Salvini?

[RampageRR]

Hi all, been a long time since I've posted here. I bought two salvini from PetSmart probably back in February on a whim to see how they'd turn out. They were able to survive in the same tank as my big black wolf fish, and are now in the 4-5" range.

I'm not even sure the larger one is a pure salvini - look at the worming on his face. All the pics I've seen show just some striping/line type patterns of blue on their cheeks, but the larger one I have has a completely different pattern. The smaller one I have looks just the same but has the normal stripe pattern on his face. Any thoughts?

I realize these are terrible photos, and I apologize in advance. They don't stay still long enough to get good shots of, especially when they think it's feeding time.

 

[ehh]

Looks like a salvini to me.

 

[duanes]

I agree with ehh,
but with the caveat that these days with all the random crossing, unless you go to a respected source, its very hard to be sure.

 

[RampageRR]

That's what I figured. Thanks, guys. I just wasn't sure if there was an obvious indicator that this was a cross of some sort. He looks to be a salvini in every way except for the pearling on his cheeks, so I'll just assume he is. Not planning on producing any offspring with him/her (does anyone have an opinion on sex by those pics?) so it's more just a curiosity thing.

 

[ehh]

My guess is male. No red in the belly, the color is kind of flat.

 

[fug202]

The markings are definitely those of a male. It's not unusual for male salvini to develop blue squiggles/spangles on their opercula as they mature (not that all males have them - it may depend on strain). I have male salvini that matured just like yours. Females from the same batch lack those markings on the face, have more red on their belly, and have the distinctive black patch on the dorsal fin.

 

[duanes]

Also agree again with ehh and fug202.
If you go to the "Cichlid Room Companion" in the section Cichlids, Central American, xCichlasoma, there are 2 photos of male salvini that look very close to yours.