Flameback ID help

[ronnieroach]

hey all,

long story short, i ordered a flameback from livefishdirect.com .. few months later, i saw 'all red haps' at my lfs.. the day i bought the 'hap' i told them they had similar coloring to flamebacks or other victorians but they assured me, up and down, that they were haps.

yesterday i go in for some new fish and the 'haps' are in a different tank and labeled 'flamebacks' !!!!! soooooo now i have no clue if i have 2 male flamebacks or not, and the bigger one (the 'hap-back' as i now call him) is chasing the smaller one that i got from LFD.COM once in a while.. neither looks bad, just tiny nips

anyway, here are pics of both.. first pic is my first flameback from LFD.COM .. second two pics are the 'hap-back' .. lemme know if the 'hap-back' could possibly be a ruby green or other vic.. def has green in him when he colors up ... i realllllllly hope its not a flame but i have a feeling it is

 

[tsk5035]

Okay. So the Flameback is actually <i>Haplochromis sp. 'flameback </i>; so if a knowledgeable person is referring to them as haps, then they prolly know what they're talking about. Lol

But I'm guessing your LFS just knew they were haps and didn't know they were flamebacks

Yours def are flamebacks; I have one too that I got from a reputable LFS and yours looks just like mine

The dominate male will cause any sub doms to never really color up; so if you've got 2 males, you're prolly better off getting rid of one.

Mines in my all male tank and doesn't cause any problems. Lol

 

[ronnieroach]

thanks very much!!

gotcha on the hap thing .. makes sense lol

and youre sure that both are flamebacks? i dont disagree at all but the one in the 2nd & 3rd pics have a different head shape.. simply because my 1st picture flame is younger? they also have diff striping.. the 1st pic has a straight line while the 'hapback' has tiger-like striping ... just curious if that makes it something else

and its odd, right now the one being bullied (my first who is being chased) is showing great color & the one doing the chasing (the bigger 'hapback') is basically silver when he was quite bright at first

any and all advice i appreciated

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i agree that they have different head shapes, thats the immediate thing i noticed, and that the body is slightly taller in the 2nd fish. give me a few mins and il ID for you xxx

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

the first fish iv ID'd as a Haplochromis sp "ruby green" simply because i see a strong horizontal bar as opposed to a lighter one with multiple verticle bars. and i see a greensih tint.
i think the 2nd fish is haplochromis sp 44 "red fin" in sub-dominance mode, because the head and fins and barring mostly match the sub-dominance colour and shape xx


(edit: im not certain of this. these are suggestions and close IDs!)

 

[ronnieroach]

ANYONE WHO CAN HELP PLEASE RESPOND AS I AM GETTING TATTOOED & NEED SOMETHING TO KEEP MY MIND OFF THE PAIN LOL

first, thanks MBF!! i was waiting for you to chime in as soon as i hit send

so i guess i was on the right track, just reversed lol

i thought the ruby green was #2&3 because he seems to have more of a green tint whenever he really shows his color.

the first, who you ID as the ruby green, is more yellow-y in person & came from LFD.com as a flameback & IMO from the pics on LFD + Google, the first looks very simlar to a 'real' flameback. & the 2nd more like a ruby green. check each out on www.livefishdirect.com & tell me what you think, as far as their pics.

I AM SURE THAT I'M WRONG lol i just cant really see differently yet. i dont know why, i guess i need proof haha

is the horizontal stripe a definite indicator of a roob-er-oon-y (ruby green lol)??? if so, i'm sold.

& the same for the zebra style vert. stripes.. they're def flameback style?? if so, say no more.

i'll get better pics tonight after my tattoo
.. its just starting & i'm already miserable lol

ALL HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

READ IT READ IT READ IT i have found an epic thing that shows near exact what i meant Today's pictures - Cichlid Forums
then there is the redfin that i meant, but now im not as sure because i stumbled upon another fish, the blue obliquidens. Haplochromis sp. 44 redfin - Cichlid Gallery
and heres a link very similar to the 2nd fish, its a haplochromis sp "blue obliquidens" which explains the green sheen! Haplochromis blue obliquidens

and thanks, u know iv got ur back maaan


whats the tattoo??
xx xx

 

[ronnieroach]

ok, the first link is VERY similar to my 2nd&3rd pictured fish, but the fish in the link has the horizontal line that my 2nd&3rd pic fish doesnt have at all.. just zebra stripes

& my 1st pictured fish also looks similar to the first link but w/o the zebra stripes lol this is getting nutty haha

however, i can say 100% that the last 2 links arent my fish. my 2nd&3rd pic's fish (hapback) has red, yellow & green when he's colored up.. hes gorgeous when he chooses to be ........

i'm gonna get more pics now

& the tattoo is a leg sleeve of a bunch of stuff .. i'm gonna put an album on my profile after i snap some pics of the fishies

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i think then the 1st fish is le traditional flameback

what does the 2nd fish look like sorry? the ruby green has the horizontal line, so i dont think that matches the 2nd fish. whats ur thoughts? xx

 

[ronnieroach]

****NEW / BETTER PICS TO HELP ID****

yeah, i think fish #1 is a legit flameback too .. & fish #2, i have no clue lol .. def doesnt have the horizontal line as far as i can see

& i gotta say quickly, i've noticed them hanging out a lot & not chasing eachother since the new additions went in last night

attatched first is a pic of them side by side

the 2nd & 3rd pics are of the 'legit' flameback

& the 4th & 5th pics are of the 'hapback' > ( & i know 'hapback' looks pure silver but trust he has color, it just doesnt show )

HOPE THESE HELP!!!!!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

haplochromis sp victoria nile?
haplochromis sp thick skin female?
haplochromis sp 35?

 

[ronnieroach]

well, you did it again!!!!!! its DEF a victoria nile.. i'm 100% sure..

YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

 

[ronnieroach]

BETTER PICS

heres some better pics of the victoria nile

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

beautiful specimin my fine fellow

are we saying this is a male?

and i must say the 'you did it again' doesnt much apply since we went through a list of like 8 fish :L:L

xxxx

 

[ronnieroach]

yeah i definitely think male.. he's been coloring up & its amazing when he does

& regardless of how many, you still found the one!! dont sell yourself short, kemosabi

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

whats a kemosabi?
we found some wasabi nuts today. we were all like looool lets eat some wasaaaabiii yeeeaaah. then the monkey nuts, we were all oh my goood lets throw the monkeys nuts around haaa oooowned.
i love going shopping with my brothers x)

 

[ronnieroach]

kemosabi, i think, is like a japanese master or head karate man or somethin lol