bolivianbaby

I was going to name my convict after a really bad criminal, but I fell in love with her, so I named her Karma. It still fits her. She's got SSSOOO much personality.

I've only had her for two or three weeks, but her colors are really starting to come in.

I think she's female because of the orange, but I would like to know for sure from you "convict experts".

Also, can anyone give me a general idea of how old she is? I know she's young, but I'd really like to give her a birthday so I can track her age over the years.

She refused to stay still when I come around the tank, so the picture's not great, but I hope it's good enough. I think she's a show-off. She knows I don't feed her more than twice a day.

Attached Images

Karma 07-11-09.jpg (115.5 KB, 45 views)

Shawnie

hi bolivianbaby......that isnt a convict they dont have spots they have stripes ...and it could be a bunch of fish...it almost looks like a juvie dempsey, green terror, or something else ...hopefully other members will have an opinion but that isnt a con

bolivianbaby

Uh, oh. She was in a tank of convicts. They said she was a baby. Cross our fingers that whatever she ends up being will be happy in a 20 gallon aquarium because I don't want to give her up. Worst case, Craigslist and re-decorating my bedroom to accomodate a larger tank.

What's really bad, this is the LFS I trust the most. Oh, boy.

Shawnie

google some green terrors, dempseys, firemouths, pearls, or cichlasoma trimaculatum..just a few....but firemouth is the closest that ive been able to find...nick goody is good with them...but she isnt a con ..but if you need some let me know LOL

bolivianbaby

Let's just say she is a firemouth. Would she be happy in a 20 gallon aquarium by herself for her entire lifespan? If so, I may just hang on to her.

She has light stripes behind her spots. I don't know if that helps identify her species.

The "other" convicts were bigger. I should not have gone after the baby.

Goodness, let's hope all of the african cichlids in the 55 I just set up are the correct species!

btate617

Not a green terrors, dempseys, firemouths, or trimac.

Looks like it has con in it, but def something else in there also.

Brian

Shawnie

im going to respectfully disagree..theres no finnage, facial or body shape/color of a con...if so, its one ive never seen..(but theres always a first for me!!)..even the jellybean cons are shaped different...but I do think it looks allot like a firemouth...

gotta love the site for all those that have a different opinion

bolivianbaby

So, you're thinking hybrid? Holy Smoke, if she is a hybrid, at least she's living up to her name-Karma.

Hopefully we can get this figure out soon. I really want to keep her. She's my little buddy. Her tank is right next to my bed. She's happy to see me, spun around in a circle when she saw me after a particularly long day. I'm seriously attached to her. When her tank light is off, if I lightly tap the glass and say her name, she comes out. She doesn't stay out for long, but I get a quick "hello human".

Nick G

Hmmm, tough one this. I definatly don't think it's a Convict, unless it's a type I've not seen before. I'd leaning towards a Firemouth, although it doesn't look quite right to me. My other guess would be a young Flowerhorn. Could you possibly get a different pic? She might look different from another angle.

btate617

The orange/red on the belly and also the yellow and blue in the anal fin are traits of a convict. Problem is most people get cons that are very washed out in color that you don't often see all the colors that a convict can show, most see a black and grey fish, when in fact it is actually a colorful fish.

A few people have said fire mouth. I just don't see it being any Thorichthys species. Thorichthys sp. have a more pointed mouth shape and a higher sloped forehead IMO.
Also the spots on a fire mouth don't extent that far forward if I am remembering correctly.

It is for sure not 100% convict. But I do think they is some convict there.

Could be a very low grade flowerhorn, but even the lower grade ones have a very high sloped forehead, so me personally I don't see that.

I would say con and possibly a Paratheraps or Cichlasoma species mixed based on the black circle spots on the body. On forsure way to know would be to know exactly where they came from. It could be lots of things, but in my opinion a hybrid of some type, but a nice looking fish for sure.

Brian

Also Shawnie...no need to respectfully disagree, we can just disagree.... no worries.

SWilkins

Well I would rule out Dempsey and it sure does not look like my convicts and my female has the orange belly and the irridescent blues/greens in her fins as well.

btate617

The only thing to me that resembles a con is the coloration, Thats where the con ends for me.

Brian

SWilkins

Is the belly always this color or does it change. My female con can change her belly color seems like with her mood to me. Sometimes she will have the orange color and then it just seems to disappear at other times.

btate617

Mine would also fade a bit. The closer to a spawn the darker the orange is what I noticed.

Brian

bolivianbaby

The orange is usually always there. Unfortunately, she'll pause for a picture and then zoom away when you click the camera. I've taken 20 pics and this is the best one that came out of them.

I'll keep trying for more pictures.

Worse case scenario-will she be fine in the 20 gallon for her entire life span? I'm really attached to her even if she is a mutt, but her care and happiness is most important to me.

