You Looking at Me?
- Thread starter Manu8__too
- Start date
I've got one just like that, about 7 inches long--might be a female. Mine hangs in the corner of the tank watching TV. Is that what yours is doing in the video?
My guess is that he's pure, just a different color morph than some of the others. To my understanding, there is a wide range of color differences/appearances in this species. A very well respected book by Ad Konings "Cichlids From Central America", shows a number of Synspila in the text where images show both males/females of this same color morph. I will try to snap a couple pictures from the book as a reference. Below is a picture of my Syn @ 5" last February. He clearly looks like a young Synspilum here.
Definitley a syn. Color is sometimes the worst diagnostic lol
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
The blues are quite variable in the synspilus/melanurus group. I have a large male (~13") that is about 5 years old and presently, is predominantly light blue with yellow to the rear, and a light pinkish head region, much like the last pic you displayed, @manu8__too. About 2 years ago, he looked like my first pic (it is him). This is the red form of Paraneetroplus melanurus. I do have another one, same age, size and sex and he is at this time much more colorful, like my first pic. On the other hand, the orange form from Lake Peten in Guatamala, is distinctly different, showing a much deeper blue (almost black at times) over most of the body, with a lot of orange . This is him in the second pic and the pair in the following one The fourth shows the 'orange' form when about a year old ... lots of orange which tends to come out more when courting and spawning. They are in my pond right now and are doing great out there.
The second pic has golden yellow touch on the fins and looks more like a syns than the first pic which is all blue. Mature syns, bifas and fene look alike and are easier to tell apart when they are juvenile showing the characteristic markings. The blue fene in my avatar looks like yours and can easily be mistaken as a syns if not because I raised it from juvie.
