# Cross breeding cichlids



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Anyone heard of this before ?....Ive got some fry growing in a spare tank which are a result of cross breeding

Female is a black belt cichlid (Vieja maculicauda) Male is a zebra tilapia (tilapia buttikoferi)...the fry are less than 1cm at the moment & havent really started to develop any colours yet apart from a brown stripe along the lateral line, but none the less...very weird combo.


----------



## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

flowerhorn, parrot fish ?????
they're hybrids

same genera fish will hybirdize to extent i imagine


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

spinnin_tom said:


> flowerhorn, parrot fish ?????
> they're hybrids


Nooooo...hybrids !!... really !!... (thats sarcasm btw) :lol2:

that wasnt the question i asked ;-)


----------



## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Anyone heard of this before ?


you said this
i answered it


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Correct....and i mentioned the natural cross pairing of Vieja maculicauda & tilapia buttikoferi....not parrot fish or flowerhorns ;-)


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Honestly....anyone would think your trying to be as awkward as i usually am !!..:whistling2:...........:lol2:


----------



## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Honestly....anyone would think your trying to be as awkward as i usually am !!..:whistling2:...........:lol2:


 
ahaha i really do try


----------



## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

not a pairing i know of!!! but these days... nothing surprises me...


----------



## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

I've hybridised quite a few cichlids though I didnt think tilapia could hybridise outwith the their genus but I have seen red devil/bay snook so it wouldnt surprise me.


----------



## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

I dont know about the question in the op, but tilapia buttikoferi was one of the first fish I kept many years ago ,was a mean mean fish but very cool.


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Bugger...i was hoping someone would say "yeah...they turn out with these colours & they arent infertile"...or words to that effect!

I agree rum&coke, they are a crackin looking fish, just wish i had space to keep some of the larger cichlids :2thumb:


----------



## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

I wish people wouldn't hybridize fish its so irresponsible how on earth are aquarists supposed to know what they've got if there is a mixed bag in the genes of their fish.

Seems like an unlikely pairing as well pics of adults and fry would help otherwise i'm starting to smell something in the air.


----------



## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Bugger...i was hoping someone would say "yeah...they turn out with these colours & they arent infertile"...or words to that effect!
> 
> I agree rum&coke, they are a crackin looking fish, just wish i had space to keep some of the larger cichlids :2thumb:


breeding hybrids is not only stupid, but irresponsible..
by all means breed once, just to see if it can be done, but don't keep on with it


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Graylord said:


> I wish people wouldn't hybridize fish its so irresponsible how on earth are aquarists supposed to know what they've got if there is a mixed bag in the genes of their fish.
> 
> Seems like an unlikely pairing as well pics of adults and fry would help otherwise i'm starting to smell something in the air.


Terrible isnt it....esp considering virtually everything around you & everything you eat today is also a hybrid, the meat & vegtables, fruits in the shops, the pet dogs, cats, birds, the plants in your garden..etc...the list is endless...(you may notice ive worded that with a slight hint of sarcasum at the start:2thumb


spinnin_tom said:


> breeding hybrids is not only stupid, but irresponsible..
> by all means breed once, just to see if it can be done, but don't keep on with it



The fish werent put together purposely to breed, they were being kept in a sump tank in an aquatic shop & were up for sale....didnt think to ask how it happened first then ???.

and in the nicest possible way...i couldnt give a flying :censor: what you do or dont believe :thumb:...but i'll take some pics for you when they get a bit bigger :2thumb:


----------



## ianxxx (Apr 25, 2011)

and in the nicest possible way...i couldnt give a flying :censor: what you do or dont believe :thumb:...but i'll take some pics for you when they get a bit bigger 

LOL


----------



## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

If they are just some fry you were given out of a sump tank there could have been other things in there the fry might not even belong to the pair?


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Graylord said:


> If they are just some fry you were given out of a sump tank there could have been other things in there the fry might not even belong to the pair?


OMFG:gasp:....Your right...I never even thought of that..there were also 3 plecostomus & 2 gibbiceps in there aswell !!!...do i get to name them if its a new species ???


----------



## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> OMFG:gasp:....Your right...I never even thought of that..there were also 3 plecostomus & 2 gibbiceps in there aswell !!!...do i get to name them if its a new species ???


Love it :lol2:

Call it maculibutticeps. Whch I think is an awesome name.

I have never seen those fish crossed before so would love to see what they turn out like.

Great to see some pics of the young when there a bit older. My baby Dovii have started to get all there markings on them now. Its always nice to see them grow up lol


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

Pics as promised ;-)


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

I dont have them anymore, i gave them to the Goldfish Bowl in Oxford ;-)


----------



## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

​


The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> Pics as promised ;-)
> 
> [URL=http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/Moreliaman_photos/th_DSCN3347.jpg]image [/URL][URL=http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/Moreliaman_photos/th_DSCN3529.jpg]image[/URL] [URL=http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/Moreliaman_photos/th_DSCN3542.jpg]image[/URL] [URL=http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w216/Moreliaman_photos/th_DSCN3543.jpg]image[/URL]


they look cool
be sure to let them go as a hybrid


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

spinnin_tom said:


> they look cool
> be sure to let them go as a hybrid


Well i told the guy at the goldfish bowl what they were so lets hope he labels them up as maculicaudaXbutterkoferi :mrgreen:


----------



## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Wow... you are one sarcastic sod!! LOL I thought I was bad 


Your first post was worded really badly 


I dont believe the african tilapia can hybridise with central american cichlids... From completely different continents and i believe i had this discussion elsewhere trying to ID a cichlid that they thought had tilapia in it because of the stripes...