Nick G

If shes a type of Con or Firemouth she'll be fine, if shes a Flowerhorn or other large Ciclid then she'll need 55gals minimum.

bolivianbaby

Here are some (hopefully) better pics. As you can tell, I'm kinda freaked out and if I can't keep her, I'd rather know now. I've really gotten attached to her.

If it helps, she has a black spot on her dorsal fin and there's some yellow coming in at the base of her tail. I'm not sure if you can see that in the pics, but maybe it will help in identifying her species.

It's fine if she is a mutt. I'm not going to breed her. I just want her happy.

Attached Images

	Karma 07-12-09.jpg (59.2 KB, 37 views)
	Karma 2 07-12-09.jpg (100.3 KB, 35 views)
	Karma 3 07-12-09.jpg (171.1 KB, 36 views)

Nick G

It's definatly not a Firemouth. Ok, I'm going to stick my neck out here. I think it's a Convict/Severum hybrid.

bolivianbaby

Does that mean she'd be good in a 20 gallon her entire life? I'm not familiar with Severums.

Shawnie

im still in aw as ive never seen cons with the 3 spots....and her body shape is more slender than a con...or at least the ones ive had.....i have pink, jelly bean, and striped cons and ive been taking pics of mine to see if im missing something LOL (my brunette moments are huge ) if I take pics, I can see them close up hahah..(old eyes also) but either way, let her grow some and see where she goes....I think she is fine in the 20 gal ...how big is she now?

bolivianbaby

I'd say she's about 1 1/2 to 2". I can handle letting her grow. She has so much personality and spunk. Who knows, life may make it where I can re-arrange furniture get her a bigger tank later on if she needs it. This is a good warning to make sure I leave room on my credit card for another tank if she gets too big for this one.

At the risk of getting too serious, fate may have put her in my hands for a reason. Since it seems she is a hybrid, she may not have been able to find a good home with someone who would research and make sure she's taken care of properly. What can I say, I like mutts

Which leads me to one more question-the cichlid food I give her is the tetra cichlid. As far as I can tell, it's for omnivores. Do you think that food will meet her nutritional needs?

Shawnie

all fish need good homes im glad shes in yours....im not familiar with tetra brand foods but im sure others might.....

I feed all my cichids hikari cichlid gold pellets (they have 3 different sizes for each fish size), kens cichlid and veggie premium flakes and spirulina ...the more fish you get, check out kens...his food is great quality and he sells in bulk for very reasonable shipping....

check this link out I highly recommend

bolivianbaby

I am going to do that Thank you. Can I freeze what I'm not going to need for a while so it stays fresh?

Shawnie

freeze flakes? ive never heard of that...is that what you are talking about LOL?

bolivianbaby

Yes, ma'm. I want to keep them fresh. How do you do it? Is the re-sealable package enough? Right now, I buy small containers, but the food you got is in larger bags. Since I only have two cichlid tanks, I'd use less food. But I really trust your judgement on foods, so I'd like to use Kens.

Shawnie

you can buy just one small bag 1/4lb of the cichlid flakes, then maybe some cichlid sticks 1/4 lb ...I pour all mine in resealable freezer bags and keep them under my fish tank..flakes would take awhile to go bad and I only order so much as I have huge fish and a few more tanks lol

hes got a ton of different foods that are great for all fish...his spirulina I got also ....there are a few members who use kens and I know my africans have colored up allot with the food

bolivianbaby

Sounds good! Thank you so much for your help and advice everyone.

btate617

Put the extra flakes in a freezer bag and freeze them. I buy 1lbs of flakes and 10lbs of pellets at a time and freeze them. I have never had a problem.

With the type of food my suggestion to anyone would be, buy the best quality food you can afford. Lots of people like Hikari amd nls, I don't use either but both are great foods. I only use xtreme cichlid diet pellets and hbh staple flake which I think both are great.

The fish is looking good, give it time and it may be more obvious what it is. Either way it seems you are prepared to make sure it has plenty of room and such. Good luck with it, it seems it is going to turn out to be a great looking fish.

Brian

SWilkins

I love to buy from Kens foods. My fish love them. The last time I bought if I ordered a pound or more it came in vacuumed sealed 1/2 pound packages for freshness. I have got to order some more spirulina pellets they all loved that. He definitely has a huge selection and it makes it hard to choose but since I have been using that as my main food there have been more eggs and babies in all tanks. I even have cory eggs after using the catfish pellets so he has my business. I would never have thought I could hatch cory eggs....fun fun fun!!!

bolivianbaby

Where are the catfish pellets listed on his website? I ordered some tropical fish flakes and two types of cichlid stuff today and I couldn't find anything for my bottom feeders.

Oh, looks like I'll have to place another order soon