# Id the baby please.



## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

I had two of these little guys, one made it (this one) and now another much smaller guy that looks similar. I never saw who was holding so at this point I don't know what he is. In the tank at the time were, 4 yellow labs, 3 rusties, 4 cobalt blue, 2 demasoni, and a pleco. To me he looks like a rusty. Is it possible to tell at this size or just wait?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Not yellow enough like a Yellow lab? You sure of the purity of the Yellow Labs? Part Red Zebra X Yellow Labs are pretty common for sale.
A Cobalt or a Demasoni would never look like that at any stage.
The Pleco is probably not involved.

So a Rusty would be the only pure possibility, so try to figure out if pure. Can't really tell from the photo, the mouth looks a little different, but that may be the angle. Hybrids are always possible, so you would have to rule that out. Do you know the sexes of the fish?


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

noki said:


> Not yellow enough like a Yellow lab? You sure of the purity of the Yellow Labs? Part Red Zebra X Yellow Labs are pretty common for sale.
> A Cobalt or a Demasoni would never look like that at any stage.
> The Pleco is probably not involved.
> 
> So a Rusty would be the only pure possibility, so try to figure out if pure. Can't really tell from the photo, the mouth looks a little different, but that may be the angle. Hybrids are always possible, so you would have to rule that out. Do you know the sexes of the fish?


All of these fish were purchased from a well respected and referred breeder not an LFS. I don't know the sexes of any of my fish. Would the yellow labs and rusties x breed? or the cobalt for that matter?

Heres a video:https://photos.app.goo.gl/NA7zav3busRmYPjF9


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

From that pic, it looks most likely to be a rusty. The rustys in my tank have been breeding non stop so I have been able to see what the fry look like.

I suppose a lab and rusty could mate and one thing that stuck out to me of the pic you posted is that the body seems a little long. Any chance you can post another pic to be a little more certain?


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

morrismorris said:


> From that pic, it looks most likely to be a rusty. The rustys in my tank have been breeding non stop so I have been able to see what the fry look like.
> 
> I suppose a lab and rusty could mate and one thing that stuck out to me of the pic you posted is that the body seems a little long. Any chance you can post another pic to be a little more certain?


here's a couple more. He doesn't like me taking photos.


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

I think chances are good that it is a rusty. I don't believe you can rule out a possible mix though either, especially with the low numbers of each fish you have. Are any of the adult rustys showing vibrant color?

Are you familiar with how to tell a fish is holding? This way, in the future, you at least know who the female is.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

morrismorris said:


> I think chances are good that it is a rusty. I don't believe you can rule out a possible mix though either, especially with the low numbers of each fish you have. Are any of the adult rustys showing vibrant color?
> 
> Are you familiar with how to tell a fish is holding? This way, in the future, you at least know who the female is.


Interesting you mentioned that. I've researched pictures but somehow totally missed this one. All of my fish were hiding a lot at the time so I missed the holding female. Two of my rusties are pretty drab, one has a little hint of purple, I was hoping the baby was something else, Rusties are not a fish I would do again.


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

You might have 2 females and a male. My male has a vibrant purple coloration. Thing is, any other males might color down next to the dominant one, which I have going on in my tank.

If you want to try and take pics I can do my best to see if they appear as male or female to me.

What do you dislike about the rusty cichlid?


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