I didnt understand where you said you got the babies from? Were they in the bag/sump and you bought them or your fish actually bred? Because fry out of a sump would just be fry from any tank on the system! Babies go right through the filtration and end up in the sump.

I couldnt find many photos but it does look like a baby V. maculicauda... there arent enough photos around to be sure, it has a few more bands than the only decent photo i've seen but doesnt mean much, american cichlids often get stripes when stressed or confused.

TBH the Goldfish Bowl taking on a bunch of unknown and possible hybrid cichlids without knowing much just about sums up why i hate the shop... and their staff are muppets and they stock stupid parrot cichlids, long finned oscars and display fish in appalling conditions... bah.


----------



## Victor Creed (Aug 25, 2010)

Moogloo said:


> Wow... you are one sarcastic sod!! LOL I thought I was bad
> 
> 
> Your first post was worded really badly
> ...


I have to agree, with the exception of commenting on a shop I know nothing about. I suppose it's possible, but I don't suspect it's possible for those 2 species to hybridize...I don't believe the genetics allow for a proper match. My guess is that the guy that sold them to you was just telling you what he thought you wanted to hear to make the sale, which is disgusting practice, but none-the-less common.

It is likely a hybrid of Veija subspecies or just a more vibrant black-belt....however, Veija crossing with Archocentrus is a much more likely case and would explain the bands. The possibilities are endless and without DNA testing we will never know........which is exactly why we should not hybridize and should not encourage it by buying them.

I'm still not exactly sure if my Milksnake is PueblanxSinaloan or PueblanxHonduran or PueblanxRuthven's or w/e.....despite how deep I dig or how many times I try to find the paperwork from it's vendor.


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

The_Real_Moreliaman said:


> the pet dogs, cats,


Interesting! What species of dogs are crossed to create hybrid species then? I never heard of that before.


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

Victor Creed said:


> I'm still not exactly sure if my Milksnake is PueblanxSinaloan or PueblanxHonduran or PueblanxRuthven's or w/e.....despite how deep I dig or how many times I try to find the paperwork from it's vendor.


I've got a Sinaloan with abhorrent markings. Only thing is, I look at the banding and I think there is some Nelsons in their too. It came from a well known UK breeder who imports Applegate stock, so it should be the real thing. But I've spent ages looking at it and I think it's an intergrade.


----------



## Victor Creed (Aug 25, 2010)

Mynki said:


> I've got a Sinaloan with abhorrent markings. Only thing is, I look at the banding and I think there is some Nelsons in their too. It came from a well known UK breeder who imports Applegate stock, so it should be the real thing. But I've spent ages looking at it and I think it's an intergrade.



Yea, i know...it sucks dude...LOL that's EXACTLY why I was commenting cuz when I tell people what it is, I kinda get tired of going into an elaborate explanation instead of a simple "That's a banded California Kingsnake." or whichever one of my snakes I'm pointing out at the moment. 



Mynki said:


> Interesting! What species of dogs are crossed to create hybrid species then? I never heard of that before.


Savannah Cat = Serval (Leptailurus serval ) + housecat,(Felis domesticus)... (and a few others I'm not accurately familiar with crossed with Felis domesticus)
there are also to breeds of dogs, 1 crossed with Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) and German Shepherd and another is a result of inter-graded Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) bloodlines. In the wild, unfortuantely for the endangered Red Wolf (Canis rufus) it also naturally breeds with the Coyote (Canis latrans) which may doom it to extinction eventually. How very sad, IMO

I think the other poster is confused and doesn't realize that different types of dogs are actually BREEDS, but are indeed all Canis domesticus so there is no species-crossing, ftmp. I have American Pitbull TerrierxAmerican Bulldogs, but they are in no way a "hybrid" and the way just typed that name is incorrect in and of itself as well. This would be no different than crossing an Albino Cornsnake with a Okeetee Cornsnake or a Pink Convict with a Black Convict.


----------



## Victor Creed (Aug 25, 2010)

EDIT* double posted by accident.


----------



## The_Real_Moreliaman (Jan 24, 2009)

I Honestly i really couldnt give a crap what any of you do or dont believe, but again lets get a few things straight....they were the *ONLY* cichlids in the tank..(apart from the plecos) ....eggs were laid & were clearly visible on the bogwood used, *both* the maculicauda & butterkoferi cared for & protected them & continued to do so after theyd hatched, which wouldnt happen if they weren't the parents! (witnessed by 4 shop staff 1 of whom ive known for over 10 years & I worked in the shop for about 3 years after i closed down my own aquatic & reptile shop) both species had been in the sump tank for nearly a year before this happened.....so unless your suggesting they crossed with one of the pleco's or it was an immaculate conception ! i dont see any other possibilities do you?.
They were *given* to me to grow on just incase something happened to the ones in the shop, which incidentally are still there now.
They were given to the goldfish bowl because the only other options were "pets at home" or "world of water" !
The original shop didnt want/need them back because, like ive already said they still have plenty of them left & they are now a decent size.

Moogloo...With regards to my sarcasum...please refer to my avatar :2thumb:
worded really badly ?....yeah but am i bovvered though?...:lol2: 
And I couldnt agree more about the goldfish bowl, 20 years ago it was a great shop, but its gone down hill alot since then....its not my local & i only visit every blue moon just out of curiosity.


----------

