# Identifying new fish!!! Supposed to be Electric Blue Ahli



## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

Here is a photo of my 2 new ahlis... I do not believe that one of them is an Electric Blue Ahli. Can anyone give me an idea of what the one that is NOT an Ahli is????? Wasn't sure if I should post this here on on the Lake Malawi board since it does involve what I believe is a different kind of fish. Sorry if I posted in the wrong place. Thanks for any help!!!! I paid a lot of money for these fish and they are supposed to be the same kind. I bought each one at a different place and I'm not happy with the lighter colored one as it doesn't look like the fish I lost and the dark one does.

Thanks,

Kathy
witamygreatdanes

Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:34 pm
Location: Madison, WI


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

The left one might well be Otopharynx lithobates, which is a nice Hap, and he isn't "Ahli"/Fryeri. The pic is not clear enough for to be sure.

Unfortunately stores will sell hybrid mixes, so it can be confusing, as well as mislabeling fish. Maybe the just said it's blue, they are all the "same" anyway.

On the good side it is GOOD that you have two different species. You don't want to have two male "Electric Blue Haps" AKA "Ahli" or Fryeri unless you have a big tank.


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## ChoxRox (Sep 8, 2011)

In regards to the left one-- My Fryeri has only a yellow anal fin. I'm not sure if this is important, but it may point to a hybrid.


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

Is it possible for the S. Ahli, Fryeri, Electric Blue Ahli, whatever you want to call them, to have YELLOW on them anywhere? Do they get yellow spots on their lower rear fin if they are males??? I don't know enough about them to know these things, but I do know that the one that is dark blue in my photo has NO yellow anywhere... Is he, in fact, the Electric Blue Ahli!!! That is the one that I wanted and what I thought he was supposed to look like. Now that being said, I do have what I was told is an ACEI that is blue with Yellow fins, is that the common name for the Otopharynx lithobates???? If not, what is the common name for the fish so I can look it up and see what it looks like. I don't always find the right fish using the scientific name or maybe I do and I just don't have the right fish. Sheesh this is so confusing.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

witamygreatdanes said:


> Is it possible for the S. Ahli, Fryeri, Electric Blue Ahli, whatever you want to call them, to have YELLOW on them anywhere? Do they get yellow spots on their lower rear fin if they are males??? I don't know enough about them to know these things, but I do know that the one that is dark blue in my photo has NO yellow anywhere... Is he, in fact, the Electric Blue Ahli!!! That is the one that I wanted and what I thought he was supposed to look like. Now that being said, I do have what I was told is an ACEI that is blue with Yellow fins, is that the common name for the Otopharynx lithobates???? If not, what is the common name for the fish so I can look it up and see what it looks like. I don't always find the right fish using the scientific name or maybe I do and I just don't have the right fish. Sheesh this is so confusing.


In your photo above, the darker fish on the right is more typical of an "Electric Blue Ahli" - which is the common name for Sciaenochromis fryeri. There is also a Sciaenochromis ahli, but these are less common than the fryeri. The fryeri will be a dark blue color, usually with a metallic sheen on the jaw, and a white blaze on the dorsal fin that may extend down to it's head. The anal fin is usually a shade of red or orange, with a couple of collection points having an almost yellow anal fin (yellow egg spots are also seen occasionally, but the commonly seen fish in the hobby rarely have them). Darker vertical barring is not uncommon, but usually fades as the fish matures. Yours is most definitely a male - females are dull gray to brown, not blue.

The fish on the left in your photo above is in my opinion more likely a Protomelas sp. "Spilonatus Tanzania" (or a hybrid there of), rather than an Otopharynx lithobates. Your fish has yellow ventral and anal fins with a bit of yellow shading on the belly, as well as a white blaze on the dorsal. If this was a lithobates, you would expect the lower fins to be blue and the dorsal blaze to be yellow or orange. Compare yours to this one and see if it looks similar -http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1239.

Pseudotropheus acei is a completely separate species, not to be confused with either of the fish in your photo above.


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

OMG!! YES! Thank you. He does look more like the fish in the link that you included than my ACEI. I just couldn't figure it out. I didn't really think he was an ACEI as I do have 3 of those, I will post photos of those later. But he is most definitely NOT the S. fryeri (Ahli). And, my darker one, you think IS an S. Fryer (Ahli). That is good news about the yellow eggs on the anal fin as I have another one (Ahli) that is with 3 females and HE has those yellow eggs.. That was going to be and may still be my NEXT photo as He also resembles what I thought the S. Fryeri should look like EXCEPT that he does have those yellow eggs in his anal fin.

