# Copadichromis virginalis firecrest



## ldregz

Does anyone have any experience with Copadichromis virginalis firecrest?

I know they seem to be one of the rarest malawi cichlids in the hobby but someone has to have some, right???


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## noki

Searching, some guy in the Netherlands literally has a website just for his pictures of Copadichromis virginalis firecrest. copadichromisvirginalisfirecrest.com/

I would think the males may not show much color unless they are in more of a species tank, which is why they may not have caught on to be easier to find. But results can always vary with each tank.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Someone local has sexed fish for sale. $250 USD ea and must be bought in pairs. Now that's steep. They came in from Germany, I believe.


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## ldregz

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Someone local has sexed fish for sale. $250 USD ea and must be bought in pairs. Now that's steep. They came in from Germany, I believe.


I know, I have contacted him recently. Adults are $250 each or fry are $80 each. I still can't decide if I'm going to purchase some or not at that price! :-?

I have one male myself and would love to have some females in there with him!!


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## jw85

My advice - do a google search, look through the images, look through them and note the source, and go to the German websites and use the Google translator in Chrome to translate the site. The Germans are away ahead of us English speakers when it comes to rare cichlids - several of the fish I've researched for German orders I've only been able to get information via German websites.

Here is one that said they are best kept in a species only tank. That seems to fit the other random bits of information I found: http://www.barschkeller.de/cichliden/co ... rest-mloto


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## Iggy Newcastle

Yea. With a fish like that you'd definitely want to go species only setup.


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## typie88

So are these fish wild only. Unless your a lucky one to have some to breed like the otter point?


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## jw85

Based on what I found in German, seems they haven't been seen in the wild for like 30 years. Unsure if they are extinct?


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## noki

Looking in Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 4th edition... the Firecrest may be hard to find, of a small population, was found 90 feet deep during breeding season near the Mozambique border, and might be in different places over the course of the year. Obviously the species was found before, maybe they will find it again with the prices so high.


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## ldregz

Here's a quick video of my male, it's hard to see his color in the video but he's a little darker in person and his dorsal is much more defined.


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## Narwhal72

This fish is extinct in the wild and the only populations are in aquariums. The area they were from was very localized and was fished clean by local fisherman who dragged seines over their breeding grounds.

They haven't proven to be very easy to breed which is why they are so expensive.


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## lilscoots

Narwhal72 said:


> This fish is extinct in the wild and the only populations are in aquariums. The area they were from was very localized and was fished clean by local fisherman who dragged seines over their breeding grounds.
> 
> They haven't proven to be very easy to breed which is why they are so expensive.


If this is true, that guy in the Netherlands can't possibly have a wild caught trio. http://copadichromisvirginalisfirecrest.com/photos/wildcaught.html
I have no knowledge of the situation, just thought, these two things can't both be true.


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## Iggy Newcastle

Taking from the same book referenced by noki above, the fish has not been seen after 1990 in the wild.


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## Narwhal72

I got the story from Ad Konings at a past ACA convention.


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## ldregz

Does anyone know of people who have any??


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## fishjunkiez

were here in california and get them often and ship. :drooling:


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## Narwhal72

That post screams scam alert.


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## sicfish

There is a breeder about 2 hrs away that claims to have males only. He has good feedback in the vendor section so may be worth a try. PM me if you want his info


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## ldregz

I just ordered some the other day, they are being shipped air cargo and arrive tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited to finally get a group!


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## Mudkicker

ldregz said:


> I just ordered some the other day, they are being shipped air cargo and arrive tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited to finally get a group!


You're in Minnesota and are receiving an air shipment of live fish? I really hope they don't arrive frozen


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## ldregz

Mudkicker said:


> ldregz said:
> 
> 
> 
> I just ordered some the other day, they are being shipped air cargo and arrive tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited to finally get a group!
> 
> 
> 
> You're in Minnesota and are receiving an air shipment of live fish? I really hope they don't arrive frozen
Click to expand...

They should have no issues. The flight is only a few hours plus heats packs and a very experienced shipper. I still have my fingers crossed though!!


