# Flameback- help



## lala12

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and to Cichlids
I have 3 xys flamebacks in my tank one definitely male the other two I am unsure of because they are much younger and have no colouring at the moment....
The male keeps chasing the other two and I am not sure why he is doing this.
can anyone help?


----------



## DJRansome

He wants to spawn and they don't. Maybe they are too young. Try adding at least 2 more females...keep them in a 48" long tank or longer and add some rocks for hiding places.


----------



## lala12

I thought the same thing I'm worried about the other two as they keep hiding behind plants. I previously had a flame back about the same size as the male but again it kept hiding from him


----------



## DJRansome

You could take the male out until you get more females. How long is the tank?


----------



## lala12

It's 3 ft any tips on picking females apart from colour??


----------



## lala12

I would like to post a photo of my cichlids but I can't find an option to upload photos can anyone help??


----------



## DJRansome

lala12 said:


> I would like to post a photo of my cichlids but I can't find an option to upload photos can anyone help??


viewtopic.php?f=47&t=21085


----------



## lala12

Is this a kyoga flameback? He always has his colours but the black bars come and go


----------



## lala12

can anyone please give me some insight into whether my flameback in being dominant or is he trying to attract the females attention? If in fact the other two are female will he act differently with each one?
Any information possible would be appreciated


----------



## samaki

Hi
Yur fish looks quite weird to me as a flameback, it has a color pattern and a head profiles that seems not to be this species at all
xris


----------



## lala12

In doing some further research im thinking maybe he is a pundamilia nyererei?


----------



## lala12

Here is a better image of my cichlid any suggestions as to what type of flameback i have???


----------



## StructureGuy

I believe that you have a hybrid.

Haplochromis sp. "Kyoga flameback" also known as Haplochromis sp. "all red Kyoga"
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1550

Haplochromis sp. "flameback"
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1548

Pundamilia nyererei
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1569

The distinct vertical bars and body shape don't look like any type of "flameback". And the nyererei generally have bright solid red/orange below the dorsal fins. It looks like a nyererei hybrid to me.

Kevin


----------



## samaki

I have the same opinion than the previous post by Structure guy
xris


----------



## fishnerd34

I have a Haplochromis flameback in my mbuna tank and they get along swimmingly! I have a 55 gallon tank with 8 mbuna and the victorian flameback is a good bit larger than them. His size seems to make up for being slightly less aggressive because his coloring is always bright. Your suspected "flameback" might be a hybrid with some species of mbuna and sold to you by an unscrupulous LFS? It doesn't really look like mine.


----------



## lala12

Hi can u post a picture of your flameback so I can see the difference


----------



## tranced

hi, just a quick point... there is not many lake victoria species present in australia, and most of them do not appear true to form... either due to hybridisation or perhaps even a sort of natural process, because the gene pool is so limited here, you might even see variations in 'pure' fish, after 30 years of inbreeding... im sure your LFS was not trying to deceive you, they have no control over what sort of stock is sent to them. over here 'flameback' is a generic term for what seems to be haplochromis sp44 'thickskin' crossed with god knows what... your best bet for getting a true to type lake victorian species is from a cichlid breeder that is interested in lake vics. its quite easy to find astatotilapia lafasciata over here, and they are not as aggressive, breed very easily and generally make a wonderful first lake vic species. then you can go on the hunt for something a bit more rare  hope this helps, cheers.


----------



## samaki

Hi here 's the H.sp"flameback" from lake Victoria
http://www.african-cichlid.com/Flameback.htm
here's the H.sp"Kyoga flameback"
http://www.africancichlids.net/articles ... flameback/
theu don't belong to the same trophic group( a trophic group is an assemblage of fish that feed on the same diet without phylogenetics involvement) one is an insect eater, the second is a plant eater
xris


----------



## mattrox

lala12 said:


> Here is a better image of my cichlid any suggestions as to what type of flameback i have???


Hey Lala, I know why everyone is having a hard time. The Vic basin cichlids all have the wrong common name over here. Some numpty, years ago when they were imported forgot or didn't understand the scientific names. They just grabbed names that sounded good that were used for Vic cichlids.

In Australia "Flamebacks" are all in fact P. nyererei. They have long since lost their collection point. There are some die hard keepers and Python Island I can confirm is here. There are a couple other locations too.

Don't post a picture of our Crimson Tides either...... Or our Christmas Fulu..... For others outside Australia, the trade name for A. latifasciata in Crimson tide for some dumb reason. And our Christmas fulu only vaguely resembles the proper one either a hybrid aquarium strain or a different fish all togther.

Enjoy your flamebacks. They are of mixed origin (and some "flamebacks"may even be hybridised with sp. 44, I'm not sure.) Not saying yours are hybid, but rather it is likely to be our local aquarium strain.


----------



## mattrox

Oops missed Tranced's posts. He's good with Vics. What he said.


----------



## ratbones86

"Haplochromis" sp. "Thickskin" "Obliquidens" is your flameback in question....


----------

