Cichlid Fish Forum banner

Blue Hemichromis

7K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  sandyfreckle 
#1 ·
Hi,
I picked these up from the LFS being told they were a different species of hemichromis. Can someone please confirm what species of hemichromis, hybrid or a line bred colour variant? The LFS were adamant they weren't a hybrid but I can't seem to find much info on the web.

In the pics they were just fed so have some pudding around the waist.. :fish:

Thanks
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#2 ·
These are what is known in the hobby as "Neon Jewel cichlids" or even sometimes called "Hemichromis sp. neon". It is not known exactly what they are. What we do know is that they are very, very similar to the regular common jewel in the hobby, Hemichromis guttatus. I can generally easily distinguish the species in the Hemichromis genus but I cannot always distinguish these from a regular Hemichromis guttatus. IMO, they basically differ on how much blue spangling they typically show (the neon jewels typically show much more blue spots or irridiospores), though because the fish are chameleon-like sometimes in certain states, they are not easy to distinguish from the regular jewel.
So they could be a line-bred variant (from the far east as some speculate?), a regional variant of Hemichromis guttatus with unknown collection point, or an undescribed species with unknown collection point (but very, very similar to Hemichromis guttatus). They could also be a hybrid developed from crossing different Hemichromis but since they breed true and are so similar to the regular jewel this seems less likely. I've had this type of jewel now, going on 3 years, and I would tend to think they are just a line bred variant. Though I have flip-flopped on what i think they are and it is really speculation on my part, as any of these are possibilities.
By the way, this kind of jewel is probably more commonly available today then the regular type.
 
#4 ·
BC in SK said:
These are what is known in the hobby as "Neon Jewel cichlids" or even sometimes called "Hemichromis sp. neon". It is not known exactly what they are. What we do know is that they are very, very similar to the regular common jewel in the hobby, Hemichromis guttatus. I can generally easily distinguish the species in the Hemichromis genus but I cannot always distinguish these from a regular Hemichromis guttatus. IMO, they basically differ on how much blue spangling they typically show (the neon jewels typically show much more blue spots or irridiospores), though because the fish are chameleon-like sometimes in certain states, they are not easy to distinguish from the regular jewel.
So they could be a line-bred variant (from the far east as some speculate?), a regional variant of Hemichromis guttatus with unknown collection point, or an undescribed species with unknown collection point (but very, very similar to Hemichromis guttatus). They could also be a hybrid developed from crossing different Hemichromis but since they breed true and are so similar to the regular jewel this seems less likely. I've had this type of jewel now, going on 3 years, and I would tend to think they are just a line bred variant. Though I have flip-flopped on what i think they are and it is really speculation on my part, as any of these are possibilities.
By the way, this kind of jewel is probably more commonly available today then the regular type.
Thanks very much BC for all that info. These guys have heaps of personality and already eating from my hand.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top