Blue Rusty Cichlid?

[SlyPolak]

Ok, so yesterday I went to my lfs and purchased 5 Iodotropheus Sprengerae (rusty cichlid)........ picked out 5 of the healthiest specimens and hopefully all male...... when I got them home and after an hour of slow acclimation released them into my aquarium.... right after I released them I realized one of them is all blue!! NOT RUSTY AT ALL!!

I was wondering if there is a blue morph of rustys or did another kind of cichlid sneak in? Its definately not Pseudotropheus Acei or the all blue color morph because it has the rustys sloped head..... It looks a lot like Metriaclima Estherae, but I need your guys/gals help..

WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK IT IS??


sorry for the pic but its the best I could get, see the 4 rustys on the bottom left? The one I am talking about is in the top middle..

Also a short video of the blue one (CLICK TO START)


HELP

 

[Squidward]

Sorry to say it but none of them look like Rusties to me.
They should be more of a brown colour. The males will get a purplish hue when mature.

 

[SlyPolak]

Has to be the camera because they are brown, they have a purple hue to them when you look at them at a certain angle

 

[Squidward]

Has to be the camera because they are brown, they have a purple hue to them when you look at them at a certain angle

They also look like they have faint barring, which Rusties should definately not have. And the one seems to have a yellow line along the top of the dorsal fin.

Perhaps they are hybrids?

 

[SlyPolak]

I have seen tons of pictures of rustys with barring on the net, I dont see it personally only in the pic. maybe stress because I just got them yesterday. The "yellow line" you see is actually a light brown ...again I said its the camera..

If the yellow line you mention you see on the blue rusty its actually a lighter blue that shines in the flash of my cam...

 

[SlyPolak]

anyone

 

[Squidward]

I have seen tons of pictures of rustys with barring on the net, I dont see it personally only in the pic. maybe stress because I just got them yesterday. The "yellow line" you see is actually a light brown ...again I said its the camera..

If the yellow line you mention you see on the blue rusty its actually a lighter blue that shines in the flash of my cam...

Had a look in my copy of Ad Konings Malawi Cichlids.
There were no bars on the photos of the sprengerae.

 

[SlyPolak]

Thats just because they pick out the best pix out of the best stock...

Google "Iodotropheus Sprengerae" and click on images. ..you will see TONS of barred rustys... anyway they have no bars at the moment.. must of still been stressed... maybe afraid of the cam...

 

[minterno]

that fish is very like a couple that i bought 2 days ago, they were sold as Pseudotropheus socolofi but are most likely cobalt blues and im sure your right with the rustys but the other lads look like the hongi fry i nearly bought today,as you say pictures of fish are often a poor resemblance of the subject.regards

 

[SlyPolak]

After reading up a lot about Pseudotropheus socolofi I have a feeling it might be the darker variant or some places state that they are darker whn young...

 

[minterno]

After reading up a lot about Pseudotropheus socolofi I have a feeling it might be the darker variant or some places state that they are darker whn young...

 

[minterno]

the fish that were sold to me as Pseudotropheus socolofi probably are just that,i talked to another guy in the fish shop today and he said mine were nor cobalt blues but Pseudotropheus socolofi and one is a good bit darker and has some bars showing now which were not there last week prob a sexing thing.regards

 

[chishnfips]

Dont know if I am right or not but they look very similar to the pseudotropheus acei's I used to keep.

 

[SlyPolak]

Dont know if I am right or not but they look very similar to the pseudotropheus acei's I used to keep.

WELL, I have a few acei's in there and they dont look anything alike... this ones darker ,has smaller eyes, and its head is rounded at the top..(like a rusty).. my acei's have a more streamlined head.....

 

[chishnfips]

Dont know if I am right or not but they look very similar to the pseudotropheus acei's I used to keep.

WELL, I have a few acei's in there and they dont look anything alike... this ones darker ,has smaller eyes, and its head is rounded at the top..(like a rusty).. my acei's have a more streamlined head.....

The ones on the right and left I have circled dont look much like rustys either more l ike a cross with an acei, are these the ones you mean or the one bang centre in the middle?