Hello everyone,
kindly asking for help with correct identification of the fish pictured below. I bought it a month ago in a LFS as a male Laetacara curviceps to cheer up my recently widowed female L curviceps. The fish appeared to be the alpha male in a tank full of clear Laetacara curviceps.
When I came home and released the fish into a quarantine, I immediately realized that most likely this was not Laetacara curviceps. While the coloration was similar, the differences in body shape and behavior were clear. Due to logistics issues, I could not return the fish to the LFS right away so I decided to keep it nevertheless. Few weeks later, I released it into a 300L aquarium with 4 Laetacara dorsigera, the (widowed) female L curviceps and some Apistogramma macmasteri.
So far it's working without any issues, but it's clear that this is no Laetacara. It's extremely active and voracious eater. It measures roughly 7centimeters (including fins) and has a large black spot on a side. Any ideas what the fish could be? So far, after investigating a bit myself online, my best guess would be Cichlasoma pusillum, but the evidence is inconclusive. Hence, it would be great if anybody could either confirm that this is C pusillum or perhaps identify it as something else. It would be great to know what exact fish this is so that I know how big it can get.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
kindly asking for help with correct identification of the fish pictured below. I bought it a month ago in a LFS as a male Laetacara curviceps to cheer up my recently widowed female L curviceps. The fish appeared to be the alpha male in a tank full of clear Laetacara curviceps.
When I came home and released the fish into a quarantine, I immediately realized that most likely this was not Laetacara curviceps. While the coloration was similar, the differences in body shape and behavior were clear. Due to logistics issues, I could not return the fish to the LFS right away so I decided to keep it nevertheless. Few weeks later, I released it into a 300L aquarium with 4 Laetacara dorsigera, the (widowed) female L curviceps and some Apistogramma macmasteri.
So far it's working without any issues, but it's clear that this is no Laetacara. It's extremely active and voracious eater. It measures roughly 7centimeters (including fins) and has a large black spot on a side. Any ideas what the fish could be? So far, after investigating a bit myself online, my best guess would be Cichlasoma pusillum, but the evidence is inconclusive. Hence, it would be great if anybody could either confirm that this is C pusillum or perhaps identify it as something else. It would be great to know what exact fish this is so that I know how big it can get.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
