# yellow lepturus vs buccochromis rhoadesii



## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

are they the same thing? if not what are the differences ? i am about to pick up a yellow lepturus but i have always wanted the rhoadesiii just have never been lucky enough to find one can anyone tell me what the difference is?








this is the lepturus i am picking up today. pls help


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

They should be the same thing. I have a B. rhoadesii that is close to a foot in my 220G hap/peacock tank. Your pick looks like a rhoadesii. It even has a little round bump on its lower lip like mine has. I think they develop it from hitting the glass a lot. They are sweet fish, not very aggressive with tons of personality. They are a very hard find. How much are you paying for him.


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm trading 15 white 1 inch calvus and 40$ for a trio of yellow lepturus.what do u think the odds of me breeding this beast?


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

It depends how big the females are. The females have to be pretty large and mature to be interested. I have 2 smaller rhoadesii about 7" in the same tank. I know for sure one is a female, the other I'm not quite sure, but there is no interest right now. I think the 2 have to grow another 2" for them to breed. I know of only one person in Texas that was able to breed them. They are not an easy species to breed.


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

Idk I'm having second thoughts now


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

They will also need a large tank at least a 75G minimum and more like a 125G. How large are the females?


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

The females are about 6 to 7 inch going in a 100 gallon all for them no other fish


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

Male is 9 inch do u thing that's a good deal?


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## Heyguy74 (Aug 11, 2005)

Saleen281 said:


> Male is 9 inch do u thing that's a good deal?


Are they wild caught fish?


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

That I'm not sure of


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

Male B. Rhoadesii's at 7-10" usually sells for $75-100. Females in the 6-7" could sell for $50-up. They are pretty rare in the USA. I happen to get lucky on my male about a year when a guy was selling all his large predator hap stock. I was looking for one for about 3 years. They rarely ever come up for sale and when they do they're gone in a heart beat. The other 2 I have that I know one is for sure a female was exported from Germany. So females are even harder to find in the USA. Wild caught or not they are about the same prices because they are so hard to find. If you have the tank space I would jump on the opportunity. A trio by themselves would be a better chance of them breeding.


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

The male is 9 inch but I don't see any egg spots on him is that normal?


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

I just noticed that. At that size he should have a lot of egg spots. Mine has a bunch. That is odd, never seen a rhoadesii that's colored up like that with no egg spots. Can you get a pic of him in a side profile with maybe some shots of the females. Then I will be able to tell if its the real rhoadessi. Females should be a yellowish coloring and not silverish.


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)




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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

this is the female
according to him


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

side shot of the male


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

Now that I can see a side profile, I believe the male is a B. spectabilis and not a B. rhoadessi. See how much blue there is along the top that extends to the tail. He also has a red dorsal fin which the spectablis carry. On a rhoadesii, the blue is only on the face and the body is a lot more yellow. The females do not show any yellow either and that is a sign that it is not a rhoadessi. Female buccos also have a dark almost black horizontal line that runs on the upper part of their body. B. spectabilis are pretty rare also in the USA so prices would be similar. Only B. nototaenia are the more common and available in the USA and are not priced as much. Here is a great website where you can compare the buccos and see how I got to my conclusion. http://auscichlids.com/forum/index.php?topic=3935.0
The no egg spots still baffle me though. Maybe some fish in the species don't have any. I'm not sure.


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## Saleen281 (Feb 22, 2012)

Great link unfortunately I will have to pass on it I was really hoping it was a rhoadesii.


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes definately not Rhoadesii. Either spectabilis or B. lepturus.


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