White Cichlids- ..whats Their Breed?

[-Dayz-]

Hi, I braught these white cichlids as an impuls buy..(norty i know) but it was only $19.90 for all 3 and it was 1female (3-3.5cm) and 2males (5-6cm). anyway he listed them as U.S White Parrots.. i can find nothing on us whites so im thinking they are not that. he said he had a hard time getting a name on them as people kept saying they are just white convicts but after they had a look in person they then said sorry i was wrong i dont know what they are..

They have had 2 spawns but with the number of fish in my tank ATM the fry didnt stand a chance with my sneeky Sevs just around the corner...and my red jewels around the other corner MWAHAHAHA!! (thats what the Severums and jewels would say.. i want the fry so im going to wait till they have eggs next time and put them into a seperation tank)

i have taken a few pics of the males and female (sorry if they are to big.. im new at uploading...)

larger male #1

#1

#1

#1

can see his head bump better

this is male #2

#2

#2 and you can see the tiny female

#2 and female

and this is the little female

 

[KittyKat]

Look like a cross between parrots and something else. Not sure why, but I have convicts ringing bells at the back on my head.

That yellow lab of yours needs quite different conditions compared to the rest of your fish, you should make sure he has a more suitable home.

 

[-Dayz-]

Look like a cross between parrots and something else. Not sure why, but I have convicts ringing bells at the back on my head.

That yellow lab of yours needs quite different conditions compared to the rest of your fish, you should make sure he has a more suitable home.

They are def xbreeds and i have not seen any befor (the pics make their mouth look long but they are rounded fish, which are very stoky!!)

an the 2 Electric Yellows seam to love being in this tank, they are out in the open and explore the gaps in the rocks, not hideing in the ship and actualy come out right to the top to get food
but they are only in this tank due to the earthquakes we have been having (not sure if you have seen it on the news but its New Zealands earthquales im on about) anyway, all of my tanks had to get a re-arrange

 

[helterskelter]

Thats a white convict cichlid.

 

[-Dayz-]

Thats a white convict cichlid.

Many people that I have talked to are thinking they are not just white convicts. We have white convicts here in NZ and these don’t look like them. Someone that I have been talking to has suggested that they could be balloon convicts

 

[helterskelter]

ballon is possible, these are also known as jelly bean in convict's

 

[KittyKat]

an the 2 Electric Yellows seam to love being in this tank, they are out in the open and explore the gaps in the rocks, not hideing in the ship and actualy come out right to the top to get food
but they are only in this tank due to the earthquakes we have been having (not sure if you have seen it on the news but its New Zealands earthquales im on about) anyway, all of my tanks had to get a re-arrange

It is not a matter of how they are acting now, but a matter of how it affects their health throughout their whole life.

 

[humdedum]

My guess would be jellybean convicts. Here's a dwarf jellybean convict:

And it does look a bit similar to your fish, except of course smaller. Bur darn! My first thought when I looked at your photos was PARROT.

 

[-Dayz-]

an the 2 Electric Yellows seam to love being in this tank, they are out in the open and explore the gaps in the rocks, not hideing in the ship and actualy come out right to the top to get food
but they are only in this tank due to the earthquakes we have been having (not sure if you have seen it on the news but its New Zealands earthquales im on about) anyway, all of my tanks had to get a re-arrange

It is not a matter of how they are acting now, but a matter of how it affects their health throughout their whole life.

can someone please tell me why they can not be in this tank? as i have read up on them and they like to have hideing places (yes i have rocks all through this tank) with open areas for swimming (the pics show the open space) they like large tanks which my tank is 200L, the substrate is crushed coral (which they like) i put plants, live mozy larva and veges in the tank for all the fish (which they all so need in their diet) and they are even showing signs of wanting to breed

if you are thinking its because the "balloon convicts" or jewels will pick on them then no as they have been living together for the last 2ish months and i have seen stressed fish before (i have had tropicals for many many years now)


dont think that this is a permanent home! (as please read carefully as i mentioned that their tank got destroyd in the earthquake we had and it was a choice between main cichlid tank, guppy tank, goldfish tanks, axolotl tank or or pond.. so this was the only thing i could do otherwise they would still be on the floor flapping around) as it is we are still haveing quakes with 1 lastnight being a 5.3 which took out power all over town (wrap my tanks to keep warm)

I am awaiting on a tank for them but the people dont want to move it with the shaking (they have it very well stored so they will deliver it in a few months)


Anyway, this post is about the whites not the 2 yellows

 

[-Dayz-]

My guess would be jellybean convicts. Here's a dwarf jellybean convict:

And it does look a bit similar to your fish, except of course smaller. Bur darn! My first thought when I looked at your photos was PARROT.

