Poly ID Help

[Lotsoffishandthings]

Bought as Lapradei but doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen.

Image doesn’t show it well, but it’s a very dark browny/ red.

Also strangely the anal fin is cupping suggesting it’s a few years old yet it’s only about 6 inches.

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[danotaylor]

Hao

 

[rayoddballfish]

Looks like one of those Koliba cb laps. Hao can confirm

 

[Lotsoffishandthings]

Ah cheers yeah it does look like one now I’ve had a look. This one is very red though but I guess it could be a cross with anything.

 

[Hao]

Definitely a pure blood captive bred Polypterus bichir (lapradei).

 

[danotaylor]

Hao you have probably answered this a zillion times, but what characteristics distinguish a wild & captive bred of the same species?
Thank you Birchir Sensei

 

[Hao]

Hao you have probably answered this a zillion times, but what characteristics distinguish a wild & captive bred of the same species?
Thank you Birchir Sensei

Generally, most obvious one is the headshape and sometimes pattern. Although it can be tricky sometimes especially if its a wild caught specimen that has been in captivity for many years (sometimes end up looking captive bred). There are also really nice captive bred specimens that look wild caught (especially F1 or hybrids). In this specific case, that headshape was a dead giveaway. The size is quite small for this type of Lapradei (wild ones generally don't come in that small, headshape would also be different if wild caught at that size). That specific pattern is relatively common in the captive bred ones too. It's kind of hard to explain in detail but the more you keep/see the easier it'll be to tell the difference.

 

[danotaylor]

Thanks Birchir Sensei