ID please

[Ricardo Fonseca]

Got these Tropheus a while back and tey're now breeding. Can someone ID them please:



























I know it's a lot of photos, but I also know that any detail can make a difference so I gave many perspectives...

Thanks

[Klaus Steinhaus]

Ricardo, I am pretty sure that you got yourself a nice group of Tropheus sp. "Chimba".

[Philippe Burnel]

not red enough for Chimba.

Maybe Moliro or cachese ???

http://burnel.club.fr/Photos/Tropheus_red.html

[James Shingler]

I think because I see no individual showing clear adult male colouration, its prob too early to say for sure.
So many Sp Red just look too similar when young to me for me to be sure.
I favour Cachese/Kachese (GKs) or Sumbu (at the moment)
Or even Cape Nundo the "Golkden Chisanse" because of the lack of red on the lower operculum.

A loverly group whatever they are.
What size are they now?
That info might help.

[Ricardo Fonseca]

Thank you all, I'll try to post some new pics of the fish since they're now breeding... Maybe with new photos you can help me.

[Ricardo Fonseca]

When those pics where taken they were about 7 to 9 cm TL, the biggest ones I have, right now, are about 12 cm TL, and de smaller ones about 8cm TL.

I'm really interested in ID them because they're supposed to be F0, and I hate having wild fish missidentified.

Thank you all for your help

[Paulo José Alves]

Hi Ricardo

I would bet strongly on Cachese. However I don´t think it´s possible to give a 100% assurance of what it is. It´s strange that who sold you the fish told you that they were wild but couldn´t tell you the population.

[Klaus Steinhaus]

Ricardo, I am still pretty sure that you got yourself a nice group of Tropheus sp. "Chimba". That is exactly what they look like at about as young adults.

Good luck

[Ricardo Fonseca]

Hi Klaus, thanks...

... my options were

Chilangas, Chilambas and maybe Kashese... now you throw Chimbas and I'm going crazy!

[Ricardo Fonseca]

Some more photos:













... in these photos you can see the different mood colorations, but the redish one is the dominant... he's the only one that gets that red when fired up!

Cheers

[James Shingler]

Cape Nundo I think.
But I have never seen them in the flesh just going by Schupke Aqualog book so I may well be wrong.
The overall green body with red dorsal and red spots on the ventral all seem right to me.
Not sure what colour fired up males of Cape Nundo go (if its as red as that) because the book does not say.

I guess there is also a chance that they may not all be from the same location.
I do not understand why this info should be lost by a good catching team and exporter.

[RayQ]

The more that I look at the pics, I just want to say Moliro, that was my first instinct when I saw the pics and I keep comming back to it. I guess that we all see something a little different

Ray

[James Shingler]

Chilanga is another ????? Schupke says it is similar to Chimba.

[Klaus Steinhaus]

Cape Nundo I think.
But I have never seen them in the flesh just going by Schupke Aqualog book so I may well be wrong.
The overall green body with red dorsal and red spots on the ventral all seem right to me.
Not sure what colour fired up males of Cape Nundo go (if its as red as that) because the book does not say.

James, here are some pictures of my "Cape Nundo".





If you refer to Peter Schupkes book, go to page 147 and compare.

[James Shingler]

Hi Klaus, are you still convinced they are Chimba ?
Must say they do look like the photos
eg
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1902
Just I seem to remember when I had em years ago much more red and a generally darker colour on both adults and juveniles.
But then mine could well have been unusual or poorly remembered.

[Klaus Steinhaus]

James, I am not a big friend of the photographs in the "Cichlid Forum" profile section. There is one photo which don't even look like a chimba. However, I do like the photos in Peter Schupkes book since he added several different ones of the same variant at different moods and different ages. Plus I have kept this variant myself before.

And yes, I still believe them to be chimba (also I have been wrong before )

[markw]

I would concur with Klaus to being Chimba reds. They are definately not Cape Nundo(Golden Chisanse) I've kept them for over 10 years and I've never seen them colour like the photos posted.

[Marius Purcel]

Chimba or Moliro, they look pretty much identical.

I don't like how much the flash distorts the color, because in a couple photos from the second batch I wanted to say they are Chipimbis.

Anyway, here's how my Moliros used to look, post a video, we'd be able to see more of the "base" coloration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0crm4kBowc

[JZH]

Moliro, only Moliro, Chipimbi and Kalambwe have red eye iris.