name that hap! :)

[cichlidchic]

any ideas?

<img src="http://www.houstonfishbox.com/photop...m/IMG_1156.JPG" />

[Zulaab]

Looks Victorian to me. Dont know.. hopefully someone will jump in there and tell us all :)

[armthehomeless]

Victorian. Looks like a Rock Krib.

Paralabidochromis sp.

Is its eye cloudy, or is that just the pic?

[cichlidchic]

yea his eye is cloudy because of the flash. he wasn't too happy with the pic to be honest. i'll take a better one Sunday when i get back in town.



I had one person suggest hap. obliquiden...

trying to find females to breed them. the picture does no justice to him. he's gorgeous!

[Mzungu]

I second Tim's ID.

A good place to look is http://www.davesfish.com/ .

When you can get another picture, could you try getting some more detail on the dorsal fin, as well?

[armthehomeless]

I'd say "No" to a Hap. obliquiden... here is why:

"As far as the great Hap. obliquidens debate. Here is my opinion. There are a number of hybrids being traded under this name and causing great confusion to the whole thing. I believe that there are still some true fish out there which are probably actually sp. 44 red tails. Haplochromis obliquidens probably doesn't exist in the hobby. I think quite sometime ago probably when sp. 44 was first introduced in the hobby it was introduced as Hap obliquidens then at some point in time a distributor probably distributed Astatotilapia latifasciata "Zebra Obliquidens" under the shortened name obliquidens. I think these two fish have been crossed to a point where you see a lot of fish that have wider or different numbers of bars.

As far as Labrochromis ishmaeli, I really don't know how it got mixed up in the whole mess. The real Labrochromis ishmaeli in no way shape or form resembles the fish that is being commonly traded as ishmaeli. To start with the head on Labrochromis ishmaeli is much more blunt, much like the sp. Salmon. The body coloration is just gold with faint black bars no other colors. I wish I could post Paul Loiselle's photo that Les Kaufman sent to me but unfortunately I cannot get ahold of Dr. Loiselle to get permission to post it on the web. I only know of one hobbyist in the US that has the actual Labrochromis ishmaeli but his fry are still to young to photograph. We don't mess with photographing the species unless if for some reason the fish freaked out there would be some kind of back up colony. No reason to take any chances.

Hopefully this will add some enlightenment to the situation."

To read the full discussion, go here: http://www.cichlidforums.com/showthr...=&threadid=113

In all honesty, it could easily be a hybrid of who-knows-what.

[cichlid1409]

first link not working

[Zulaab]

I second Tim's ID.

A good place to look is http://www.davesfish.com/ .

When you can get another picture, could you try getting some more detail on the dorsal fin, as well?

I heard that Charles down at Fish Ranch in Rosenberg has had some Victorians come in. A call to him might help. He is a sponsor here so I would say check out his website and give him a call..

[Fire_chair]

I'd name it Steve, but I tend to name everything Steve.

[cichlidchic]

the winner is rock krib!! thanks tim!

next question: considering breeding them. are these colorful convicts? lol

meaning, is there any market for them in the area or am i setting myself up for having a ton of little feeder fish...

[armthehomeless]

From what I have seen, there aren't too many people in Houston that are interested specifically in Victorian Cichlids. With that said, they should be easier to get rid of than convicts. Two things are working in your favor:
- These guys are maternal mouthbrooders so there won't be as many fry produced.
- They aren't as easy to breed as convicts (although they aren't difficult). You won't have fry like clockwork.

With this said, there is no way to predict how many people will want them. Those that are specifically into Victorian Cichlids tend to want fish from a reputable dealer (i.e. one that they trust has not hybridized the fish).

Good luck.

[cichlidchic]

i think i'll go for it, i was just afraid that i'd end up gettin stuck with a ton of these things unable to find buyers ya know? like buying convicts. i made that mistake once, and i'm trying really hard to avoid it happening again lol. kinda like the duboisi lol...

[billansor]

I am somewhat in agreement with the Obliq. aspect of hybridization altho My stepson and I did have what was called a red tail obliq. hap... It was a lot like the picture shown... Except for a brilliant red tail. Very easy to breed but very rough on the females. We needed at least 4 females to keep him from going on a killing spree.

Now two interesting things that we noted. Not sure if its water or something else but

Out of about 75 fry over a 4 month period of time... Only 4 males... rest were females.. Lots of mortality which may be related to the 2nd interesting thing.

Trying to keep their bellies full and not look like a starved street urchin. They needed the full blown protein type pellet and not just three times a day.. They needed to be eating all the time...

Beautiful fish and when available at the local fish shop, they got pretty good price.. I think they were up to about $17.99 locally in Canton, Ohio or 3 for $40.00 but in the 25 or so I saw up there... there were only 1 male in that group also...

Soooooooo If that is what you have and it's tail gets redder as it gets older... That may be what you have....

Bill

[cichlidchic]

ive had him about a month, and he's not changed color at all. his tail is a mix of pink and other colors tho, no red to be had. I went to Dave's rare fish in san antonio today, and bought a rock krib, and sure enough, got him and 3 females home and he looks like a mini version of the one i have (who is a bit over 3 inches) same markings and colorations, with the exception of a black spot on the tail of the new guy. i haven't seen this spot on any pix looked up, so i'm thinking it might be a color variant. just to be safe though, i think i'll not breed mr mysterious, and just breed the ones that i am certain are pure bred.