The labels are mostly incorrect. Even when you buy from importers or even some breeders, they are confused.
C. Venezuelanus here This is the fish as it is when bred true or caught in the wild. It is not what is often sold under this name.
The fish known as The Blacks are
here
They are known as C. aeneus blacks and C. schultzei blacks. This confusion is due to the loss of the papers on the C. schultzei during the war so that they were later classified as aeneus, loosing their individual designation. You will find them referred to both ways.
They were line bred and the line stablized to breed true in Germany by a breeder from the what was known at the time as the C. schultzei, sometimes referred to as gold shoulder. Later the Czechs started breeding them.
They are not a naturally occuring variation as is an albino, which may show up in the wild. The Blacks have never been found in the wild, but the C. schultzei sometimes can revert to a very dark color but still with the gold shoulder. The Blacks do not have the gold shoulder.
If I have missed something or mistated something feel free to yell at me. LOL It is a very confusing area. And it is not made easer by importers and breeders who mislabel their product.
Now you can check me out by searching Ian's post here or on the Web.
