# What is this guy?



## mjay (Mar 11, 2015)

Hey guys and girls. Im new to the forum but not to the fish hobby. Had cichlids for years but not until the last 8 months its become a bit of a addiction. Anyways, I got this dude from my local dealer and he wasn't sure what it was but indicated that he thought it was a trout cichlid. I have been researching it for a while and it doesn't seem like he is a trout. Almost looks like a Ahli hybrid. Starting to get some blue coloring across his body. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for looking!


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Looks like a fryeri female.


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## mjay (Mar 11, 2015)

Im fairly certain its a male of whatever it is because it has some faint egg spots and a pointy anal fin. But your right it is kinda strange that it doesn't have more color on it considering its prolly 3.5 to 4 inches long.... indicating a possible female.


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## PhinFan1981 (Nov 15, 2014)

Egg spots dont necessarily mean male. It doesn't appear to be Fryeri to me. Maybe an un-pure Fryeri. The shape is wrong to me. It appears to be a hybrid. Fryeri are notorious for hybridization. This fish looks to have at least a trace of Dimidiochromis in it.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Does look a lot like a Freyeri/"Ahli", or at least part one. Color pattern looks funny, the fish may have been hormoned and wearing off. Wait a month or two and see what it looks like.

Fryeri hybrids are pretty common because the intense male color is a desirable trait.


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## mjay (Mar 11, 2015)

Right on. I do a have Freyeri in my tank so I always compare the two. And this Champsochromis/Dimidiochromis/Freyeri hybrid for sure has a longer body type. My dealer guy told me that when he first got him in he had a diagonal bar going across his body and didn't know what he was. In any case he let him grow out a bit (he doesn't hormone) and then eventually sold it to me. Obviously in those pics you can see that the diagonal bar is non existent anymore. Either way he's a pretty friendly fish, kinda clumsy, so ill hang on to him for a while and see what happens. Thanks for everyone's input.


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