# Need Peacock ID



## davegius (Nov 27, 2007)

I just bought this fish recently and want to make sure that I can get a positive id here to match the one that it was sold to me as.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc17 ... 010631.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc17 ... 010642.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc17 ... 010627.jpg


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## sjlchgo (Mar 2, 2008)

Sciaenochromis fryeri "Electric Blue Hap"....I have one also. http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/c ... lueHap.php

The Electric Blue Hap is easy to care for as long as they are not overfed, and the water conditions and tank set up is to their liking. Do not look at the silver colored female and discard the idea of having this fish for a pet. They readily breed and the fry are easy to raise. The brilliant blues of the male more than make up for the lack of color of the females, plus the females are handsome fish in their own right. In fact some females can eventually develop a faded light blue coloring when mature.

The Electric Blue Hap is moderately aggressive and predatory. It will eat any fish small enough to consume. Provide a minimum 55 gallon aquarium that is at least 4 feet long (though 6 feet long is best). Keep one male with several females, 4 or more to prevent spawning stress. They can be housed with other Haplochromis and peaceful Mbuna. They cannot be kept with Peacock Cichlids (Aulonocara species) as the male will kill all Peacock males and hybridize with the females.

Other common names or different spellings these fish are known by are the Electric Blue and Hap Ahli. There are over 200 Haplochromis in Lake Malawi. They are different from the Mbuna (means rock) in the way that they prefer open swimming areas where the rocks meet the sand. The Electric Blue Hap seems to be right in the middle, preferring rocky areas. They hide in the caves or cracks of the rocks looking for small fish to eat. With all the different varieties that have been developed in captivity they are not often found in their pure form. There is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer. Try and keep the different species blood lines pure.

Be careful not to mix up this fish with its very close relative, Sciaenochromis ahli. The S. ahli is also commonly called 'Electric Blue Hap' as well as Ahli and Haplochromis Electric Blue. These male coloring of these two species is very similar in appearance but the S. ahli gets much larger. While the species described here reaches about 6" in length, the S. ahli reaches almost 8" (20 cm) and will require a bigger aquarium.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

sjlchgo said:


> Sciaenochromis fryeri "Electric Blue Hap"....I have one also. http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/c ... lueHap.php
> 
> Be careful not to mix up this fish with its very close relative, Sciaenochromis ahli. The S. ahli is also commonly called 'Electric Blue Hap' as well as Ahli and Haplochromis Electric Blue. These male coloring of these two species is very similar in appearance but the S. ahli gets much larger. While the species described here reaches about 6" in length, the S. ahli reaches almost 8" (20 cm) and will require a bigger aquarium.


what was this fish sold as? could be a hybrid.

sjlchgo... you info about the S. ahli seems confused. The true Ahli is not a common fish whatsoever in the hobby (few people have even seen them), and the males do not get as blue reportedly. All fish sold as "Electric Blue Hap" or "Electric blue Ahli" are S. fryeri (unless they are hybrids, which are common nowadays  )


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## davegius (Nov 27, 2007)

The fish was sold as Aulonocara kandeense . It was purchased at an auction. The fish just looks like it has more blue than the pictures on this site and I wanted to be sure.

Thanks


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

davegius said:


> The fish was sold as Aulonocara kandeense . It was purchased at an auction. The fish just looks like it has more blue than the pictures on this site and I wanted to be sure.
> 
> Thanks


certainly not A. kandeense! Head shape is wrong as well as color being way off.

maybe Aulonocara X Fryeri hybrid


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## sjlchgo (Mar 2, 2008)

It's commonly called "Hap" or Electric blue Hap"...If you look at say...Petsmart..it would probably be under "Assorted African's". Yes, it is a hybrid...


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## davegius (Nov 27, 2007)

Oh well, I didnt get a chance to look at him very closely before the auction. Although there were several bags of them and this was at the recent GCAS auction...thought they had a strict no hybrid policy, may need to be reporting someone :fish:


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## tyrone (Mar 20, 2003)

There's nothing wrong with him. He is a pure Sciaenochromis Fryeri. Maybe he was labelled wrong thats it.


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