Daryna88 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hey guys,I recently purchased an afra cobue breeding colony, they are still young and haven't bred yet. The only thing is that I'm not sure they are all cobue. Can you confirm this for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
none Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 There are so many "Afras" getting around that are crossed that it is getting very hard to find pure strains. From those photos - I would not be confident that any of those fish are Cobue. Honestly - some of those fish look like hybrids in my opinion. Bar shape, bar number, fin colours etc., not right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 They all seem to have non-afra mouths. I would agree they aren't Afra, let alone cobue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I'm fairly certain hybrids,,, if you aren't sure and supplier is vague, consider as hybrid,,,,, safer than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 There is a number of things that are flags for me, mouth, colouring and body shape. They could possibly be Pseudotropheus interruptus (formerly Melanochromis) and C. afra cross. Particularly based on the second photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 The males are certainly not cobue as there is no yellow on their head, plus the girls look odd but I am looking on it on a phone. They are most likely crosses as ged mentioned. This is a cobueFemale cobueCheersRosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I would be taking them back for a refund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benno Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 It's the main problem with Malawi cichlid keeping in Adelaide. See so many mis labeled and unlabelled mbuna etc on Adelaide gumtree, even a lot of the shops are pretty bad. Only 2 shops Id even bother buyin Malawis at would be Aggies or A1 tropicals. They are 2 shops that actually know what they are selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 It does seem to me when looking at a lot of mbuna hybrids, many or most of them seem to be influenced by interuptus for some reason.I threw interuptus males into my display, and they flat out flaunt and try to breed with every god damn thing, even a big king kong parot lol.We already know that Msobo and Saulosi have been ruined by interuptus, but the two bloodlines being now refreshed or stabilized.This is why going to good specialist shops that are fastidious about its acceptance of breeders stock are a must when chasing fish that you wish to breed and disperse fry or to just simply know you've collected and paid for the ridgy didge thing.Posting your fish in question on this forum is also a great move as there's a great group of people here very good at making heads and tails of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryna88 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Thank you everyone for your advice i will be taking them for a refund some time this week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benno Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Let us know how that goes. If you don't mind me asking was it shop or private sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryna88 Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 It was a private sale and he is refusing to give a refund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcsongei Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Looks like although hybrids they might still come through with some colour, and you won't know for sure until they get older. I don't think the body shape and markings look right but the colour might work out in that the girls look light grey rather than dark.In a LFS near me there are a lot of "assorted blue zebras" that look similar to what you have. This fish was being sold as a "mixed peacock". Looks more like an Afra Cobue to me, but the guy in the shop said he just has it for sale as a cross because he doesn't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Could be anything really JC, the yellow coming onto the head and showing on the end of the Dorsal...could be a young flavis. Its a bit hard with the pic.Sorry to hear you got a bad deal there Daryna. Like the others said you really need to find a trusted aquarium shop or try and make some decent contacts on the forums. I usually wouldn't bother with alot of stuff off gumtree etc until you get a bit of a better idea on exactly what you want and what to look for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Tough break Daryna. It is tough when you buy fish in good faith only to find out that they are not what you expected. Even tougher when the Adelaide scene is limited with what fish is available. Gumtree and other online sites are prone to problems but there are some reputable breeders that use these types of sites. The problem is the lack of information and sharing of opinions. If those images had been posted here or on a similar dedicated fish forum someone would have questioned them from the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbunamad Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Moral of the story is seek out and only deal with reputable breeders and shops.I fear for the future of pure strain Malawis because of what is happening in the hobby with every Tom D I c k and Harry thinking they are going to get rich breeding fish!There were a lot of beautiful pure strain Malawis a few years back but the numbers are diminishing. So sad.Hopefully there will be enough dedicated hobbiests to keep them going for a good while yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryna88 Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Yeah well on a happier note my albino convicts laid eggs today and my acei ngara is holding should i start a bbs hatchery for the tiny ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Yeah well on a happier note my albino convicts laid eggs today and my acei ngara is holding should i start a bbs hatchery for the tiny ones?Bb only if it tickles your fancy in doing so,,, but for these types not really needed,,,,finely crushed or powdered pellet,,, or fine flake will server purpose fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Moral of the story is seek out and only deal with reputable breeders and shops.I fear for the future of pure strain Malawis because of what is happening in the hobby with every Tom D I c k and Harry thinking they are going to get rich breeding fish!There were a lot of beautiful pure strain Malawis a few years back but the numbers are diminishing. So sad.Hopefully there will be enough dedicated hobbiests to keep them going for a good while yet.while there's a definete issue with hybridization,,, there's Definetely a full term/time dedicated amount of breeders doing purity justice.Just a case of buyer beware and shop at the correct places.Those fish were posted on here and got to the bottom of,, now that's Definetely traveling in the right direction for the greater good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbunamad Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Buccal said:"Those fish were posted on here and got to the bottom of,, now that's Definetely traveling in the right direction for the greater good"It is good that they were sorted out as being hybrids,however the OP shouldn't have to have them identified on a forum.I guess there is no way a person first entering the hobby can identify quality fish because they haven't yet gained experience.If the "shonky" or "get rich quick" people weren't in the hobby this problem would be greatly reduced.The same applies to aquariums/pet shops, why do they stock hybrids?They don't care?They don't know they are hybrids? If that's the case then they should educate themselves.Too busy to be bothered checking stock they are buying aren't hybrids?If only wholesalers and retail shops would buy from reputable sources there wouldn't be hybrids in their tanks.But it aint a perfect world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snct2 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Agree with Benno, 90% of the fish sold here in Adelaide on gumtree and facebook forums are hybrids. There are only a few breeders in Adelaide I know of that actually breed pure strains. The other option is importing them from interstate (which I think you are already doing) from reputable breeders. You can find many here who are members of this forum.Also what I've learnt from this hobby is if your fish isn't a "text book" look a alike, then they are not worth breeding. Because the fry is never gonna look better than their parents (there may be exceptions for this but majority of the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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