Orange Chromide Question

[ac106]

I ordered a pair of Orange Chromides from the LFS for my 30gal brackish tank.

When i got them, they are pretty orange. Not at all like the fishbase.org pic.

They look similar to this: http/www.aquahobby.com/img/orange1.jpg

On the Brackish FAQ, it briefly refers to them as "artifical variety". Does this mean they are dyed? I hope not as i would not have ordered them if I knew.

Any one have info?

 

[chris_1127]

i had the same question when i got my first chromides - i think it was neale monks who pointed me in the right direction ie the more vivid orange fish are a tank-bred strain that have been selectively bred to be brighter orange, but the less gaudy darker fish with only the orange tips on the scales and spot halfway down the side as shown on fishbase are the wild-type. AFAIK they are not dyed though. Incidentally in breeding colours the wild type colour up far more than they do usually - mine vary from a really bright white to really dark orange, with really black ventral fins.

if you want to check for the sex of your chromides, i have been informed that females of both the wild and the tank-bred strains have a white line on the top and bottom of the caudal fin which the males lack - one of my breeding pair definitely has these lines and the other definitely lacks them, but as to whether the male and female attributuin there is correct i cant say.

 

[nmonks]

chris_1127 explained it nicely there, so not much to add. Especially important to note is that wild-type fish can change their colour dramatically. The "maculatus" part of the name means "spotted" -- wild fish have three or so dark, eye-sized patches on the top half of the body. These only become obvious when the fish are in spawning colours. Personally, I think the wild-type fish are nicer, but all orange chromides are lovely fish.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Nim]

Just to give you an Idea:
http/www.nimmat.com/coppermine/displayim...album=12&pos=25

This is a picture of the female showing the specs on the caudal fin that the male lacks. It may however take as much as 4 months for the female to develop that. Apart from their voracious appitite for plants, they are lovely fish and have a brilliant attitude. My pair has cared for the young ones for as much as 3 months and the fry were the size of a 20p coin by that time... never had any cichlid that cared for the young ones for that long.

Nim