# Help with an Alto ID



## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

These were sold to me as "gold calvus". I'd never heard of gold calvus so I bought them thinking they were probably comps. Can anyone give me an ID on these guys? First 2 pics are of dominate fish third is of one of the underlings. Fish pics in next post


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

Thanks!


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I'm horrible at ID's... so take this with a grain of salt...

My guess is Yellow calvus.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Interesting - I want to say it is a comp. The only thing making me hestitate is the sparkles on the side. I have had comps with sparkles but not that many.

It looks to have some gold head comp traits. Do you see that much yellow on the face of yellow calvus (thought it was really mostly in the fins). That 1st pic looks like a comp to me.

Should be a beautiful fish as it matures :thumb:


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

These are orange fin comp fry that have some sparkles but not as uniform as yours.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Like I said.. I'm horrible at ID's.... it also doesn't help that they are all female.

The head shape and the spots is what is confusing me. Could be a comp, the coloration leans towards comp.


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## borohands8593 (Apr 15, 2009)

if its a purebred I would lean towards goldhead comp, if it is a possibility that it is a hybrid id say a yellow calvus X goldhead comp


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

My Guess

Altolamprologus compressiceps Chaitika Gold


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Razzo said:


> Interesting - I want to say it is a comp. The only thing making me hestitate is the sparkles on the side. I have had comps with sparkles but not that many.


The "sparklers" don't mean its a calvus, There are many species that have the sparkles when they are young. I do agree with you that they are really uniformed, so it could be a hybrid but i'm going with my first guess


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## shellies215 (Jan 7, 2011)

I am 99% sure those are A. comps muzi gold head. I just bought some about that size, they look the same. Who knows mine could be from the same breeder as yours. I posted pics of mine in the altolamps pic thread a little while back, compare to those


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## altocomp83 (Jan 5, 2010)

I would say im 80 percent sure its a malasa comp. I've had a few and they have those spots for a while. They will go away and the stripes will blend into a almost solid brownish color. Very nice. My next guess is a hybrid goldhead. Maybe malasa and muzi


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

In regards to the hybrid status - the group was purchased as F1s and I didn't see the parents so they could be a hybrid. This is a reputable store here in Houston so I would hope not...

One of the main reasons I was leaning towards comps as well is due to the heavy banding. When stretched out in display the fish also have a pretty substantial vertical (vs bullet like) shape as well.

These are my first alto's so take my observations with a grain of salt as well! :lol:

Thanks for the help


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## shellies215 (Jan 7, 2011)

These are my muzis, looks like the vertical banding is a little different


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

http://www.suephoto.com/index.php/galeria/index/5/255

How about these


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

there not A. comps muzi gold head.

It sucks trying to find the specific location for gold heads, but I have seen and had Muzi a few times. They don't look like this


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

I change my mind I'm going with Altolamprologus compressiceps Kasanga Gold Head


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

Furcifer158 said:


> I change my mind I'm going with Altolamprologus compressiceps Kasanga Gold Head


I'm going to agree with you. You can even see the blue starting to form on the fishes lips in the first two pics I posted.


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

Longstocking said:


> .... it also doesn't help that they are all female.


So the two fish I posted are females? If so, how can you tell? I'd like to sex the group if possible...


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Fin shape and head shape. Horrible at ID'ing... great at sexing


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Longstocking said:


> Fin shape and head shape. Horrible at ID'ing... great at sexing


I don't think alto's are even worth trying to sex until they are over 2.5". I have had females that looked just like males, by shape. Venting is the only way to be exact. IMO :thumb:


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Then vent away :thumb:

I'll use my eyes


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Longstocking said:


> Then vent away :thumb:
> 
> I'll use my eyes


 :wink:


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

??????????????????

From what I know, which I don't claim to be an expert, it could go either way but I favor comps. I just hope they are not hybrids. Keep us updated as they grow out, OK? In any case they are good looking fish.


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

Lestango said:


> ??????????????????
> 
> From what I know, which I don't claim to be an expert, it could go either way but I favor comps. I just hope they are not hybrids. Keep us updated as they grow out, OK? In any case they are good looking fish.


Will do - If I can't get a positive ID of either comp or calvus on them I'll just keep them in with the mobas and use the fry as fish food. Assuming they breed for me at some point


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

I took a look at my orange fin comp fry and some do have very similar sparkles (even that uniform). I agree with the above comment about the baring being very dark (I thought about that too). My final answer is that it is definitely a comp and I will go out on a limb and say it is a gold head (which gold head is impossible to say). I will say that it is a great looking fish and I would be thrilled to have it in one of my tanks. Congrats!

Since the topic of it being a Muzi came up, I'll post a couple pics of my adult wild Muzi's. Again, it is too young to predict where its parent were collected from. Muzi gold heads do not come in from the lake very often. INMHO, they are the best looking gold head and if I ever see them on a credible stock list, I will jump on them PDQ. I know who collected mine and I know who that collector works with to import to the states (pretty picky, I know). I am waiting 8)

For what it is worth, here's a few pics of wild Muzi...

Male in foregreound & female in background of both pics


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Furcifer158 said:


> I change my mind I'm going with Altolamprologus compressiceps Kasanga Gold Head


I didn't see the 2nd page of this thread - ditto to what with my Furcifer said: Altolamprologus compressiceps Kasanga Gold Head


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Longstocking said:


> Fin shape and head shape. Horrible at ID'ing... great at sexing


Mini hyjack alert 

Sarah, I do not know how to vent yet. I am pretty sure my big Muzi is a male and I have assumed the smaller one is a female. Would you mind giving me your opinion:

Sorry for the mini hyjack (or evolvoing this thread) 

All three shots are of the same, assumed, female.
*Photo 1*









*Photo 2*









*Photo 3*


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## altocomp83 (Jan 5, 2010)

Venting comps is not as hard as most think. I do it at 1. 25 to 1. 5 inches all the time and in raising hundreds if them up to adulthood I have found im right around 80 percent of the time. Just get a good quality desk mounted magnifying glass with a built in light, turn the little guy or girl upside down, move the vent fins out of the way and look for the anus. If its a female you'll see a gelatin bubble right next to the anus. Males don't have this and often times there is a dark ring around their vent. The key is the magnifying glass and practice. Do it twice a month and before you know it ull be a pro.


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## 713J (Feb 1, 2011)

Hijack away away Razzo - it's all relevant.

This was my first post after reading the forums here for a while - thanks for all the help and feedback!


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

713J said:


> Hijack away away Razzo - it's all relevant.
> 
> This was my first post after reading the forums here for a while - thanks for all the help and feedback!


Any time :thumb:

Stick around on this forum and you will learn more than you ever wanted too :lol:


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## craziloki (Oct 22, 2010)

These are my a comps.. They look similar to me.... 
this is my subdominant male? Their morph is sunset..
They do have the uniform dots, my phone doesn't take the best quality photos...


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