Interesting Hybrid offspring discovered in my tank

3230 Views 16 Replies 12 Participants Last post by the_evil_dickfeldi, Jun 22, 2008

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Discussion Starter · Jun 19, 2008

About two years ago I bought a batch of juvinile Placidochromis phenochilus from a guy and in the batch I discovered what seemed to be a Cynotilapia afra/ Placidochromis phenochilus hybrid. I thought it was cute and kept it in a 75g with some Maylandia callainos (formerly Pseudotropheus zebra "cobalt") . I was hoping he was male and would be unsuccessful in courting the female cobalts in the tank, but it turned out that little hybrid stowaway was a female.... fast forward to two years later...and she has recently spit out offspring fathered by the cobalts. Sigh... they are about 3 months old now, and they look quite stunning, actually. They are a rich, rich, sapphire blue with transverse darker stripes and white tipped dorsal fins. Of course now I need to give them their own tank because I don't want any further hybridization going on. Bad fishies! Bad!

I'll try to get some pics uploaded.

Anyone else have some interesting hybrids?

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

Beals

· #2 · Jun 19, 2008

i would love to see photos
i love blues in fish

you should tell your fish what i tell my inmates "dont make eye contact with the males thats how you get preg" haha

chapman76

· #3 · Jun 19, 2008

I had a Pundamilia sp. Crimson Tide & Placidochromis phenochilus hybrid. I've had Copadichromis melas & Otopharynx lithobates hybrid. The ones I grew out the longest and had for quite awhile were my Labidochromis perlmutt & Psuedotropheus saulosi hybrids. They eventually bred and had fry that looked just like mom and dad.

I'd honestly suggest just culling the fry and possibly keeping one with mom. Raising up that many fry is only asking for trouble in the future.

nfpfish

· #4 · Jun 19, 2008

Very interesting. I have C. afra x P. elongatus, but that's not much of a stretch. Also have suspected C. virginalis x C. conophorus and P. taeniolatus x T. intermedius. Any chance you could send pic of the Placidochromis parent?

tropheus duboisi breeder

· #5 · Jun 19, 2008

I'd like to see pics of this fish. Sounds interesting

nicksdsm

· #6 · Jun 19, 2008

any pictures

football mom

· #7 · Jun 20, 2008

About 2 years ago I helped a friend set up a 75 gallon tank. In it she has 1 male fryeri, 1
crabro (assumed to be female now) 1 female frontosa, 1 tropheus moori, 1 borleyi. One day she called me up freaking, "my tank is full of little yellow fish!" I took 3 of the "la pesca illigitimi" home to see how they would develop. The largest 2 are about 3.5 inches. They have the body shape much like the fryeri, their fins are bluish, but they have the yellow background with the bumble bee stripes of the crabro. Attractive looking fish, they are in my mixed mbuna tank. I never thought that any of those species would interbreed.

danielratti

· #8 · Jun 20, 2008

There is also a cat fish that lays it eggs in the mouth of other fish there intresting.

Cross a fryeri with a yellow blaze the males are really cool looking.

Joea

· #9 · Jun 20, 2008

football mom said:
never thought that any of those species would interbreed.

Any two Malawi mouthbrooders can cross, and most will when given the wrong opportunity.

danielratti said:
There is also a cat fish that lays it eggs in the mouth of other fish there intresting.

If you mean Synodontis multipunctatus, technically they don't lay their eggs in the mouths of other fish. They interfere with the normal spawning process of mouthbrooders by laying their already fertilized eggs in between the spawning fish. The confused female picks up the catfish eggs along with her own and holds them until they develop. To further add insult to injury, the catfish fry develop much quicker than the cichlid fry and eat the under-developed cichlid fry/eggs while still in the mother's mouth.

danielratti said:
Cross a fryeri with a yellow blaze the males are really cool looking.

Hybrids are unpredictable not only in temperament, but also in appearance. There's no guarantee that hybrids that are bred from attractive pure species will be attractive as well. There are some very nice looking hybrids, but there are just many that are hideous.

danielratti

· #10 · Jun 20, 2008

Im not a big fan of hybrids trust me on that i got those by accident they were sposto be yellow blazes and they weren't they were intresting looking but 2 months later i took them back to the store i don't really by from that person anymore unless its already showing color so i can see for myself what im getting.

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Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 20, 2008

I'd honestly suggest just culling the fry and possibly keeping one with mom. Raising up that many fry is only asking for trouble in the future.

I agree with you on that but I don't have the heart to do it.

myselfdotcom

· #12 · Jun 21, 2008

hmm picture?

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Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 21, 2008

myselfdotcom said:
hmm picture?

working on some good ones. fish photography ain't easy

Hoosier Tank

· #14 · Jun 21, 2008

2

I know, I know... kill the mutant hybrids, but this guy was one of the first 3 fish I brought home from the LFS when I got into this cichlid frenzy. I didn't know squat about species selection and was told he was a P. demasoni.... Turns out it is one of my favorites and was even my avatar for a while. I keep him for a token reminder to read-up on new species I am considering BEFORE buying!
And now for a return visit here at C-F, my Iwannabea regulari

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football mom

· #15 · Jun 21, 2008

Hybrid or no, that is a very pretty fish. Keep him and enjoy him, but don't let him reproduce.

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Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 21, 2008

3

both of these are from the same brood. each of the offspring are a little different

the striped ones are smaller than the more sapphire ones.

the flash is ruining the nuances in their coloring

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the_evil_dickfeldi

· #17 · Jun 22, 2008

I have double-crossed peacocks.......Red OB female with jacobfreibergi male. I currently have six fry surviving out of 14(7 were eaten by my old brevis when he jumped into the net, and the runt who didn't grow slowly was eaten by my polypterus senegalus)

2 of them are 100% their father's coloration....and the other 4 have copied their mother's. Currently, one of the jacob-likes is the most dominant out of the six, and as a rule, all six fry show schooling and fighting behavior.

Very unusual fry......I woner what they'll grow up into

I prmise I'll keep them only myself no they don't contaminate the general gene pool :thumb:

Ted

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