Frontosas And Featherfins

[Artee]

Have following for sale:

moba frontosas- ranging from 1.25" to 5" different batches.

Cyatopharynx foai(moliro green marble) ranging from 1.25" to 6" different batches.

PM or email for prices.

location: Falls church, VA.
email: artee888@yahoo.com

 

[Charlutz]

I want to vouch for Robert's fish. I have a dozen of the featherfins and the males are starting to color up very nicely. There is a pic of a fully colored male moliro green marble in the photo gallery at cichlidlovers.com. It's listed as a furcifer, but Robert and I have talked about this and think it probably should be a foai, based on the darker coloring and marbling.

 

[Artee]

Thanks, Charlie.

Any breeding on the featherfins ?

 

[longstocking]

darker coloring and marbling isn't a way to ID these fish.

It's the location in the water column where they are collected that decides the ID.

I have furcifer... a different variant that has the darker coloration and marbling. They are still furcifer.

This link might help a bit.... http://www.duboisi.com/forum/viewtopic.php...ht=green+marble

 

[Charlutz]

No breeding yet, Robert. I have three males that are starting to show some decent color, but just a little bit of digging. My tank has two open sand beds with a big rockpile in the middle. One has a definite territory scoped out. The other two stay closer to the other sand bed, but they all spend a great deal of time grazing algae on the rock pile. I think the second sand bed has too much current into it from my sump return. I am in the process of replumbing my sump, so I'll redirect the flow this week.

Sarah, I read somewhere that the darker color was consistent with the fish that live deeper -- so the foai typically are darker and found deeper. There are so many different variants and not too many people keep them, not to mention them being difficult to photograph. Hard to tell what people have.

 

[longstocking]

I think Robert got them from either Atlantis or Tom?


If so, they are furcifer.

Edit: Yes, it is true.... foai are found deeper. BUT, there are furcifer that are deeper in color ( they are found inbetween the water column where foai and furcifer are found). One of those being moliro. The farther you go up the coast on that side of the lake it tends to happen more.

 

[Charlutz]

I believe Robert got them from cichlidlovers, but he can confirm. Is that "Tom?"

I took a look at that thread and see it was from 2003. My impression was that the reclassification into furcifer/foai was more recent than that, but I don't know for sure. I only thought they were foai because of the darker color and marbling, and the only information I saw on the difference identified foai as being darker, marbled and living deeper. That's why I concluded the Moliro green marbles were foai, given the marbling and black fins. If mine color up like that one in the picture, I'll let other people decide what to call them and not give it a second thought! :smashfreakB:

Like the reclassification of other species, it seems to me the names are still evolving. I'm no scientist by any stretch, but I think it would be pretty hard to separate two species (not merely a color or location variant) based only on depth of habitat. It just seems like there should be more.

 

[longstocking]

If they are from cichlid lovers... they are also furcifer.

Not that I am anyone..... but I would really advize not changing the names they are sold as... that's how hybrids start in the hobby. Let the collectors do it ! As the location of your fish ... have foai and furcifer breedeing side by side. BUT.... they aren't sure which is which. Konings, I think at least, decided to name your fish furcifer. There is a clear difference in coloring in the males of each species but there needs to be more research done to figure out which is which.

This might be a topic to pull Konings aside after the meeting and ask him about.....

If you look on page 187 of his 3rd addition.... you can tell he's also a bit uncear in this location.


The way it stands now....there is no way of knowing.

 

[Charlutz]

When asked I give as much history as I can "sold as furcifer, but they seem to have the coloring of foai." I agree we shouldn't do anything that would lead to hybrids. Didn't appreciate it as a danger in this case as the only sources I've seen for these fish are cichidlovers/Robert and where I would go if I needed more.

 

[longstocking]

There are actually quite a few out there....

I know of 3 sources that had/has this fish.

TONS of hobbyists have this fish as well. So it's a BIG danger.


If I showed most people this picture....

Most would say foai... wouldn't you agree?

They aren't ! These aren't your fish... just showing you an example that there are huge variations in these fish. Untill they decide what the heck these fish are... I'm not touching the name.