Soooo, that being said, is this other fish, the Spilonatus Tanzania anything special? He definitely is not what I was trying to purchase and I can tell he is not nearly as aggressive as my Ahli (which is his name also) chases him almost mercilessly.

Tho, one thing I noticed that you said in regard to the S. Fryeri (Ahli) is that the anal fin is usually a shade of red or orange and neither the Ahli that I lost or the one in the photo has that. Is that something that comes with age or do some just not have it? I actually perfer the darker fins myself and no orange or red or eggs. 

Thanks for all your info. This is an amazing forum.


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## ChoxRox (Sep 8, 2011)

IMO, you still need a clearer pic of the one on the right for a more confident ID


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

Thanks I appreciate that, but he looks just like the Ahli I had before so I am pretty confident the dark one is the Ahli/s.fryeri


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

How big are these fish?


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

witamygreatdanes said:


> Soooo, that being said, is this other fish, the Spilonatus Tanzania anything special? He definitely is not what I was trying to purchase and I can tell he is not nearly as aggressive as my Ahli (which is his name also) chases him almost mercilessly.
> 
> Tho, one thing I noticed that you said in regard to the S. Fryeri (Ahli) is that the anal fin is usually a shade of red or orange and neither the Ahli that I lost or the one in the photo has that. Is that something that comes with age or do some just not have it? I actually perfer the darker fins myself and no orange or red or eggs.
> 
> Thanks for all your info. This is an amazing forum.


Well, the Protomelas "Spilonatus Tanzania" is a Malawi hap, so it requires a carnivorous diet and room to swim - kind of like your fryeri. You may have noticed on the profile page that they typically get much larger than the fryeri, though - like 8"-10". If your tank is smaller than a 6' long 125 gallon, then you may want to reconsider keeping him.

Also, as I pointed out before, the fryeri _usually_ have red or orange anal fins, sometimes yellow, sometimes with egg spots - but there are some that do have blue ones, too. After these fish have been bred in aquariums for so many generations, often the characteristics that differentiate one collection point from another get blurred and blended. So you can say that you are certain the fish is an S. fryeri, but you couldn't say it is the species from say Maleri Island, Cape Maclear, or Lupingu - if that makes sense.


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

yes, thank you!


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

right now, about 3-4 inches I would say! I'm not keeping the lighter one. I specifically wanted the blue Ahli so I'm taking him back to get the right kind.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

witamygreatdanes said:


> right now, about 3-4 inches I would say! I'm not keeping the lighter one. I specifically wanted the blue Ahli so I'm taking him back to get the right kind.


you already have one Electric Blue Hap... you don't want two males.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

noki said:


> witamygreatdanes said:
> 
> 
> > right now, about 3-4 inches I would say! I'm not keeping the lighter one. I specifically wanted the blue Ahli so I'm taking him back to get the right kind.
> ...


Agreed. Multiple males of the same species usually leads to constant fighting. What kind of set up are you going for anyway - all-male or breeding groups?


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

I have one breeding group of Ahli's one male and three females.... I was hoping to have my tanks mostly male fish, except the one.


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## ChoxRox (Sep 8, 2011)

witamygreatdanes said:


> I have one breeding group of Ahli's one male and three females.... I was hoping to have my tanks mostly male fish, except the one.


If they're a breeding group, why not just let them breed and pull a male from their fry?


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## Storiwyr (Apr 24, 2012)

The one tank, or the one species?


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## witamygreatdanes (Sep 2, 2012)

OH! Also, they will be in different tanks.  I have one tank that has the (potential) breeding group, tho those fish are a bit freaky!! Scared of their own shadow to be honest.. Then I have 2 other all male tanks and a tank with my oscars. I am currently looking for reasonably priced larger tanks for the last three groups of fish. I will have a 150 by later this week to put my Oscars in and then a 75 for one group, but will still need one bigger than 55 tank for the last group. 

The tank with the Ahli in it has 2 male Electric Blue Johanni, 1 German Red, 2 acei, and 2 blue sparkly fish I have yet to identify. All fish are under 4 " right now which is why I am looking for bigger tank.

The other group that I want an Ahli in has 3 Yellow Labs, 2 Red Zebras (someone explain this to me please as these fish are ORANGE w/NO stripes) 2 Electric Blue Johanni, 1 ACEI and the S. Tanzania (which I have still not decided whether I am keeping or not).

Then I have moved the females that were causing all kinds of problems to a separate tank until I can find somewhere to take them.

Last tank 4 Oscars.
That's it!


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## ChoxRox (Sep 8, 2011)

witamygreatdanes said:


> 2 Red Zebras (someone explain this to me please as these fish are ORANGE w/NO stripes)


It's just a trade name. They usually don't mean much.


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