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 Super rare & cool SA Cichlid !! |
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| Polypterus-91 |
 Feb 9 2008, 01:19 PM
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Cool, like the other side of the pillow.
 Group: Platinum Supporter Mod
Posts: 3,462
Joined: 6-August 02
From: Sacramento, California
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QUOTE(Celtic Samurai @ Feb 9 2008, 10:08 AM)  QUOTE(Polypterus-91 @ Feb 9 2008, 11:27 AM)
It's beautiful, but what is it?
It's Cichlasoma ornatum. This fish has been on my wish list for over 20 years. The only photos I have seen previously were in the Stawikowski and Werner books that were published in 1985. The fish in that picture was nice looking; the fish in Seiichi's photo are amazing!!! Thanks, that's a pretty amazing looking fish.
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| Aquamojo |
Feb 9 2008, 02:28 PM
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New and Improved. Now MORE user friendly!
Group: Platinum Supporter
Posts: 6,844
Joined: 17-October 01
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Really nice fish, Seiichi. I'm with Samurai...you don't see photos of them often. Beautiful coloration.
"Some days you have the hobby. Other days the hobby has YOU."
Ars est celare artem. "the art is to hide the art" Join the American Cichlid Association
visit www.cichlid.org |
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| samurai-h |
Feb 9 2008, 06:06 PM
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最後の侍
 Group: Forum Specialist
Posts: 1,606
Joined: 7-January 05
From: Death Star
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Thanks guys for all comments  Cel-samu, here is the description of the great your friend . Many mysteries would be elucidated by my photograph "Cichlasoma" ornatum Also described by Regan (1905), "Cichlasoma" (Amphilophus) ornatum is another species, like "C." atromaculatum, that has been misidentified in the hobby for reasons of its sheer rarity. Loiselle (1981), in his benchmark two-part article on South American cichlasomines, suggests that "C." ornatum resembles the Jack Dempsey ("Cichlasoma" octofasciatum) and that "its behavior and maintenance requirements are identical in all significant respects to those of the Jack Dempsey, with the proviso that C. ornatum appears somewhat less aggressive than C. octofasciatum in the cichlid community tank." It is also, according to Loiselle (1980), "less liberally marked with iridescent spangling than is that old aquarium favorite. Unlike the Dempsey, C. ornatum undergoes dramatic behaviorally related color changes." It is my opinion that the fish Loiselle describes is most likely a Jack Dempsey morph or some other species, and not "C." ornatum. I say this for two reasons: 1) Stawikowski and Werner (1988) offer photos of a fish they believe to be "C." ornatum alongside photos of "C." atromaculatum they don't look like Jack Dempseys, and 2) I had the privilege (thanks to Carl Ferraris) of examining the types at the California Academy of Science this past summer and they look just like the Stawikowski and Werner photos and not like Jack Dempseys, even allowing for some fading of the color in preservative. They look much like "C." atromaculatum in shape and overall appearance, have incomplete black bars (on the midsection and ventral aspect) and spots, including the dorsal-anal-caudal fin triad like the atros. Unlike the atros, they have an overall reddish-salmon pink base color (bordering on brown in preservative), and the "face" (operculars and preoperculars) is peppered with iridescent spots, as are the soft dorsal and anal fins. Unlike Jack Dempseys, there are no obvious spangles on the bodies of the 4- to 6-inch individuals I examined, but the black blotches/bars are quite distinctive on the pale brown body. The fish is found in southwestern Colombia and in northwestern Ecuador (Eigenmann 1924). The ones pictured in Stawikowski and Werner (1988) were from the Rio Esmeraldas from Colombia. Eigenmann (1924) describes them thusly: "general coloration olive-green, lighter on operculum below eye, three yellow streaks from anterior corner of eye to gape; silvery yellow spots on operculum; dark green vertical streaks. Pectorals and ventrals clear light yellow; dorsal tipped with deep crimson; transverse streaks or dots of clear light blue mixed with colorless patches. Caudal and anal similar, latter with considerable orange or deep yellow. Caudal ocellus black." The maximum recorded size for wild specimens is 10 inches (Eigenmann 1924), much like "C." atromaculatum. In the same monograph, Eigenmann (1924) describes a new subspecies, Cichlasoma ornatum gephyrum from the Rio San Juan and the Rio Dagua systems in western Colombia . He asserts: "its coloration is so peculiar that it might well be a hybrid between C. atromaculatum and C. ornatum." He goes on: "Remains of cross-bands occur especially along back and middle of sides, many of the scales of the bands below the middle have black bases; axil black, centers of scales otherwise largely light; soft dorsal, caudal, and posterior half of soft anal with translucent spots...small (blue?) spots on cheeks and opercles, a black spot on base of upper half of caudal, a black spot on bases of soft dorsal and anal near the ends of these fins." Eigenmann (1924) figures both "C." ornatum and his new sub-species (Plate 31) and they do look different in the sketches. Loiselle (1980) suggested that "this cichlid differs sufficiently from that species (i.e., "C." ornatum) in color pattern to warrant full specific rank," but also records that it is "not imported to date." In fact, Eigenmann (1924) concedes that small specimens "might be considered as belonging to C. atromaculatum, if there were not a number of specimens of the latter species of equal size from the same place with the perfectly characteristic color of C. atromaculatum." Stawikowski and Werner (1988) point out that the scale and fin counts overlap they believe that "C." ornatum gephyrum is simply a geographical morph of "C." ornatum. In the absence of living specimens, the argument remains unresolved. It seems unlikely that this fish (not to mention "C." ornatum) will be available in the hobby anytime soon, unless avid hobbyists travel to the location and collect them. The "C." ornatum photographed in Stawikowski and Werner (1988) apparently had been cherry-picked by a Dutch aquarist. However, I have never seen it on export lists from Europe (nor, for that matter, have I seen "C." atromaculatum). Given the apparent similarity to "C." atromaculatum, one might reasonably expect "C." ornatum to respond to the same aquarium conditions. I'm hopeful we will get to test that out one day. Here are 2 more pics female  pair  Thanks again, Seiichi This post has been edited by samurai-h: Feb 10 2008, 11:26 AM
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