Can anyone tell me what this fish is?

[erla]

The guy I got her from said she's a julie, but her body shape doesn't seem right for a julie... Or maybe she is part julie? She was living with a bunch of mbuna, but seemed to be stressed out, so she's currently hanging out in a tank on her own (well, except for a baby mbuna, which she hasn't eaten yet). Would love to know what she is, so that I can properly care for her!

 

[Freakgecko91]

She is a he, and not even the same lake as a julidochromis. Male melanochromis auratus, and appears to have bloat


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[erla]

Thanks, but I've seen melanochromis auratus, and this fish does not quite look like those guys. Plus, SHE has carried eggs, and hatched fry, so I'm pretty sure she is female. And the female auratus is yellow, which she is not. I have been worried about bloat, though, which was part of the reason I separated her out from the others. She seems to be doing very well, though: active and eats well.

 

[erla]

In researching melanochromis auratus a bit more, it does look like it could be a male who has not been fed enough vegetable matter (hence the dulled color and the bloat). But there are a couple of things that don't add up:
1. The previous owner said this fish had successfully carried eggs and hatched fry. I suppose it's possible he was wrong?
2. Melanochromis auratus males are supposed to be extremely aggressive, from what I've read, and this fish is not. I suppose it could be the bloat that is making this fish less aggressive?

Edit: I just read that M. auratus can change from male to female, and vice versa, so maybe that's what happened, and the fish is now male? Hard to tell, though, because the colors don't really match either sex, from what I can tell.

 

[Freakgecko91]

When it comes to animals, people lie. If it was holding, and the guy thought it was a julidochromis, a quick google search will show that no species of Julie are mouthbrooders. IMO that automatically discredits anything the person told you. Trust me, I'm an animal control officer and people lie to my face every day about animals...


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[erla]

Ha - good point! I don't think he was lying... I think he just didn't know. He was giving the fish away for free, so he had no incentive to lie: he felt that he could no longer properly care for them, and wanted them to go to someone who would be able to devote the time needed to care for them.

He also thought his zebras were peacocks... I was able to ID all the fish except this one: the coloration threw me off. I will assume he is a male M. auratus, and hopefully the bloat (if that is that is the problem) and his color will improve with proper feeding. I also may need to rehome at some point, since if it does improve, he may be too aggressive for the other mbunas I have (zebras and labs)!

Thanks for your help: much appreciated!

 

[Freakgecko91]

No problem! Good luck!


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