new pics - True red devil and salvini

[Mattimeo]

My 3 inch true amphilophus labiatus... not the everyday hybrids you see in most lfs but a pureblood fat lipped red devil:

My 3.5 inch male salvini... it appears that he is the red variant... his parents were decent looking, but nothing like him.

 

[Pootspete]

What a couple of nice looking (rare) fish! Thanks for sharing them!

 

[inxs]

Wow , that salvini is only 3" ??

Mine are at about 2" - was there a significant change in color from 2-3"?

 

[quantim0]

nice looking fish. that has to be one of the best salvini's i've seen. especially for a 3" one. good luck with them.

 

[Mattimeo]

here's a pic of him at 2 inches

As you can see, the red isn't as bright or as extensive. Just now, he's got ALOT more red, but I think it's just him. I've had many others, and he's the only one that I've ever observed such a drastic change in colour if the fish was oer 1.5 inches. from 1-2 inches is when I've observed the greatest change in colour...

 

[friend of oscar]

What pretty fish! I especially like that red devil. Great pics.

 

[Rare Cichlids]

Very nice fish. Where did you get the Labiatus?

 

[inxs]

I have noticed that several SA/CA cichlids have gotten much better coloration shortly after being brought home from the LFS.
My salvinis have colored in much more red and blue since I first got them - though nothing like Matts, however they are only around 2".

I would attribute that to a much larger tank, better diet, better waterconditions, more hidingplaces and generally less stress.

Unfortunatly I think this observation makes it even harder to predict the quality of a fish in a dealers tank. Has anyone else noticed that?

Also what are the conditions of your salvini? (tanksize, ph, gh and feeding)