# Is he a Hongi??



## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

Ugh! This is the second time I was sold a fish by the wrong name. I love the fish in this guys store, they are all beautiful and healthy, but he tends to have the wrong names on some.

I traded in a fish and picked this guy. The guy told me he was an Ice Blue, and the closest I can find in the profiles of an Ice Blue is a Metriaclima greshakei. BUT, this guy has a very gold chin when excited and all the pics of Ice Blues do not have gold in their underside or on their foreheads.

So, looking at every profile I have decided the closest he looks like is a Labidochromis sp. "Hongi". If he is I am totally thrilled, because I have been wanting one! If he is a hybrid he is going back. Problem is, I like this guy 

The females in the tank with him were a brown color, but Hongi and Ice Blue females are brown, so that doesn't help at all.

So, here are the two profiles and here is my guy. In the pics it does not show how dark the bars on his face can get. They are not black but a dark blue. He will turn an ice blue color with dark blue barring, yellow chin, yellow on his head and fins.

Metriaclima greshakei/ Ice Blue: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=794

Labidochromis sp. "Hongi": http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=727


































Thanks! :fish: :fish:


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## danielratti (Feb 17, 2008)

No on the hongi. Looks more like the ice blue.


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## trooperjd (Jan 5, 2008)

I have 1 male and 4 female hongi, and they look nothing like that at all. Hope this helps.


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## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

This is a bummer  2 forums and nobody knows what he is. I guess he is a mutt then. Now to decide if I want to keep him or take him back.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

hes not a hongi...my hongis are purplish with red to orange blazes on there heads and underbelly....either way i do like ure fish ..very good looking i like to yellow throat


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## mrwong41 (Mar 9, 2007)

Looks like it may be Metriaclima Estherae
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=809

I have one similar to yours and it was determined to be a Zebra

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=164844&highlight=

That was my post....the original pictures have been removed but there is a pic in one of the posts that may help.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

I am leaning toward one of the variants of _Metriaclima fainzilberi_ They seem to have the yellow under the chin with a bit in the dorsal and tail.


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## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

Not a blue zebra, too much yellow/gold on his chin and fins.

He does resemble the pic of the Metriaclima fainzilberi - Lundo Is. a lot. Altho his dorsal is lighter than that pic.

So, will he be bad in with my Metriaclima estherae?

I have a male red, 2 female reds and an undetermined OB. After a day of taking everyone on he has settled right in. He's not overly aggressive, just does not let anyone push him around. I have one red that acts like she is getting ready to spawn, her belly is getting big, she is digging and my red male is going nuts over her. But this guy has show no interest. I have all female Acei and one shimmied at him yesterday trying to spawn be he ignored her *whew* She is holding and if they last more than a couple days I will strip them. My Acei females spawn with each other, poor girls.

I want no hybrids at all because I trade at my lfs for credit. If you all foresee issues because he of the Metriaclima type I will return him. I know there is always a small chance of hybrids, but if he is going to up that chance I will return him.

Thanks! Still not sure tho. He's neat and I do want to keep him as one of my single males. Going for 4 groups and a couple singles.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Metriaclima fainzilberi would be a rather rare fish in the hobby, would not likely be mixed up like that, but I suppose anything is possible.

I would guess that he is a nice looking hybrid. His head/mouth area look kind of narrow for a Metriaclima fainzilberi anyway Imo, just a sort of funny look to him. Maybe he is a Hongi X Greshakei hybrid, just to guess, i dunno.


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## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

> His head/mouth area look kind of narrow


The pictures don't do him justice, he has the biggest mouth of them all! His head is very solid. That is the first thing I noticed about him.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

Your fish is typical of a Metriaclima greshakei sold here in the western US. I'm not really sure if these fish are hybrids or if they are just a result of poor breeding practices by the major suppliers? In any case they do not look like a true wild greshakei any longer, i.e. almost a pure white with a hint of blue and a blazing orange dorsal fin and tail.

Really sad, but I don't think anyone tried to deceive you it is just that all of the greshakei I have seen for the last 8-10 years in the western US have looked very much like yours. Unless you go through a specialized breeder or importer.


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## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

OK, I think etcbrown may be right. He is probably a Metriaclima greshakei. I asked the woman at my favorite lfs and she said that is what they look like when she gets them.

But, I DID get my Hongi today tho! :dancing: When I stopped in to show her a pic of my fish she had some little guys and I grabbed me one! He looks just like a couple pictures shown to me in the African cichlid forum, only he is 1 1/2". He is a Labidochromis sp. "Hongi" "Red Top Kimpuma" I cannot wait for him to grow up!!

I am still trying to decide if I am keeping the Ice Blue. He's awfully ornery, but not vicious.


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