn't telling anyone to breed a fish without knowing which type they have, he asked a question about how to get an idea of what type of female he has, since everybody was just guesssing I gave a suggestion, obviously whenever doing research online one needs to differenciate between the good info or correct info and the bad or incorrect info, thats why we ask mfk correct?!!?
I have been able to find out which type some of my females were from some really good african cichlid sites out there which is more than I can say for the lfs around here they usually try to tell me they will color up when I get them into a brackish tank I try telling them they are females and thats why they don't have color they are usually clueless.greenearthlawns;2899826; said:I wasn't telling anyone to breed a fish without knowing which type they have, he asked a question about how to get an idea of what type of female he has, since everybody was just guesssing I gave a suggestion, obviously whenever doing research online one needs to differenciate between the good info or correct info and the bad or incorrect info, thats why we ask mfk correct?!!?
Heh, that's the everlasting LFS problem. Mostly kids working for pocket money. Once you put a question online you have thousands of fish dorks jumping onto it to help, or boast their knowledge. Works both ways
I still cannot believe you have 420 cichlids, and you didn't show any pictures of your setups. Come on, I promise I'll take it easy on you
???????