# Fish staying in cave for a long time, help identifying speci



## smellfry (Jun 3, 2013)

Hey guys, I have one fish (blue with yellow stripe on top)which stays in the caves for a significant amount of time. He's eating well, and when he's out of the cave he's always hanging out in the top two back corners of the tank. He's not getting bullied or chased around by other fish, him probably being the most dominant one himself. Is there something wrong or is it just normal behaviour which varies among fish. The other fish are all doing fine. Could it be because my nitrite levels are still high and my tank isn't fully cycled yet? Could i also get some help identifying what species he is as well as the full blue guy in the pictures as well? Many thanks.


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

Nothing wrong with hanging out in caves, he's just staking a spot. Both fish appear to be Sciaenochromis fryeri hybrids that may have been hormoned. The one that is yellow is reminiscent of Copadichromis Mloto but is too elongated and has the body shape that is more like a fryeri.


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## smellfry (Jun 3, 2013)

I've been told the yellow one is a lithobate and the blue is an ahli?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

smellfry said:


> I've been told the yellow one is a lithobate and the blue is an ahli?


Funny thats almost what I would have guessed.
The _Otopharynx lithobates_ may not be pure and looks hormoned but think the _S.fryeri_ looks OKish to me.
Oh _ahli_ is a different rare fish now. _fryeri _was imported and bred under the name _ahli_ for years before the mistake was spotted.
Both hybridise like mad (with each other and _Aulonocara sp._) so there is a lot of stuff that looks a lot like iether species about. I real can not say pure for sure but I realy see no clear sines of being hybrid. Except maybe the extra red on the _fryeri_ body and slightly deeper body and longer fins than average. Maybe someone could point the others out?

All the best James


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Oh _S.fryeri_ or _S.fryeri_ hybrids usualy dominate and often bully _lithobates_ and many _Aulonocara_.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Hybrid is not such a bad thing in an all male tank of showfish. Tend to be a bit bigger and more pushy and unpredictable than pure I find. If the lithobates like one is not pure it might be better at standing up to the "fryeri" like one for you.


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## smellfry (Jun 3, 2013)

Haha you're spot on. The fryeri is quite the bully but the other fish are holding up to him well.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Really, I think both might be hybrids.

The blue one looks like Aulonocara X Fryeri hybrid... the face is wrong.

The black and yellow one... almost looks more Copadichromis to me... wait for the hormones to wear off and see how it looks.


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

The fish with the yellow has coloration that is similar to a lithobates, but in no way looks like one. Body shape and face shape is completely off, not nearly elongated enough in the face. The coloration may simply be a coincidence.

The other fish looks very much like an Aulonocara in the face, and fryeri do not have both vertical stripes with a strong horizontal one like on this fish.


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## testeve (Sep 17, 2012)

I have a fish that is identical to the first one. I was told on this forum that it isI a very common hybrid coming in from Asia. Since getting mine almost a year ago, I now see them everywhere. I was told and agree that it is probably a protomelas spilonotus Mara rocks / freyeri hybrid. Mine has become a very beautiful fish.

The second looks like a aulonacara / freyeri hybrid to me.


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## smellfry (Jun 3, 2013)

What colour is he when he grows up


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## testeve (Sep 17, 2012)

This is what Mine looks like right now. He is about 4". He is pretty high on the pecking order (not a bully) so every once in awhile he will "display" and he gets really brilliant coloring and he loses the horizontal bar, and gets some really cool looking, but very faint, vertical bars.










This is what he looked like when I bought him about 9 months ago. 1.5".


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## smellfry (Jun 3, 2013)

He looks awesome!


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