Pelvicachromis Taeniatus Lobe and Moliwe

[cedartree]

I'm currently keeping a pair of the Lobe form. Frankly, I see little, or no, difference in coloration and pattern between the Lobe and Moliwe, particularly the females. It will be appreciated If someone can send me good comparative pics of both and a description of the differences. Thanks.

 

[tjudy]

There are a lot of differences between the two varieties. So much so that when the revision of the species is completed next year they may well be considered different species. I have pictures of each in my gallery of the genus:

http://www.tedsfishroom.com/wp/imag.../west-african-cichlids/pelvicachromis-gallery

In a nutshell, the males of Moliwe are larger and have a lot of spots in the caudal fin. Lobe will not have any spots in the tail. Females are closer is resemblance, but the key differences are that Moliwe are more purple/pink than Lobe will be, and the Moliwe female will express a bark lateral line stripe a lot more frequently than the Lobe female will.

One of the problems with the P. taeniatus from Cameroon is that sometimes the fish come out incorrectly identified, or even worse... all mixed up. I was at a store about a year ago that had purchased all the Cameroon stock from an importer in the northeast. The ID's were all messed up. The owner of the store was not around, so I do not know if the names are messed up at the wholesaler or at the store. There were fish that were obviously not from the Lobe river listed as Lobe and Nyete, and there the fish that looked most like Moliwe were labeled Wouri... which is very different than all the others.

 

[Rod]

Here is a pair of "lobe" I once owned

 

[cedartree]

Differences between Lobe and Moliwe forms

Ted,

Thanks for the precise information on the differences. Also appreciate the pics from your web site which really help.

There are a lot of differences between the two varieties. So much so that when the revision of the species is completed next year they may well be considered different species. I have pictures of each in my gallery of the genus:

http://www.tedsfishroom.com/wp/imag.../west-african-cichlids/pelvicachromis-gallery

In a nutshell, the males of Moliwe are larger and have a lot of spots in the caudal fin. Lobe will not have any spots in the tail. Females are closer is resemblance, but the key differences are that Moliwe are more purple/pink than Lobe will be, and the Moliwe female will express a bark lateral line stripe a lot more frequently than the Lobe female will.

One of the problems with the P. taeniatus from Cameroon is that sometimes the fish come out incorrectly identified, or even worse... all mixed up. I was at a store about a year ago that had purchased all the Cameroon stock from an importer in the northeast. The ID's were all messed up. The owner of the store was not around, so I do not know if the names are messed up at the wholesaler or at the store. There were fish that were obviously not from the Lobe river listed as Lobe and Nyete, and there the fish that looked most like Moliwe were labeled Wouri... which is very different than all the others.