# My Male Jade Eyed Cichlid....



## JonathanPrior (Sep 12, 2012)

Just wanted to share this pic of my prize cichlid. It certainly rules the tank, and against my best wished stole my convict cichlids mate...... But she didnt come without an epic battle. I ended up splitting them up by hand.. They locked Jaws and after about 5 minutes i had to intervene...


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## JonathanPrior (Sep 12, 2012)

Admin, could you move this to the correct section. Apologies

here is the convict that he was battling with too


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Your first picture is no doubt a male convict cichlid; somewhat older then your other male convict in the second picture.

Jade eyed cichlid is a common name of Cryptoheros spilirum. Blue eyed cichlid is another common name. These common names refer to the blue eye of C. spilirum...your fish does not have blue eyes.

The y-bar is a characteristic of the convict cichlid; a trait that C. spilirum does not pocess. While most convicts have an incomplete y-bar, it is not so unusual for many aquarium strain convicts to pocess a fully connected y-bar. A lot of variation exists in the striping of aqaurium strain convicts. Never the less the striping is most certainly that of a convict; not C. spilirum.

Your fish pocessess the characteristic blotch at the top of the gill plate. A trait that is fairly peculiar to the convict cichlid amongst Cryptoheros/Archoecentrus species (Only A. centrarchus typically exhibits a somewhat similar blotch, and your fish most definately looks nothing like A. centrarchus).


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## JonathanPrior (Sep 12, 2012)

I didn't realise convicts came in different color months. Cool. Cheers.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

JonathanPrior said:


> I didn't realise convicts came in different color months.


I take it, you meant color morphs. Not so much the reason for the coloration differences between your male cons.....yes their are 'pink' cons, marbled cons and many distinctly different looking regional variants from the wild. But the differences in 'look' between regular aquarium strain convicts generally have most to do with the fact that they carry a wide range of genetic variation and as well, the differences in mood/state/status, as well as age/developement.

Here's a few pics of a male I had over the course of a few years, to illistrate differences in the 'look' of the same fish over time:
2007http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z116/Bern-C/IMG_2002-1.jpg
2008http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z116/Bern-C/nov292008125gal1004.jpg
2009http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z116/Bern-C/100_1101-1.jpg
2010http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z116/Bern-C/7b40.jpg


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## JonathanPrior (Sep 12, 2012)

Wow that's some change. I see what your saying. Thanks again.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Just curious if the greenish color of the fish on the picture is actually an accurate reflection of what the fish really looks like in person....I guess I am sort of assuming it has more to do with lighting and the flash of the camera. Greenish color over the body is NOT typically a convict trait. Might indicate that the fish is a hybrid (?). No doubt if the fish is not 'pure', it aprears to be primarily convict. Though with most convict hybrids, convict traits tend to be quite dominant.

The only 'greenish' colored Cryptoheros/Archoecentrus that I know of is a strain of C. spilirum. I'm speculating, but if your fish is a Convict X C. spilirum hybrid, I supose that may be how it got labled a jade eyed cichlid, after one of it's parents. The only other trait I see, besides greenish color, that might indicate C. spilirum as one of it's parents, is it's mouth. (A top lip over hanging the bottom lip is not a typical convict trait, either).


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## JonathanPrior (Sep 12, 2012)

the color in the photo is accurate. that's why i never thought it was a convict. The LFS did have it down as a jade eyed, but it was a returned fish, so that's probably what they were told.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

The first fish is a Honduran Red Point (HRP) x Convict hybrid. I looks just like a female I had. You can see in yours and mine, that the body type is different then the Con. Con is taller and bulkier and the HRP is longer and more slender.










....Bill


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

MonteSS said:


> The first fish is a Honduran Red Point (HRP) x Convict hybrid.


It certainly could be that. That is one possibility I seriously considered. Might explain it's odd looking mouth.

But i'm not too sure the 'greenish' coloration on the body really fits, as well it lacks the reddish-orange coloration on the fins that you might expecton on a male con X HRP. At least from looking at pics and video of MonteSS's con X HRP, the resemblence is not so obvious.


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## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Ya no one really knows with hybrids. The blue female above has absolutely no red in her fins/tail.

She was sold to me as an "Electric Blue Convict".

Lets just call them "pretty blue fish"

....Bill


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