Malabaricus?

[justarn]

Turn the quality right up and select the small detail mode if you have one. Then press the camera against the glass so it doesn't shake at all, then you will get a clearer picture.

If it's lac it should have 6 on either side iirc

 

[justarn]

He is doing great certainly growing like a lac, mine hasn't put a cm on in the weeks I've had him but just started feeding properly really.
He was also in a LFS for 10 months.
Moe and kno4te are leaning australis for mine, I'm thinking maybe the 6th pore I counted was a dud as in that pic above with the light shining in his mouth it wasn't visible. My certainly doesn't have that compressed lac head which yours seems to be getting to some extent... I will be very happy if mine is australis anyhow (max size 18"), can't house a 3' beast ATM;-)

 

[dan518]

Turn the quality right up and select the small detail mode if you have one. Then press the camera against the glass so it doesn't shake at all, then you will get a clearer picture.

If it's lac it should have 6 on either side iirc

I found another one right near the tip of the jaws on each side, so has 4 in a row. Has two small marks that are symmetrical on each side but not in line with the others.

 

[dan518]

He is doing great certainly growing like a lac, mine hasn't put a cm on in the weeks I've had him but just started feeding properly really.
He was also in a LFS for 10 months.
Moe and kno4te are leaning australis for mine, I'm thinking maybe the 6th pore I counted was a dud as in that pic above with the light shining in his mouth it wasn't visible. My certainly doesn't have that compressed lac head which yours seems to be getting to some extent... I will be very happy if mine is australis anyhow (max size 18"), can't house a 3' beast ATM;-)

Cheers, mine was sold as a intermedius by wharf aquatics on the advice they received by an old member on here, who apparently is quite the expert, but to me a confirmed inter would go for more then mala money.

 

[moe214]

No way this is a lac justarn lol. Pattern isn't correct, head and body shape isnt correct, jaw fold isn't correct. Don't need the pores to see that. Looking at it, looks like it could be mbigua but I think mala.

I've yet to see a true intermedius. Kno4te identified a few as such but to my eye they were malas due to the jaw folds. The only fish in lac family that doesn't have the "parallel" folds is australis according to the latest revision.

 

[justarn]

If anyone on here knows it's Moe.

 

[dan518]

Not bothered what spp he is, but would be nice to know, if that makes sense.

 

[justarn]

Meh, who wants the common one rotfl;-)
Seriously tho just an active brown one is a bonus...
moe214 you kept telling me mala do fine with tankmates, I'm struggling to find any mala in community tanks anywhere tho but with many reports of cold blooded killers?

 

[justarn]

Big mala anyway, dB had his monsterous tank other than than all seem to be kept alone.
I think there's less info on the "common" wolf than most others tbf

 

[moe214]

Meh, who wants the common one rotfl;-)
Seriously tho just an active brown one is a bonus...
moe214 you kept telling me mala do fine with tankmates, I'm struggling to find any mala in community tanks anywhere tho but with many reports of cold blooded killers?

I'm actually waiting for my lfs to get a good sized common lol, like 5". They keep getting little 2-3" ones that'll be snacks. Longest I've been without one and I'm kinda bored without it. My tank has its activity but lacks any menacing faces. Also want to add a purple and red wolf in the end. Hoping the mala will be the peace keeper.

Ime they do fine. Not perfect. That's with any wolf imo, youll see missing scales and tattered find here and there. I kept them with larger cichlids a lot. My first ever mala in 5th grade I had for 2 years only grew to 7" minded its business, I think back it could've been a microlepis, looked like some pics online but don't know how trustworthy those are. Only fish it fought with was a 9" pike. It was with a 10" oscar at one point, large marble goby, bichirs, American eel for a little, Midas/red devil hybrids, jags, buttikoferi, texas cichlid, jack Dempsey, gar, first and only pacu I kept. I was into cichlids, it's was probably one of the only fish that I actually held onto for more than a few months through those years. I was googling after buying back then being young. Always had a mala after that guy and always for years. The next one after him I had for nearly 4 years. Bought smaller ones as well but they'd get picked on by the cichlids so I'd return them to the lfs. Every specimen was practically the same, they didn't like anything being directly in front of their face. And they didn't like being challenged. Between eachother I noticed minimal aggression. And from my reading I don't really see them being so territorial. You can find plenty of vids of them on youtube, I usually click in the user and look for more vids of the tank to see longevity but that doesn't always work. There's a few people I subscribed to over the years because they kept posting their wolves together. There was one guy who had like three with piranhas and turtles for a few years for instance. It's been a few years since I checked for anything new but I'd say three or so ago it was harder to find a bad mala. The only ones that seemed to be mean were ones that grew up alone.

Went on long again lol. To the OP I'm not saying yours is mala per se I'm just saying that's the family it is within. The under jaw pattern looks that of mbigua. It seems to have a raised back as well, though it lacks the red. The face of a lac is different from a mbigua in the face and mainly eyes I'd say, it seems more Box like and the eyes seem to look more flush with the face though they aren't. I can't really explain it.