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## Mudkicker

ldregz said:


> Mudkicker said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ldregz said:
> 
> 
> 
> I just ordered some the other day, they are being shipped air cargo and arrive tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited to finally get a group!
> 
> 
> 
> You're in Minnesota and are receiving an air shipment of live fish? I really hope they don't arrive frozen
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> They should have no issues. The flight is only a few hours plus heats packs and a very experienced shipper. I still have my fingers crossed though!!
Click to expand...

I'll cross mine for you too! I hope all goes well, send pics when they arrive :thumb:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Congrats Idregz! I think you'll be fine concerning shipping. I'll be interested to see the fish and hear your experience.


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## ldregz

My group finally touched down around 11:30 CST. After a short drive home I finally have them in the quarantine tank! Here's a quick video of the group last night. Hopefully I'll get them into their new home later this afternoon.


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## Deeda

I'm glad they arrived safely for you.

Aren't you planning on quarantining them for a few weeks?


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## Mudkicker

Excellent. I am so happy to hear that they arrived safely! =D>


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## Iggy Newcastle

Nice. How many did you get? Looks like quite a few! Bet that was cheap, lol


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## ldregz

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Nice. How many did you get? Looks like quite a few! Bet that was cheap, lol


I purchased 6 pairs. I was offered up to 6 pairs and pairs only. I wanted the females, so all 6 it was!


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## Mudkicker

ldregz said:


> Iggy Newcastle said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice. How many did you get? Looks like quite a few! Bet that was cheap, lol
> 
> 
> 
> I purchased 6 pairs. I was offered up to 6 pairs and pairs only. I wanted the females, so all 6 it was!
Click to expand...

Will you be selling off some of the males?


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## ldregz

Mudkicker said:


> ldregz said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Iggy Newcastle said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice. How many did you get? Looks like quite a few! Bet that was cheap, lol
> 
> 
> 
> I purchased 6 pairs. I was offered up to 6 pairs and pairs only. I wanted the females, so all 6 it was!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Will you be selling off some of the males?
Click to expand...

Eventually I probably will, because I now have 7 males and 6 females. I'll wait to see how the group does together for a while first.


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## Mudkicker

ldregz said:


> Eventually I probably will, because I now have 7 males and 6 females. I'll wait to see how the group does together for a while first.


I shotgun your first male for sale :dancing:


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## ldregz

Here's a pic of their new home right after I set the rock where I wanted it. I attempted to create a lot of caves and allow for a lot of flat area too. Let me know if you have any suggestions.


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## ldregz

I'm putting the fish in their new home tonight! The excitement is making it hard to focus at work today. :dancing: Updates to come...


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## Iggy Newcastle

Good luck man... post pics


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## ldregz

The fish are all in the tank and doing great! Here are a few photos of moving the fish from the quarantine tank into their new home.

Females:

























Males:

















































Floating the bags:

















Finally in their new home!!


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## Mudkicker

Very awesome :thumb:


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## Mudkicker

As luck would have it, I passed by my breeder today and he had a lone F1 left. I asked him to put it aside. $35


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## noki

This all brings to question what a F1 is, if they really have not been collected in over 20 years.

There are similar Copidichromis, have they been kept pure?

ldregz fish do look very nice thou. I would try to keep the group together, and see how it plays out.


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## ldregz

I purchased mine from an extremely reputable breeder, who I highly trust. I do not know the generation of mine because wilds have been long lost for roughly 25 years. If your breeder sold them as F1, I would be asking some questions. If it were true, I'd imagine that fish would have been $200-300 easily. I plan to keep my group together for while with hopes I can get them to breed!


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## Mudkicker

ldregz said:


> I do not know the generation of mine because wilds have been long lost for roughly 25 years. If your breeder sold them as F1, I would be asking some questions. If it were true, I'd imagine that fish would have been $200-300 easily.


I cannot argue with your logic. Perhaps my vendor is mistaken. I will definitely look into it in more detail.


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## james1983

I remember about 5-6 years ago Eric ****, from Dykemeister's fish, posted about these on face book saying a fish so rare it had to be re discovered. Im believe he had a group. Maybe some were brought in more recently than thought.


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## noki

There are similar Utaka to the Firecrest, that lack the same amount of red in the dorsal. Hopefully they have not mixed in different races/species for new blood, like they have done with some Tanganyikan species that they couldn't get wild anymore. I do not know, but I hope this fish has been kept pure.


