Can you identify this fish?
Fancy picking your brains and helping a supplier work out what they've caught?
What am I?
New aquatic importer AquaMart have contacted us with details of this potentially new fish that one of their suppliers have collected in Columbia.
Phil Jones, Managing Director of AquaMart sent us this email this morning:
"I have pictures coming from South America, including the attached picture of a cichlid from Leticia in Columbia but we cannot identify it."
"We think its a Mesonauta species and apparently it has great red colouration."
"Maybe you could put it in as a mystery fish if someone could name it?"
What we think
Editor in Chief Matt Clarke and I have had a quick look at the fish in the photo and think it looks like a Hypselecara - a Chocolate cichlid - possibly H.temporalis.
Chocolate cichlids also display red colouration over the dark brown.
Either way the fish pictured is in fright colouration so it is hard to tell, but what do you think?
Jeremy Gay: Wed September 16, 2009, 1:19 pmViews: This entry has been read 4,665 times.
12 comments on: Can you identify this fish?
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"Shame it's not a picture of the fish in water - it's very hard to see the colouration. I can certainly see where the Mesonauta ID comes from, same with the Hypselecara temporalis. It's the mouth shape and length of pelvic fins that are making me unsure of Matt's ID - that and it's not a brown catfish......."
Posted by: Bob Mehen - 2 months agoDate: Thursday September 17th, 2009, 10:26 am
"Looks like a Hypselecara to me also, not sure of species."
Posted by: Pete Liptrot - 2 months agoDate: Thursday September 17th, 2009, 12:13 pm
"Hoplarchus species possibly (True Parrot Cichlid)"
Posted by: Robert Willcocks - 2 months agoDate: Thursday September 17th, 2009, 2:43 pm
"Looks like Hypselecara coryphaenoides to me. "
Posted by: James Lacey - 2 months agoDate: Thursday September 17th, 2009, 4:35 pm
"The distribution of coryphaenoides does better suit the catch location in Columbia, than temporalis."
Posted by: Jeremy Gay - 2 months agoDate: Friday September 18th, 2009, 9:17 am
"Col-o-mbia, please....
My first instinct was that it was closer to coryphaenoides, but it doesn't look especially big yet is still deep-bodied. All the coryphaenoides I've seen at the apparent size of this one were quite slender."
Date: Monday September 21st, 2009, 12:09 pm
"Such a shame we cannot see if it has an ocellus...
Looks to me very unlike Hypselecara... having kept both Temporalis and Coryphaenoides.
The latter is slightly more elongate than the specimen in the picture.
it certainly is not Hoplarchus Psittacus.
My betting was Mesonauta of some sort. Judging by the stress stripes, however the lack of Ocellus puts that idea in question.
Caquetaia Kraussii is a possibility given the catch location.
"
Date: Wednesday September 23rd, 2009, 1:44 pm
"Chaetobranchopsis orbicularis?
"
Date: Wednesday September 23rd, 2009, 1:46 pm
"The mouth is way too large and in the wrong place to be a Mesonauta.
They are usually a very recognisable genus.
"
Date: Wednesday September 23rd, 2009, 2:14 pm
"Thats what I was thinking with regards Hypselecara. Mouth position and head shape doesnt seem quite right.
"
Date: Wednesday September 23rd, 2009, 3:15 pm
"I have a feeling its a port cichlid or a devil fish"
Posted by: Sean Beech - 3 days, 1 hour agoDate: Tuesday November 17th, 2009, 9:01 pm
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"I feel it could well be H. temporalis, although it is not the best of photos, If you happen to get another pic of this fish could you please post it?"
Posted by: John Mccready - 2 months agoDate: Wednesday September 16th, 2009, 2:12 pm