Young hap quiz

[Bweb]

I went to the only half decent LFS near me today because they get new Africans every other Friday Sometimes. I usually can identify them better than they can so they had a tank labeled Polystigma's Their was obvious differences of the fish. So hear are three pictures lets see how we do. Ed I'm counting on you.

Fish 1:
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt144/contractor1/Haps/009.jpg
Fish 2:
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt144/contractor1/Haps/005-2.jpg
Fish 3:
http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt144/contractor1/Haps/014.jpg

So what are they fish 1 and fish 2 look similar but look close at the lips of fish 2 they look like thick lips I am fairly sure on the ID's and I think none of these are Polystigma's all three fish are in the 1.5 to 2 inch range.

[emartin]

The second one is a hybrid Placidochromis milomo. The one in the photo you posted doesn't appear to be 100% pure (but it could just be a really bad inbred specimen). Otherwise I am confident it's a hybrid as it doesn't look like any Placidochromis milomo I have kept in the past...

The first one looks like a N. livingstoni

The last looks like it could be a N. fuscotaeniatus juvenile coloring up...

Nimbochromis sp. isn't my field of specialty though...

NONE look like N. polystigma though.

Here are profiles of what they look like:

N. polystigma:
http://www.malawi-dream.info/Nimbochromis_polystigma.htm
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1159

N. fuscotaeniatus:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1156
http://www.malawi-dream.info/Nimbochromis_fuscotaeniatus.htm

N. livingstonii:
http://www.malawi-dream.info/Nimbochromis_livingstonii.htm
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1158

The second picture you posted is definitely a Placidochromis milomo hybrid... This is what they look like... The one in the photo you posted doesn't appear to be 100% pure (but it could just be a really bad inbred specimen).
http://www.malawi-dream.info/Placidochromis_milomo.htm
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1217

Even if one of them does turn out to be pure, I wouldn't buy ANY from that tank... Just wait for Atlantis to get juveniles in again. A couple months ago they had tanks full of juveniles of every species of Nimbochromis except for N. linni and N. fuscotaeniatus I think.

[AlishanAS]

1. Nimbochromis livinstonii

2. Placidochromis milomo

3. Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus - How big is this fish? Might be juiced.

[emartin]

1. Nimbochromis livinstonii

2. Placidochromis milomo

3. Nimbochromis fuscoteaniatus
I agree except I think #2 may actually be a hybrid Placidochromis milomo... But it could just be a bad specimen from inbreeding that resulted in the color being a bit off and the barring not 100% clean...

I'm not 100% sure on #3 though. I am not saying I think it's a hybrid, it's just that I am not familiar with juvenile Nimbochromis that much. The juveniles I saw at Atlantis looked a little different than that photo if my memory serves me correctly...

Either way I wouldn't buy any fish from that tank if they have them labeled as N. polystigma... If NONE of them have the trademark spots all over the body like polystigma has (poly means many, stigma means spots/marks).

~Ed

[AlishanAS]

A lot of stores are bringing fish in from the Far East - Singapore, Vietnam, Maylasia, etc. They are extremely cheap.
I've seen many of the transshipper lists and they include several of the haplochromines. Difficult to asses the quality of the fish. Many stores do not care and just want to blow the fish out the door.
I'm sure with all of the temperature issues over the past few months more of the stores are purchasing from overseas rather than from Florida.
As Ed stated - unless you are buying from a reputable store that actually knows the fish - I would stay away.
Stick with Atlantis, RSC, Dave, Mark, etc.

[Bweb]

The third fish is only 1.5"
The second looks more like the pic's from CF than it does from the pic's in malawi dream their barring is straighter so which source is more accurate.

They get their African's from some Russian guy's who drive down from NY City.

[zcfish]

#1 is a livingstonii. But the one I got from atlantis seems to be brighter. otherwise doesn't look too bad.

#2 is a milomo. probably a bad specimen. all the juvie pictures I see and my own have jagged strips but not disconnected.

#3 these haps don't color up like that definitely not at 1.5".

[AlishanAS]

They get their African's from some Russian guy's who drive down from NY City.

Funny you should mention this. I was at the Pet Safari yesterday and Adam mentioned the Russians. They apparently load up a truck with bagged fish and drive from Pet store to Pet store selling them. No pre-orders, they show what they have and if the fish are to the store's liking they buy them.
They carry both fresh and salt water fish.

[emartin]

The third fish is only 1.5"
The second looks more like the pic's from CF than it does from the pic's in malawi dream their barring is straighter so which source is more accurate.

They get their African's from some Russian guy's who drive down from NY City.
#3 is definitely juiced if it is only 1.5".... The ONLY haplochromine I will say that it COULD be possible to have a blue face that early is S. fryeri though I personally never heard of an S. fryeri coloring up even that early....mostly around the 3" mark males can start to color up.


Regarding which source is more accurate... Well... I'd have to say Malawi Dream is more reliable with getting their fish listed correctly (with the exception of a few species)...

I skimmed through some of the pics Cichlid Forum has for Placidochromis milomo... The ones I looked at all appeared accurate. (I smell a future species revision...it being placed in Protomelas or P. milomo and Pr. ornatus getting their own new genus)

#2 fish MAY be pure Placidochromis milomo, but really you'd be better off just buying one if you really wanted one from someone else...

If you want to wait until a future ECC buy from Daves Fish for example he has 1.5" juveniles for sale for $7 not including the ECC discount.

With the exception of ONE misidentified fish I got from Dave (NOT Daves fault. It was a wildcaught pair of Lethrinops...obviously incorrect female (again NOT his fault, whoever he got them from)) Daves seems to always stock quality fish and always buys from the best suppliers (including Atlantis and RSC) as well as local hobbyists in Texas (which include Nick A, Kevin Bauman, Dave Hansen, etc).

Also from my PERSONAL experience, P. milomo can be nasty when they are in a dominant position...

[Bweb]

Funny you should mention this. I was at the Pet Safari yesterday and Adam mentioned the Russians. They apparently load up a truck with bagged fish and drive from Pet store to Pet store selling them. No pre-orders, they show what they have and if the fish are to the store's liking they buy them.
They carry both fresh and salt water fish.

Man those guys cover a lot of ground I have met them and they actually got some fish I requested once when I went to pick them up they were so stressed some were missing their tails. I believe they take the bagged fish off a plane and drive in a big loop hitting every pet store on the way.

Most of my fish are from RSC I have tried to convince a few local stores to buy from RSC or Atlantis but when they can buy fish from the Russians for $0.79 a piece they just won't do it. Deep down I keep hoping to stop in and find a great selection of fish to tied over my cravings but I'm always dissapointed.:coz:

[emartin]

Well keep in mind that especially since you are in NY state Atlantis should be able to ship UPS ground to you and get it to you overnight that way (max shipping cost I have ever got from atlantis for one box was like $15) and RSC should be able to as well...

[Bweb]

That's true ED do you have any pic's of a three inch juvie Eye bitter

[emartin]

Dimidiochromis compressiceps?

No. At that size they would look pretty much just like a female D. compressiceps. Males can at that age just start to get colored anal fins with some eggspots but no body color yet... Maybe some HINTS of body color but no solid body color (at least I've never seen or heard of one getting color that early...).


Atlantis has 5" males in stock for $29 with the additional 10% ecc discount off puts it at $26.10 each.