Mystery Viejas
- Thread starter Dave Ussery
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- cichlid identification vieja
3rd and 4th pics could, maybe kinda possibly, be a Maculicauda. Last fish might be a Syn. The first pic, the fish in the middle, no clue what that is.
How about some better pictures. The color is pretty bad, glare from the flash.
How about some better pictures. The color is pretty bad, glare from the flash.
Comparing the ones in the pick with the size of the gravel, shows they are young, and trying to tell Vieja species at that size is nearly impossible, because many "Vieja" look so similar when at that age. Unless you got them from a knowledgable and trusted source, they could be hybrids, where 1 parent may have been a back belt, and 1 not.
If it was from a LFS, most employees can't tell the difference between a black belt and a bluegill, so you need to take any name they were sold under these days with a grain of salt.
Your best bet will be to wait a few months, when actual distinguishing traits start to appear, then post some ver clear shots.
If it was from a LFS, most employees can't tell the difference between a black belt and a bluegill, so you need to take any name they were sold under these days with a grain of salt.
Your best bet will be to wait a few months, when actual distinguishing traits start to appear, then post some ver clear shots.
for example, above a young V bifasciata, below a young breidhori
or below a young melanurum (AKA synspillum)
Unless you bought the fish from a reliable source it is safe to assume it is a mutt...unfortunately hybridization is very common in former "Vieja" species. My Syn did appear similar to yours but then heck most "Vieja" do at that size. Either way it will grow up to be a stunning large fish 
Sorry for the bad pics,it's a cheap camera.These are the best out of countless tries. All three were identical at .75 inch when I bought them. I kinda knew they weren't blackbelts as I have raised them before and currently have a large female. My gut feeling is these are wild Florida caught Syns. or hybrids. The two larger ones which I believe are male switch between the vertical barring and the typical black tail spot of a syn. The largest (last pic) is now showing some gold coloring but no red at all at approx. 3 inches.As a matter of fact,the middle fish in the first pic is the fish in the last pic,and the left fish in the first pic (second pic also) now has the vertical barring! The smallest one ( with the acara ) consistently keeps her markings without changing much. They are from a privately owned LFS which is normally pretty good with ID but Viejas are rare in these parts. Thanks for all the input. I have resigned myself to the long wait for these ugly ducklings to mature! Here's a gratuitous pic of Lucy Lieu. She's a bit larger now.
Ok, These pics are a little better and one week old. They were all taken within about five minutes of the same fish. It's about 3.5 inches long. This is the mid size one of the three. I don't have any good pics of the larger one yet so that one will have to wait.The lighter pic is without flash and seems to represent a more accurate coloration. Next I'll post the smaller fish.
As you can see these things change coloration frequently and constantly which also keeps me successfully confused. One minute I'm sure it's Bifasciatum,then it's fenestratum,then it's a synspilus,then I give up!