Haha, dont worry your not the first who has said parrot lol
im going to keep an eye on them and see if they grow any bigger

and i must say they have some big redish looking teeth!

 

[Athena]

Hi - just noticed your post. From the pics these fish look like Short Bodied Pink Convicts. I have 3 tanks dedicated to them at the moment. Here's a pic of one of my males:

[/img]

If yours are SBPCs then they don't grow very big - the males are larger than the females and tend to be roughly 3" at fully mature size (give or take a bit as they all vary slightly).

Although they are small, they are still very much convicts in every other aspect...so be prepared for some feisty territorial sparring. Personally, I found they didn't make good community fish because no matter what the size of other tankmates the SBPCs always ruled the roost and can become quite aggressive especially when they have spawned or when fry have hatched. This is why I have stuck with species only tanks for them.

They definitely need their own hidey hole/cave surrounded by plenty of shelter (e.g. plants/rocks) to act as a kind of shield against other tankmates. Tall plants are good at creating a natural division, otherwise if they spot another fish even on the other side of the tank they are likely to charge at it to warn it off, before zooming back to their nest. Oh and re the plants...after wasting endless amounts of money on live plants only to have them uprooted, shredded, moved around and destroyed, I finally gave up and have resolved to using fake plants in their tanks now (the soft silky ones are good, although I do have a few good plastic ones in there too). They still drag them around the tank but at least the plants can't die LOL

Not too sure that crushed coral is a good choice of substrate as it can be quite sharp and these fish do love to dig around in the substrate, moving it around, building little mountains of it around their nest (they like to lay their eggs on the bare glass or on a similar flat surface), so keep an eye on their mouths they they aren't becoming sore from the crushed coral. Sand or medium size smooth gravel is probably a better option.

Sometimes they do look similar to other fish - you will know for sure if, in a few months time, they have not grown much. The smallest female I have is just one and a half inches (fully grown). I didn't know what they were when I bought them years ago as they were labelled as Pink Severums... it was only when I tried researching them that I discovered the truth. The LFS lady insisted the initial pair I bought would grow huge LOL.

Someone on these forums explained to me that they are not short bodied due to being a hybrid, as they are not hybrids but rather they have a missing gene that makes them short bodied and pale. A bit like dwarfism in humans, they are still humans, but just short. You might find more info by Googling. Anyway, whatever the reasons for their size, they are gorgeous, entertaining, beautiful fish.

I just love them!

I could drone on and on about them but I won't bore you with my endless chat LOL. If you want any more info, let me know. Of course, this is presuming they are definitely SBPCs.

Athena

 

[Athena]

Just to show you some of the fry - 1 month old. (They are 3 yrs old now LOL)

[/img]

 

[EdgeDs]

They do look a lot like Jelly Beans too me tbh

 

[Athena]

They do look a lot like Jelly Beans too me tbh

The term "Jellybean" is a nickname that arose due to the blood parrot cichlids (hybrids) being dyed various bright colours (like sweets). Somehow the nickname has confused people and they are now labelling similar looking cichlids with this name. SBPCs are not parrot cichlids. Parrots are believed to be a cross of severum and midas/red devil. SBPCs are convicts (although I'm sure cons have bred with other cichlids to produce many other varieties).

I've also read comments on the net from people who believe these little guys are the offspring of a Blood Parrot and a convict. Well I've also seen photos of fry-to-adults produced by that cross of fish and they do not look anything like the SBPCs.

Also, Blood Parrots have that very prominent "beaky" nose - whereas SBPCs don't have that.

"Jellybean" is a very obscure label tbh and one that I prefer not to use as it's so ambiguous. Short bodied cons are not hybrids, as such, they are just missing the gene that makes them grow as large as standard pink cons. A missing gene or two doesn't make something a hybrid. Hybrids are a cross of species.

I've read some comments about SBPCs being deformed versions of standard cons, but that's a bit unfair really as they are not exactly deformed, just smaller. What's wrong with being smaller LOL

I think a lot of LFS staff label things incorrectly and SBPCs do cause some confusion. I think when the LFS are in doubt they just refer to them as jellybeans LOL.

Have you seen my video clip on the forum? I put it in the members photos/videos section.

Regards, Athena