# Need help identifying fry



## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

I am very new to the forums and relatively new to fish raising so this may be easy, maybe not. I realize this may be difficult because the fish are fairly small but a couple questions. From what I understand these could be "z rock" or red empress fry because they look relatively similar at this age. There is a similar pattern to the fry but a somewhat distinct coloration (I have a total of 5 of these; 3 appear grayish blue, 2 somewhat red). Any thoughts to which they may be?


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## m1ke715m (Jul 26, 2012)

otopharynx lithobates get 3 dots and red empress get stripes.. lil too small to tell which they are going to be at that size.. if they are lithobates the blotchs look a bit messy


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

You don't have a stocking list from the tank they came from?

Right now they don't look like much of anything. The patterns are kind of random and makes me think hybrid, but they are so young its hard to tell.


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## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

No stocking list unfortunately. They were so small I decided to take a chance on them, with the understanding that they were likely one of those two and hopefully not a hybrid. As I said, I'm still new, so I'm learning what to do and what not to do.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Looks like Lithobates is a chance as one of the parents. Could even be a hybrid mix of Lithobates and red empress. Are you even sure if these fish came from the same mother? They might be different from each other. Lithobates should be longer and darker, less silvery than a Red Empress, which might be the "reddish" ones. None look like pure Red Empress.


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## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

I don't think they came from the same mother but they weren't a specific breeder purchase and was more of a LFS purchase. They could have been two broods that were commingled but I really don't know. Didn't know if maybe that coloration difference was indicative of one or the other. Where they have been in the tank now for a day, their horizontal stripe seems to be more defined. They could well be mutts. I'll just have to give them some months and see how they color up, was just curious if anyone could drop some knowledge on me about the two species.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Then you assume hybrid.
You could grow them on but you will never be sure of them.

All the best James


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## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

Hey all,

These suckers have grown a good bit in a month, and I've figured out how to take a better picture of them. One thing I have noticed is they all seem to have a very pronounced red stripe on the top of the dorsal fin, a blue stripe underneath, followed by another more faint red striping. They also have a fairly significant red anal fin. The horizontal striping seems to be more prominent now so I wonder as they age if the stripes will come in more. I am noticing a main line down their body and one under their dorsal. I'm still assuming hybrid until they grow and I can be more certain, but wanted to show some better stills and see if, even if they are hybrids, I could determine what the parents may be.

























Forgive the glaring scratch on that one, but the pic of the fish was too in focus to pass up. 
























This shows the dorsal striping I referenced. Might just be common for some haps / peacocks.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Definitely not lithobates, and don't really look like red empress to me either.


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

Little bit of spilonotus perhaps?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Chester B said:


> Little bit of spilonotus perhaps?


That was the first thing I thought as well with the second set of pics. Looks a bit like my tanzania when he was that size.


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## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

Looking at some juvenile pics of the spilonotus variants, these guys look pretty spot on with their color and striping for their size (biggest guy is only 1.5"). That would also explain maybe why they don't quite look like empress or lithobates pictures. I'll put another update up in a couple months or if any significant changes to their color occur. Despite the possible hybrids, it's interesting to see what they turn into.


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## Adamtc68 (Mar 31, 2013)

Hello all. The fish above have continued growing and have colored up a fair amount. I wanted to post some new pictures to see if anyone have any more thoughts on the possible identity of said fish. Any thoughts? My inclination for both is protomelas; for fish 1 I'm still leaning on spilonotus Tanzania, but for fish 2 I really am not sure aside from protomelas.

Fish 1:

























Fish 2:


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## testeve (Sep 17, 2012)

They are hybrids. Of what, who knows. Looks like there is a little aulonacara in them


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

testeve said:


> They are hybrids. Of what, who knows. Looks like there is a little aulonacara in them


Yep, quite a few possible combos as far as parents are concerned. They certainly do look well fed and plump - like many of the Protomelas species tend to be (Red Empress, for example). They look like they at least have the potential to be pretty colorful, so enjoy them and post some more photos as they develop.


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