Pimp Male HRP

[GroggyCichlid]

Nice fish. Look like a mix to me. Here's a pic of my 4" male I got from Rapps a couple of years ago.

 

[js77]

Thanks. My fish very well may be a cross. Not denying that one bit. It's nice to see a picture of an adult. Most pics out there are of juvies, and juvies of any fish look nothing like a mature fish. Thanks again.

 

[oshp132]

Very nice fish.... I have six small HRPs that I am currently growing out and I just ordered ten adults from the westcoast.....Hopefully I'll have some nice looking fry.
MIKE

 

[rmcder]

Here's my pair

 

[RGY]

Nice!

 

[straitjacketstar]

Like their cousin spilurus, HRPs lose most their colors when they get that big.

Not to mention that there are different geographical variants of the HRP.
Not all of them are that nice powder blue of the Danli race. Some of them look like nothing more than a grey con with some red in the fins.

That's not to call them pure though. I don't care how much I like or trust a shop, when it comes to some fish I know I have to do my own digging and/or go to a specialist source to give me enough peace of mind on whether or not I've got the real deal.
I personally wouldn't waste my money on anything other than a Danli race HRP if I really wanted an HRP. They're the one's that you see and think "That's an HRP".
Otherwise I could find some really nice looking cons and wouldn't be missing out.

 

[BlueKiller82]

It willl be impossible to tell if they are pure unless you bought them from a reputable breeder or good source. I had the same issue of people claiming mine looked like they had convict in them. When mine breed they darken up and look like convicts. As straitjacketstar stated there are different geographical variants of the HRP. I received a bunch from FishFarm who collects them in Rio Monga Honduras, here is what he had to say:

Hi Guys, let me clear a little of this up. There are several races of HRP in the hobby and if you know where yours are from you should not mix them with others as they should be kept pure. Mine are from the Rio Monga at Saba, Honduras, I have made 3 different collections there and use these fish as my breeders. Wild fish can range from grey to bright blue with slightly red fins to intense red fins, not all the females have red bellies either, When collecting we go for the bluer fish of course, but you don't know what the genetics of the wild fish are, they don't use the same criteria that we do when selecting a mate. In F1 spawns I have grown out I've gotten the gamit of color combinations from grey fish with red fins, grey fish with no color in the fins, blue fish with almost no red to a few blue fish wth nice red fins, those are the ones I keep for the next generation. If you buy 1" fry from me you won't know how they color up until they are about 2-2.5" inches, many pairs turn nearly black when they breed like the first pair pictured. Most of the commercial bred HRP sold in pet stores are of the Rio Danli race which is from western Honduras and they have somewhat longer bodies, through selective breeding more uniform blue but tend to not have as much red in the fins as the Rio Monga race. Over time lots of these have been breed to regular convicts by hobbyist so you dont know how pure they may be unless you buy them from a breeder who knows the origin of his stock. This race has been in the hobby for about 10-12 years, the Monga race was introduced by us in 2005. Ken

Also heres the link to the thread:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130617