# Pet-co has stricken again!



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)

okay Pet-co is getting on my nerves... okay let me tell my story I'm setting up a tank and went to my local pet-co (only place i can go to for fish supplies) and they had a electric blue johanni when i got home i started to research it cause i decided i wanted to breed him/she but when i started researching i discovered the electric blue johanni is a trade name shared by the true electric blue johanni and the maingano cichlid but i cant tell the difference between them and i dont wanna buy a mate for it and it be different species. so please help me so this fish can make some babies


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Check image posting instructions in the announcements section of this sub-forum.


----------



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)

okay thanks ill post a pic now


----------



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)




----------



## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

This is a copy and paste from a very similar post that's a couple weeks old - 
"Judging from that photo, it looks pretty small. What is it - maybe 2"? If it were a pure Ps. johanni, it would have begun life as a solid yellow fry, and males turn blue with darker barring (mostly horizontal with some broken vertical bars), but not usually until they are 2.5"-3". Females stay yellow. No, I think what you've got is a common mass produced hybrid of johanni complex species usually called an "Electric blue johanni". They are probably crosses of Ps. johanni, Ps. maingano, or Ps. interruptus (all from the "johanni complex"). These are in all of the chain stores, and often end up in LFS's through trades, donations, etc. They're nice enough fish, but generally lack the bright punch of color found in pure species..." 
So, since it's already blue at such a small size, it's not a pure johanni, and the horizontal bars aren't clean enough to be a pure maingano. A pure Ps. interruptus would be yellow, too. It's most likely a hybrid. If you want to breed it, breed it with other Electric blue johanni.


----------



## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

I agree with the above post - it might be a hybrid or it might be a poor quality johanni...it's almost impossible to say with 100% certainty.

In any case, if you're interested in breeding I'd strongly urge you to start with fish from a reputable source. People who know the species would not want to buy fry from this parent. You say that petco is your only option, but you should really look into online dealers who ship. If you are used to looking at petco-quality fish, the fish that you can receive via mail order will blow you away (much better color, quality, even bars, known species and collection point, etc). Check the reviews section of this website or you can PM me and I can give you some recommendations if you like.


----------



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)

thanks guys i figured it wasn't a pure fish this helps a lot and i have found some sites but im paranoid lol


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

The hybrid "electric Blue Johanni" is a very common mass market fish. They seem like Maingano crossed with Interruptus, and seem to vary alot in markings and blackness. Must sell well, as they make a lot of them. The real Maingano is a more attractive juvenile fish thou with two more defined deeper blue horizontal lines on a black body.

They produce what will sell, they don't really care if they are pure or what they will look like as adults. I saw some Auratus at the grocery store this week that had broken stripes, I wonder if they were hybrids also. They looked weird,but what would be the point?


----------



## testeve (Sep 17, 2012)

noki said:


> I saw some Auratus at the grocery store this week that had broken stripes, I wonder if they were hybrids also. They looked weird,but what would be the point?


They sell tropical fish at your grocery store??? Crazy, never seen or heard of that!!! :-?


----------



## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

they sell them at wal-mart in small tanks with hundreds of fish in one 10 gallon tank.


----------



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)

yeah but the ones from walmart suck I only go there for heaters and such cause its closer to me than anything else


----------



## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

If you really want to breed fish you should invest in some quality specimens..


----------



## ctuttle (Aug 16, 2013)

I'm a beginner not looking to turn a profit it was just something to start not gonna go drop a few pay checks on just the fish


----------

