Mystery Cichlid: Who am I?

[Randall]

To the forum:

We at apistogramma.com delight in furnishing a user-friendly, good, reliable and informative medium to all who share a common interest in dwarf cichlids. For some time now, many new and/or rare species of western African cichlids have been making their way into the US, some for the very first time. Commensurate with our mission to introduce the new, the rare and the elusive to the hobby, this is the first installment of Mystery Cichlid: Who am I? in the forum.

Now without further ado, who am I?
(Hint: This may not be a dwarf cichlid.)

http://hometown.aol.com/r3k1/myhomepage/personal.html

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[_BaDgUy_]

I'd have to say it's Pelmatochromis ocellifer.

 

[kribs]

Is it Tilapia sp. Mamfe.

 

[kribs]

Or is it T.bythobates

 

[xtr-xtr]

at first time they looks like an Anomalochromis Thomasi but they can be a pair hemichromis fasciatus...

 

[Bob Henry]

Pelmatochromis faciatus (or is that an old scientific name?)

 

[Randall]

Hemichromis fasciatus

Dear Bob,

Pelmatochromis fasciatus=Hemichromis fasciatus, the type species of the genus.


To the forum:

No correct answers on the Mystery Cichlid yet, but one is very close.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Bob Henry]

Thanks Randall. I had a feeling that Pelmatochromis wasn't right. However, what I meant to type in my first post was P. nigrofasciatus.

 

[skh]

Hi Randall,

some 20 years ago, I saw a picture of the same or a similar species. Tilapia mariae was the name of the species. Maybe this is the name? I do not know, whether the species was correctly named but I remeber the red coloration, the blotches on the side and on the dorsal fin.

I tried hard but i could not find the article any more in my file.

Stefan

 

[Randall]

Mystery Cichlid

Ariel Bornstein visited the forum recently and adds the following to the mystery cichlid discussion.

Hi Randall,

I took a little break and visited Apisogramma.com. I noted the "mystery cichlid" post and will take a stab at it .....

... the smaller fish on the left is Pelmato. nigrofasciatus and the one of the right is some sort of "tholloniod" (my made-up term) Tilapia.

Thanks, Ariel, for your contribution.

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[Randall]

Tilapia tholloni & Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus

Thanks to everyone who took a stab at the first installment of the Mystery Cichlid.

Recently, a US-based distributor was forwarded a photo from an exporter in DR Congo of a Tilapia species for sale that were collected there. Looking at the photo, however, the US distributor thought they might be a Pelmatochromis species. He then asked yours truly if I thought there was a market for Pelmatochromis in the US to which I responded, "Is water wet?" Pelmatochromis are exceptionally rare and beautiful fish. The distributor then placed an order.

When they arrived, I was forwarded a photo of a sub-adult fish that looked to me like Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus, but was not completely sure. After sending them the photo, both Dr. Melanie Stiassny and Dr. Anton Lamboj confimed that the fish was indeed P. nigrofasciatus. With a good ID in hand, I then recommended the fish to a couple of my buddies.

Well, a few months later, both buddies wrote to me that they may have two species and furnished several photos one of which is the Mystery Cichlid. One of the photos forwarded to me is indeed of Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus. The others, however, were identified as Tilapia tholloni by Dr. Stiassny.

So, it seems that two species were originally collected and sold under one name. The Mystery Cichlid on the right is Tilapia tholloni, and the one on the left is either T. tholloni or Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus.

Congratulations David, Bob Henry and Ariel Bornstein!

This first installment was a killer. Wait until the next one! :twisted:

All the best,

Randall Kohn