CichliditisExtremitis
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hello again everyone,
For the past two months, I have been seeking online help to properly identify my fish, one of which you can see in the June contest section of this forum. Please look for the title containing the name "Bully Boy".
Here are two images of "Bully Boy" and female #2, which may also be of help to you. I believe that the female's colors are washed out due to the intensity of the camera flash. She is really a light blue with darker horizontal bars. She has a thin yellow edge on her dorsal fin, as well as a little yellow on the edge of her tail as well:
Anyway, I have another theory regarding the true identity of my fish, and I'd like to pass it by everyone for your consideration and feedback.
When I first got my fish in April of this year, while I was trying to properly identify them, Melanochromis Auratus was one of the four species in my list. In fact, I just now looked again at an image of one in my Malawi Cichlids book, and I am wondering if my females might possibly be a cross between Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos and Melanochromis Auratus; the reason being that my two females have a thin yellow edge on their dorsal fin, as well as a bit of yellow on the edge of their tails...and the male Melanochromis Auratus appears to have the same thing. Is it possible that I am on to something?
My males are definitely not Melanochromis Auratus though. I am still convinced that they are Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos, or Melanochromis Johanni, or else a hybrid of one of those.
But the plot thickens.
Please check out the following page which, according to the author, are all images of Melanochromis Auratus. Go down about halfway, and look in the right column. There is an image of a fish with dark and light blue horizontal bars:
Colorful tropical fish pictures,Melanochromis auratus, Auratus
The odd thing is, every other site I have visited refers to this fish -- the fish on the above page -- as Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos, aka Maingano, which is what I believe I have...at least as far as my males are concerned. They all look pretty much like the fish on the above page, except somewhat different shades of blue. Likewise, other images of Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos which I found on other sites, also seem to verify that this is what I have. Only Bully Boy, my dominant male, now looks drastically different, with his horizontal bars pretty much washed out due to intense mating colors...at least that is my personal theory.
If the author of that page is correct, and Melanochromis Auratus can also look like that, while others are a darker color with the yellow-edged dorsal and tail, then this might explain why my two females also have the thin yellow line on their dorsals, and on the edge of their tails.
So again, is it possible that my females are Melanochromis Johanni/Melanochromis Auratus or Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos/Melanochromis Auratus hybrids?
Is it even possible that my males are also Melanochromis Auratus, and not really Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos?
Of course, the other possibility is that the author of that page made a mistake, and that one image should not be there.
After doing more research...
Well, it seems that the author of that page is correct with that image. I just found this sentence on another site regarding Melanochromis Auratus:
"Sometimes the yellow stripes are turquoise or blue depending on the location where the fish may be found."
So the candidates are still:
Melanochromis Johanni
Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos
Melanochromis Auratus
So I'm still thinking that I've got one of these, or possibly a hybrid of two of the above.
What does everyone think?
If you would like to see more images of the other males, and the other female, please let me know. I have two confirmed females, and what appear to be three males. I know, a very poor ratio, but the LFS only had five of them, and I bought all five.
Thanks!
For the past two months, I have been seeking online help to properly identify my fish, one of which you can see in the June contest section of this forum. Please look for the title containing the name "Bully Boy".
Here are two images of "Bully Boy" and female #2, which may also be of help to you. I believe that the female's colors are washed out due to the intensity of the camera flash. She is really a light blue with darker horizontal bars. She has a thin yellow edge on her dorsal fin, as well as a little yellow on the edge of her tail as well:
Anyway, I have another theory regarding the true identity of my fish, and I'd like to pass it by everyone for your consideration and feedback.
When I first got my fish in April of this year, while I was trying to properly identify them, Melanochromis Auratus was one of the four species in my list. In fact, I just now looked again at an image of one in my Malawi Cichlids book, and I am wondering if my females might possibly be a cross between Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos and Melanochromis Auratus; the reason being that my two females have a thin yellow edge on their dorsal fin, as well as a bit of yellow on the edge of their tails...and the male Melanochromis Auratus appears to have the same thing. Is it possible that I am on to something?
My males are definitely not Melanochromis Auratus though. I am still convinced that they are Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos, or Melanochromis Johanni, or else a hybrid of one of those.
But the plot thickens.
Please check out the following page which, according to the author, are all images of Melanochromis Auratus. Go down about halfway, and look in the right column. There is an image of a fish with dark and light blue horizontal bars:
Colorful tropical fish pictures,Melanochromis auratus, Auratus
The odd thing is, every other site I have visited refers to this fish -- the fish on the above page -- as Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos, aka Maingano, which is what I believe I have...at least as far as my males are concerned. They all look pretty much like the fish on the above page, except somewhat different shades of blue. Likewise, other images of Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos which I found on other sites, also seem to verify that this is what I have. Only Bully Boy, my dominant male, now looks drastically different, with his horizontal bars pretty much washed out due to intense mating colors...at least that is my personal theory.
If the author of that page is correct, and Melanochromis Auratus can also look like that, while others are a darker color with the yellow-edged dorsal and tail, then this might explain why my two females also have the thin yellow line on their dorsals, and on the edge of their tails.
So again, is it possible that my females are Melanochromis Johanni/Melanochromis Auratus or Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos/Melanochromis Auratus hybrids?
Is it even possible that my males are also Melanochromis Auratus, and not really Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos?
Of course, the other possibility is that the author of that page made a mistake, and that one image should not be there.
After doing more research...
Well, it seems that the author of that page is correct with that image. I just found this sentence on another site regarding Melanochromis Auratus:
"Sometimes the yellow stripes are turquoise or blue depending on the location where the fish may be found."
So the candidates are still:
Melanochromis Johanni
Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos
Melanochromis Auratus
So I'm still thinking that I've got one of these, or possibly a hybrid of two of the above.
What does everyone think?
If you would like to see more images of the other males, and the other female, please let me know. I have two confirmed females, and what appear to be three males. I know, a very poor ratio, but the LFS only had five of them, and I bought all five.
Thanks!
