Hemichromis cristatus?

[tjudy]

Yes or no? The back story on these fish is that they are the offspring of jewel cichlids imported by Dolphin International from Nigeria a few years ago as 'H. bimaculatus' (which they are not).

 

[PeterM47]

Ted

This a photo, albeit not that good, of some Hemichromis cristatus that I bought at the 2012 Extravaganza. They are about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length. The anal and lower caudal on mine have a black band that yours don't seem to have.

Peter

 

[Mike Wise]

I think a better question is, "does anyone really know what the type form of H. cristatus truly looks like in life??

 

[viejo]

Well the fact that they actually seem to be of Nigerian provenance is enlightening. They definitely do seem to represent cristatus as portrayed in Lamboj as well as my strain of 'cristatus' which Mike also possesses. The fish came from Jeff @ Aquatic Clarity. That canary yellow lateral stripe seems to be mostly diet dependent.
IMHO, the fish in my avatar is quite possibly the true cristatus but this is based on semi-educated guess work. I would love to see a pic of the original type specimens of cristatus.

 

[PeterM47]

Having spent the last few days searching Hemichromis cristatus , I'm not sure what mine are. I'm posting two more photos of my fish. From the plaque of eggs visible they are in spawning colouration. The black circular spot encircled in yellow located mid-body is not there but is a stripe. What I would like to know is if there are a population of Hemichromis cristatus or if they are possibly hybrids. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of my photos.



Thanks, Peter

 

[viejo]

Your fish appear to be pure aquarium strain 'cristatus' as it is presently represented ( see above post). The coloration can vary appreciably dependent on the pigments & trace elements in the diet