Help identifing

[Lauderdale45]

Please help me identify.

 

[BHead707]

male auratus?

 

[phoenixkiller]

Yep. Looks like a really pretty auratus!

 

[Lauderdale45]

I found him at a Walmart store for less than 5 dollars. It's awful how they treat there fish !

 

[Mrc8858]

That's definitely not an auratus it is a male johanni

 

[BHead707]

That's definitely not an auratus it is a male johanni

ok cool i just threw out a guess cause ive never had africans before good looking out man

 

[Mrc8858]

And on another note it is awful how they treat their fish but by buying that fish your just telling them to keep stocking since there is a demand and $5 isnt a deal for that fish by any means...

 

[Malawi Freak]

And on another note it is awful how they treat their fish but by buying that fish your just telling them to keep stocking since there is a demand and $5 isnt a deal for that fish by any means...

Judging by the size and coloration $5 is a good buy, you normally won't see them for less than $10 if over 2".

And yes, not a male Auratus and is a johanni

 

[Mrc8858]

Idk where your going but with johanni and auratus there like $4 for 2-3" around here....other Malawis ya but these 2 are extremely common

 

[Lauderdale45]

We have one pet store here and that's petsmart and I know he would have been more than 5.00 there I wasn't looking for a deal I just thought he was a beautiful fish and what a shame it would be to let him stay there and possibly die. So I decided to give him a home in my nice clean 100 gallon tank. If he would have been 20.00 I still would have bought him. I can promise you my five dollars didn't set off an alarm at corporate that said buy more fish!

 

[Malawi Freak]

Perhaps where you are from but here in the new York / new jersey area you only get mixed juveniles for 5.

 

[kelbaker79]

That's a johanni imo

 

[Lady_Alia]

It's a gorgeous fish and kudos to you for saving his little fishie life. I'm sure he's loving that huge tank!!
How long is it? If its small it could be a maingano if it's mature then it's a male johanni.
That's why I buy my mainganos very young, that way I'm SURE I'm getting a maingano and not a johanni.

 

[Harryhorse]

It's a gorgeous fish and kudos to you for saving his little fishie life. I'm sure he's loving that huge tank!!
How long is it? If its small it could be a maingano if it's mature then it's a male johanni.
That's why I buy my mainganos very young, that way I'm SURE I'm getting a maingano and not a johanni.

What's the difference between mainganos an johanni cause I just looked it up and it is a melanochromis johanni ( mainganos)electric blue johanni ,I have one and they r so cool,20 dollars Australian I paid

 

[Harryhorse]

ok cool i just threw out a guess cause ive never had africans before good looking out man

How can y tell it's male I cannot c the dot on it's anal fin, males and females and the young look identical

 

[Lady_Alia]

What's the difference between mainganos an johanni cause I just looked it up and it is a melanochromis johanni ( mainganos)electric blue johanni ,I have one and they r so cool,20 dollars Australian I paid

That's the problem! Once they're adults I don't know if there IS a way to tell them apart. Maybe someone else can advise you better on that.

However, when they're young mainganos (often sold as electric blue johanni) are blue....whereas johanni are born yellow/orange and the males turn blue at maturity.

That's why I was asking its age/size. If its young and immature it's probably a maingano. If its mature, then it's a male johanni.

 

[Lauderdale45]

I'm not sure of his age but his length is about 1 inch.

 

[Lady_Alia]

I'm not sure of his age but his length is about 1 inch.

Then I would say maingano.

 

[Malawi Freak]

Absolutely not a maingano. They have no breaks in their horizontal striping. If we are still talking about the fish in those pics it's about 2". Look at the items in the background.

 

[garfy]

Would you say this is the same fish?