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Fish staying in cave for a long time, help identifying species


smellfry

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Hey guys, I have one fish (blue with yellow stripe on top)which stays in the caves for a significant amount of time. He's eating well, and when he's out of the cave he's always hanging out in the top two back corners of the tank. He's not getting bullied or chased around by other fish, him probably being the most dominant one himself. Is there something wrong or is it just normal behaviour which varies among fish. The other fish are all doing fine. Could it be because my nitrite levels are still high and my tank isn't fully cycled yet? Could i also get some help identifying what species he is as well as the full blue guy in the pictures as well? Many thanks.

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Photo6-07-13110820AM_zpsdac43890.jpg

Photo6-07-13110813AM_zps5c513db9.jpg

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they are both Haplochromides

lithobates are also know as Sulphur crested but should always have Lithobate in the name

so not to be confussed with Aulonacara maylandi the sulphur headed peacock

this why we push so much for using the scientific names

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After looking closer it does have the Aulonacara colour & pitting in the head

and blue anal fin but doesn't seem to have the height in the body maybe still

just a young fish

raises hand in the air :raisehand: and says "I will take a long look in future"

A.walteri get the white dorsal margin

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The one that looks like a lithobates looks like one of those line bred hybrids, as the orange extends half way down the fish and there is light blue mainly in the dorsal and also on the top. I would have expected some orange on the top of the dorsal and not that much pale blue or for the orange to extend that far down. The blue peacock was most likely labelled 'blue peacock', so would be hard to tell the exact species. They are both nice looking fish though.

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I got them from a store in canley vale and I'm feeding them the food which they gave to us. It's an unbranded pellet in a takeaway container. I will be feeding the nls once it runs out. Do you know where to get it cheap in sydney?

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Monaco aquarium I'm guessing. Your fish will most likely lose colour unless you feed them 'white crane' foods. It's a colour enhancing food that Monaco use to colour every single fish in their tanks for selling reasons. Once fish leave there they will slowly start to dull down unless on the same food

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The last two are commonly known as blue peacocks,,, they are throw backs of either dragon blood or marble peacock.

These fish do look G'd.

May go as far to say, looking at not 100% revealing pics,, that the first pic is a variety of Copadichromis, as the nose seems a little short.

The body is a little chunky and deeper,,, and the G can turn platinum silvers into yellow.

Sometimes pics can excentriate colors also.

Super G I've noticed is very frowned upon you guys, as it is a bit in Perth,,, but personal use as a tool and not a food sets outstanding visuals.

I have a 2600 liter display and use 10% super G and rest is premium foods.

It makes the colors pop,,, is very good for display grade furniture settings.

Most of my display fish are over 7 years old and healthy as,, must say huge to.

One that is attracted to the natural behavior and being of fish as well as their natural beauty,,, eg,,, setting up natural settings or breeding will obviously not use G. So many other reasons not to use also.

I have experimented with the G a lot on designer peacocks',,,,, the G promotes growth of elongated fins, and in hand boosting these areas of growth means that when fish gets torn fins or body injuries they heal up very fast.

Not a lot is known about PSB that's in the G,,, but it's basically very high in vitamin D3 which can boost natural hormone production by the fishes body.

This throws the hormonal balance in fish out,,, and this is what we visually see.

So all I'm saying is,,,, there is a place for white crane use,, not as a food, but a tool, especially on a random all male display.

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The fish store also gave me some food which I am currently feeding them. Does this food contain hormones? It's in a plastic takeaway container and I think it's the same food they feed their fish

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No it's not the same food that gives them the colour. The food that promotes the colours in your fish is called super g from a company called white crane. They sell it at the shop you bought the fish from. They may use the food in the take away container also but it isn't the 'secret' food they use for colour.

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The fish does look like a Copadichromis but I would say hybrid because there are now a lot of designer hybrids out there with either an orange crest or light blue crest. It is impossible to tell which species they are now, some of the ones with the light blue crest look like they have some Protomelas sp. Mara rocks in them, others (like this one) look like Copadichromis. I'd say the one in the picture would have crossed a Copadichromis with something orange to produce that hybrid in the photo and then line bred to produce the fish with the strongest crests.

Regarding the use of white crane, the reason I don't like it is that it inhibits the fish's ability to communicate in the aquarium. Each to their own, but one of the things I like to see in the aquarium is watching their social behaviour and the way they interact. They communicate through flashing colours at each other to show dominance, pecking order in the tank etc. IMO you would be better off with a staple pellet such as New Life Spectrum or New Era Rift Lake Red and then supplement with occasional live food.

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And they all cross breed as well so hope u only have males in the same tank?

Canley vale have colour fed fish so you may find if you dont keep feeding that food to them they will soon lose a lot of the colour they now have.

Look like a peacock for sure that you see at both Canley Vale stores

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