Questions for you Amphilophus guys.

[NWatson]

I have some questions for you experienced owners. I have researched a descent amount online but wanted to here from you that actually have some on this site. Is there any way to tell the adult coloration of the species such as the Labiatus (Red Devil), Citrinellus (Midas) and Xiloaensis (not sure of common name)? I know they go through what many refer to as peeling......not sure how much this affects there coloration. Are all true Labiatus lips the large type or does that depend on the collection point? Does the coloration of each species differ any from different collection points? Also the Midas is a thicker bodied fish compared to a Red Devil right? Last question for now does the nuchal hump vary from any of the above? I have been thinking about getting some from a vendor one here and want to try and get what I want as far as coloration nuchal hump.....not sure if the outcome is a crap shoot. I know I left out many of the group but from what I have seen these are probably at the top of my list. Thanks for any feedback!!!

 

[Citrinellus]

-All red devil's loose their lips after a few generations in captivity.
-You could have a barred, piebald, or just red/orange variety.
-Midas are generally thicker and taller bodied.
-I haven't kept xilos to compare, but midas generally get larger nuchal humps than red devils.

 

[NWatson]

-All red devil's loose their lips after a few generations in captivity.
-You could have a barred, piebald, or just red/orange variety.
-Midas are generally thicker and taller bodied.
-I haven't kept xilos to compare, but midas generally get larger nuchal humps than red devils.

Do all Red Devils from the wild have the lips? I don't have any as of now. The barred are sold as barred by reputable vendors. What is the piebald and what do you know about the color change from juvies to adults. Thanks

 

[iplaylacrosse6]

yeah they do have the lips, but is is mostly due to their natural envi.and eating habits. They are always searching around the bottom of lakes moving large rocks, the large lips are more associated to scar tissue like a callus than a genetic inheritance.
Piebald refers to the large amount of white pigment in the RD, meaning it will have a predominately white body color after full maturation.
Color changes from Juvies to adults depends on the fish, piebalds will consistently have white, but if you dont have a piebald regular feeding of caraten B will help them maintain a red/orange color. (hikari gold is what I use for mine, and he is entirely orange and has maintained a strong color all through his life)

 

[dlp40]

I think is you want color and hump then the midas is for you. Also thee is no way to tell how they will turn out. The best thing to do is get several and keep the best one in your eyes.

 

[midtae]

from what i'm reading your looking for a midas the best fish in the world just my opinion.

 

[Anubisscott]

1. Coloration at adulthood - No, Weather Barred or Colored there are always different shades, hues, and whatnot. There however is no way to use this as a sure way to determine based on color.

2. Peeling - The term used for when an Amphilophus species sheds their Juvi Barred colors for a different aray of colorations.

3. Labiatus Lips - Lost after a generation or two. This is a feeding adaptation. Just are most physical charecteristics within Amphilophus.

4. Midas are Thicker Bodied, Red Devils are more streamlined.

5. Citrinellus ussually do have the larger humps, until I saw Jason_S's Xiloaensis. Their nuchal humps are insane. Their smaller versions of Midas, so if you can't have a 75g or larger might be a better choice as they get between 8-10" from what I understand. Haven't heard of any larger.

Can't go wrong with Amphilophus, if Chanchos had a color morph I would jump on some, but until then it's Midas for me. Love the different colors. Especially Cramsickles. Here is my young grow out male. Chunky and 8" long. Can't wait until he is adult and his nuchal hump really comes in.

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[Jason_S]

http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/images/pie3.jpg

The fish in the above link is a piebald midas....piebald refers to a midas that is mostly black and orange...not white.

In general, Chancho, Midas and Xiloaensis are thicker, bulkier, taller bodied fish whereas labiatus, zaliosus and saggitae are more streamlined. Zaliosus and chancho to my knowledge are only available in barred morph. Oh and I'd compare amarillo more to midas as well.

As far as coloration, between midas, xilo, saggitae and labiatus...there is not one species that is always more colorful than the other. I have only seen labiatus in actual red though but all of them can be bright orange, white or a combination thereof with or without some black.

From what I've seen and kept, midas and xiloaensis grow the larger nuchal hump on average. As far as I know, little is known about xiloaensis as I believe they are still pretty new to the hobby. Several people have said that 8-10" is the max on them but the male in my avatar is a little over 9" SL and I got him last Feb 29th at about 2" SL. I expect he'll at least reach a foot SL if not even larger than that...and I have another male almost identical in size that will soon be going to another MFK'er.

I'm really enjoying the xilo's....learning about them as I go and the pair in my avatar are finally starting to show some strong signs that they might spawn soon.

**edit...oh and labiatus lips come from their specialized eating habits in the wild as anubisscott was referring to. they clamp their mouths around small holes in rocks and suck out invertebrates. The larger lips help to create more of a suction. In captivity they do not need to do that therefore their lips reduce in size. One day I want to get some labiatus that still have the lips and see if I can mimic that feeding style in a tank. Perhaps get some texas holy rock and drop the food into them so the labiatus have to suction the food out of the holes.

 

[Aquanero]

I love anything with Amphilophus in front of the name. I don't think you'll be disapointed with a Midas. I like the barred some like colored either way they are great fish, looks and personality.

This is my RD @ 2" and 8.5" it kinda had lips as a baby. Below is my new barred midas @ 3.5" starting to get a hump.

 

[NWatson]

Thanks for the info.