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## ldregz

I've heard of that as well, I know the virginalis gold crest can look real similar depending on what there eating.


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## Mudkicker

Mudkicker said:


> As luck would have it, I passed by my breeder today and he had a lone F1 left. I asked him to put it aside. $35


My mistake, the fish is actually Copadichromis virginalis (Nkanda) Yellow Blaze.


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## ldregz

Mudkicker said:


> Mudkicker said:
> 
> 
> 
> As luck would have it, I passed by my breeder today and he had a lone F1 left. I asked him to put it aside. $35
> 
> 
> 
> My mistake, the fish is actually Copadichromis virginalis (Nkanda) Yellow Blaze.
Click to expand...

Still a sweet fish and a heck of a deal too!


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## jw85

Interesting schooling behavior. They still do that after getting settled in?


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## ldregz

jw85 said:


> Interesting schooling behavior. They still do that after getting settled in?


They did for a few days and still do every now and then. Typically though they're mainly scattered about the tank now that they've settled in.


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## Thanusan

Hi, I have been looking for Copadichromis virginalis firecrest for years in Toronto, Canada. 
Any female breeding? If you know any one breeding these in canada. Let me know please.


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## ldregz

I haven't had any breeding yet, they might be a little too young in my opinion. Hopefully soon!


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## Duck5003

Hi there! I'm new to this particular forum and this is my first post! I'm glad to have found someone else keeping these fish as i just picked up a group of 4 juveniles. How have yours been doing?


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## ldregz

Finally got my first female holding!!! I stripped her after a few weeks and she had 8 free swimmers!


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## Iggy Newcastle

Congrats! 8 makes a nice starter group...


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## noki

Have any nice pics of the dominant male?


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## ldregz

I had another female that I noticed wasn't eating but she didn't look like she was holding. I decided to pull her out and check and sure enough another 9!


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## ldregz

I haven't provided an update for quite a while so here's my dominate male and his females. He's really starting to darken up nicely. :dancing:


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## Kanorin

:thumb:


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## Iggy Newcastle

Awesome!


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## Leyshpunctatus

Wow, he looks unbelievable


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## noki

Very cool. I wonder how many colored up males there are left in the world?

What has happened to the fry?


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## ldregz

noki said:


> Very cool. I wonder how many colored up males there are left in the world?
> 
> What has happened to the fry?


They've grown and been sold. Tricky to breed but I think I have a female holding again right now.


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## MFac

ldregz said:


> noki said:
> 
> 
> 
> Very cool. I wonder how many colored up males there are left in the world?
> 
> What has happened to the fry?
> 
> 
> 
> They've grown and been sold. Tricky to breed but I think I have a female holding again right now.
Click to expand...

Going to dig this thread up a bit. Do you have any for sale right now? If not, can you PM me the info of where you got yours originally? I've been after one for years since hearing a speech about conservation of less common types at a cichlid convention.

Thanks


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## DirtyFilter

bump.
Going tomorrow for one alongside a mloto ivoryhead.
And a star Sapphire.placidochromis lupingu.


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## DJRansome

What is your question? If you want to ask Idregz about whether he has fish or has a source, please send him a PM. Thanks!


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## DirtyFilter

Does anyone have one in a mixed tank that has coloured up.Recently purchased a Firecrest.


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## Iggy Newcastle

The Mloto/Virginalis types are typically a timid fish when mixed in with other species that are even considered lower on the aggression scale. Depending on stock, expect a silver to dark silver fish.


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## DirtyFilter

So those dark colors will only be displayed when he is tempting a female.Will he stay this silver?


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## james1983

They probably won't get much color. The nice dark colors are probably only there when they are in breeding mode.


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## DirtyFilter

Rainbow aquarium in Toronto Ontario Canada has them. Purchased from Aatish on YouTube.best quality but costly


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## ldregz

DirtyFilter said:


> So those dark colors will only be displayed when he is tempting a female.Will he stay this silver?


You'll probably get a little bit more color than that, but I agree, they're a very timid fish in a all male tank. Most of mine are show more color but don't turn a rich dark black until breeding.


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