Looking for info on Red Devil (A labiatus)

I

inxs

AC Members
Mar 25, 2002
197
0
0
Litchfield, CT
www.picturetrail.com
I really like these guys but from what I hear they are hard to come by.

I like the RED in them so that is the variety I'm looking for, I also like the big lips on them and the bodyshape - not a fan of the midas hump.

Just happened on some juveniles(2") the other day but I'm not sure they are the labiatus and I know it's almost impossible to tell at this young age.
20345487.jpg
20345636.jpg


From what I have read they do show a bit of a lateral line and they definitly have a V shaped nose as is described for the labiatus vs the U shape of the citronellus, I also notice lips but maybe I'm just reaching.

I understand the problem of the two interbreeding even in the wild and also a fair amount of mixups along the way.

I wonder it anyone has a breeding pair of true labiatus (FO or F1) that have bred and if so perhaps they could post some pictures of the offspring ?

Does anyone know of a sure source of true labiatus?

Also any other info on them is appretiated.
Thanks.
 
Actually there is no issue about these fish cross breeding in the wild. I have heard that so many times, but no one has ever shown evidence of it. In fact all of the in depth studies that I've read on the 'Midas Complex' state that there are likely to be 15-30 separate species which never cross in the wild and always breed true. But research is still being done. Like I said the number of species is still uncertain.

True Labiatus are hard to come by, if your just checking you LFS. If your willing to have them shipped to you they are pretty easy to find when compared to other species.

The shape of the snout from above is a very accurate way to distinguish between the 2. Even as small as 1.5" I believe.

I have several wild Labiatus and F1's. But no fry.
 
Thanks Rare Cichlids -

Do you think mine are labiatus? Can you compare it to any of yours when they were young?

Where are you located? And where do you get your labiatus?

What percentage do you get with real red color and how about the lips?
 
For some reason they just scream "Labiatus" to me. I have never had any high quality wild or F1 Labiatus at that size. But I have had a few that I bought from my LFS that looked like yours and they have grown up to resemble Labiatus far more than Citrinellus. I'm in Ky. We only have a few small Pet Shops around so most of my fish are shipped to me from different breeders and dealers. Some came from Jeff Rapps (who I think does not sell Wild Labiatus anymore), some from my LFS as I said earlier, and some from other smaller, assorted dealers. I have to say i don't have a single wild fish thats really Red. But one of the small fish i bought from my LFS has actually turned out to be a dark orange/red. Not the blood red I've seen in pictures, but very nice. Most of my wild Labiatus are golden yellow with fierce Red highlights in the face and fins. And the lips on these are only modestly developed. Not all populations of wild Red Devils have thw huge lips. If your interested in finding a wild Red Devil send me a pm. But I bet those juvies will turn out real nice.

Good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom