# help...



## cco113 (Aug 21, 2014)

Bought a group of what was supposed to be pseudotropheus socolofi about a month ago. The group looked similar in both size and colouring, and were about 7-8 cm long. Some of the fish had vage stripes down their body, but the seller said this could happen if the fish was stressed.

Now, a month later, all the fish has grown, and four of them still look like a socolofi should look. The other two, apparantly don`t..

I`ve talked to the guy who sold me the group, and also talked to the guy who raised the group, and neither one of them know what the **** has happened.. The guy who raised them says the mother released her offspring in her own tank, all alone, and he therefore know the fish he sold is from the same group. He also has no fish with stripes living together with his socolofi, and is convinced the fish do not come from his aquariums..

The guy I bought the fish from says he never had any breeding in his tank since he bought the group, and that they all looked very alike and had no stripes when they grew up.

Then what the **** has happened here?!?! 
I`m thinking one of them has lost control over his tank, and crossbreeding has occured. Sadly for me, this has not been discovered until the fish reached a good size and condition..

I will have the two potensial hybrids put to sleep to awoid further breeding in my tank, but wish to be absolutely sure that this is not normal variations of the socolofi species before I start catching and killing them.. (although I think I already know the answer..)










Picture one; unknown fish 1 in the back










Picture 2; Unknown fish 1 together with half a "this has to be a real socolofi, hasn`t it!?










Unknown fish 1 together with the front of a "this is a real socolofi, isn`t it?!










Picture 4; unknown fish in the back, together with the four guys I hope is real socolofi, a couple of goldens, a yound cyanerohabdos and a young sprengerae..

Unknown fish nr.2 went to hide the second my camera came up.. but looks exactly like unknown fish nr.1, in both size and colouring..


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

Your unknown fish are very reminiscent of what's commonly sold as White top Afra, or Metriaclima pulpican, but they seem to have too many stripes.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=894

If all these fish came from the same mother it is possible that the socolofi looking ones are hybrids too, but are more socolofi looking in appearance. Personally I wouldn't breed any of these fish for distribution to others, I think its too risky.


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## kyboy (Oct 30, 2009)

Looks a lot like the londo variety of met. Pulpican http://www.malawi-dream.info/Cynotilapi ... _Londo.htm (no longer cyno.)


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## cco113 (Aug 21, 2014)

Thank you for the replys!
I do agree that the fish looks alot like cynotilapia pulpican.. but guess that this is just a coincidence after crossbreed og mutations in previous generations. 
So i think it`s correct what Chester B suggests, that my group of socolofi has a mixup in genotype due to crossbreed or mutations, and this gives the variations in fenotype that I now see in my tank.

I haven`t decided what to do with the group yet, and will have to think about it for a few more days. (trying to catch only two or 6 of the 24 inhabitants in my tank demand some planning and thinking in front.. hehe..)
If I decide to keep 4 or 6 of the group in my tank, I will never -ever distribute potensial offspring to others!! (but I`m quite sure I end up with euthanizing the whole group to avoid further krossbreeding)


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## cco113 (Aug 21, 2014)

hmm... just recieved a message from the guy who sold me the "socolofi-group", and he tells me had pulpican living together with the socolofi in his tank. 
Are they known for crossbreeding? Or potensially the pulpican bred in his tank without him knowing, and he has mistaken the pulpican juveniles for beeing socolofi juveniles... oh the joy of beeing a fishdetective... :/


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Socolofi and pulpican aren't necessarily predisposed to cross-breed with each other (like yellow labs and red zebras, for example), but if a dominant male of either species isn't satisfied with the females available of his own species, he may certainly look elsewhere for a mate. I think the reasoning that all of these fish are potentially hybrids is sound, and I would avoid breeding any of them.


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## cichlid_geeza (Jan 27, 2015)

Yeah probably hybrids so I wouldn't breed them, but I also definitely wouldn't kill them because of it!! Just leave them in your tank as they are nice looking fish and most, if not all of the babies won't survive anyway.


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