trying to identify these tetras...

[Magnum Man]

a while back, I bought a dozen of what were supposed to be Nematobrycon lacortei ( Rainbow Emperor Tetras ), well, they came in tiny, and even a blind guy, could tell there were several varieties in the bag... about half, ended up being palmeri's, as they matured enough for me to tell... and now I can see at least two, I believe are Hyphessobrycon melanostichos ( Royal Lapis Tetras ), and I'm hoping the rest will actually be the Nematobrycon lacortei, that I actually ordered...

Do you think the top fish in these two pictures are Hyphessobrycon melanostichos???

 

[GaryE]

They could be female melanostichos - were they selling that very expensive fish? That's usually a good way to eliminate possibilities.

 

[Magnum Man]

BTW, I didn't buy these from Dan's, but I have his site linked, and his pictures are just easy to use for identification... ( of course all are GQ type male model pictures ) none of mine in this group would be this mature yet..

this is supposed to be the lacortei

this is supposed to be a melanostichos

and this a palmeri

 

[Magnum Man]

on the melanostichos I believe they are still juvenal, and they do have more color than my camera picks up

 

[GaryE]

I've kept melanostichos, and the fish catching person would be in serious trouble if the powers that be knew two of them had been sent by mistake. In general, each one would cost the same as a bag of young emperors.

There are other possibilities though. Species "blue black" looks like that too, but is rarer. Females are often a little tougher to ID. The one in the picture is portly, so that's an adult, egg filled female to me.

 

[Magnum Man]

this is her, or perhaps the other similar, ( a lot of tetras in this tank ), looking right at the camera in the center... this one looks less portly from this angle... ( the Rummy's look particularly colorful today, near the bottom )

 

[Magnum Man]

and I'm hoping this is one of the lacortei, in the center... but I've not had them before, eye color leans towards palmeri... the picture shows red eyes, not sure if that is only mature males or ???

 

[Sgooosh]

a while back, I bought a dozen of what were supposed to be Nematobrycon lacortei ( Rainbow Emperor Tetras ), well, they came in tiny, and even a blind guy, could tell there were several varieties in the bag... about half, ended up being palmeri's and I can see at least two, I believe are Hyphessobrycon melanostichos ( Royal Lapis Tetras ), and I'm hoping the rest will actually be the Nematobrycon lacortei, that I actually ordered...

Do you think the top fish in these two pictures are Hyphessobrycon melanostichos???
View attachment 371015
View attachment 371022

BTW, I didn't buy these from Dan's, his pictures are just easy to use for identification...

this is supposed to be the lacortei
View attachment 371024

this is supposed to be a melanostichos
View attachment 371025

and this a palmeri
View attachment 371027

woah, the top two are so similar. I don't keep many tetras but I'm skeptical that those are melanostichos becuase of how the black strip is thicker in the middle but in the photos of melanostichos it is thicker in the back part

 

[Magnum Man]

... and I'm OK with what I got, these came from Aqua Importers, so-were assumed wild caught, and ya get what ya get... it would be nice if I could Identify my own fish though... these have been here for 6 months or so...

 

[Sgooosh]

... and I'm OK with what I got, these came from Aqua Importers, so-were assumed wild caught, and ya get what ya get... it would be nice if I could Identify my own fish though... these have been here for6 months or so...

Oh man, do they not have a return policy or something? or is it just a risk you have to take when they're listed as wild caught?

 

[Magnum Man]

@GaryE ... the lapis may have come down in price the last couple years???
not in stock, but...

https://www.dansfish.com/product.detail/5721/Characidae-Tetras-Imperial-Lapis-Tetra-(Hyphessobrycon-melanostichos)

Imperial Lapis Tetra (Hyphessobrycon sp. 'Imperial Lapis')

The Imperial Lapis Tetra (Hyphessobrycon sp. 'Imperial Lapis'), also known as the black band tetra, the black stripe tetra, the blue blackbanded tetra, or the blue ribbon tetra, is a small species of characin native to freshwaters of South America. Growing up to 2 inches long, this is a smaller...

www.aqua-imports.com

so my bag came from aqua imports, and they have previously sold the lapis...

and as far as identifying, there is a "blue" lapis as well, that appears similar, but perhaps lacking the red fins...

Blue Lapis Tetra (Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia)

The Bahia Black Diamond Tetra or Negodagua Tetra is a relatively rare fish in the hobby, known only from tributaries of the

www.aqua-imports.com

 

[GaryE]

So you're in the ballpark now for forensic fish detective work....

Their info on cyanotaenia is wrong, as H negodagua is a different fish (I have had both). cyanotaenia is a possibility. There are a bunch of tetras, new to the hobby, that resemble each other.

You can start with a series of I think four new tetra videos from belowwater, a very credible, researched source. Therewere 4 the last time I looked.

See you in a couple of hours!

 

[Magnum Man]

off to church, before I can dig further... wow, over kill on the videos, may take days to watch all those, and better to do from work, on the computer with a bigger screen, than my phone...

 

[Back in the fold]

lacortei ? As in Rosario ?

 

[GaryE]

Yes, they were named for Rosario Lacortei, a much respected aquarium fish breeder from the States. He was a pretty amazing fish person.