Cichlid Identification

[chopperdoc]

A quick question. Is there any easy way to tell the differences between a midas cichlid (amphilophus citronellus) and a red devil(amphilphus labiatum) at the juvenile stage? By that I mean under three inches?

 

[Somonas]

That is a good question, I'd have to look it up in my book, a friend of mine has a midas (citronellus) but it's around 12"

 

[rus]

Amphilophus labiatus, or red devil had a longer slimmer body with a pointy snout.
Amphilophus citrinellus, or the midas cichlid is deep bodied with a rounded snout and develops quite a nuchual hump as adults. both come in many colors; red, orange, white, striped, and other combinations.
here is a pic of a female yellow midas i had a while back.

and here is a pic of my red devil.

the best way to tell them apart is to look down at the fish from above if the lips are rounded it is a midas, if they are pointy it is a red devil. to compound this matter a lot of the fish being sold as 'red devils' may be Amphilophus labiatus, Amphilophus citrinellus, or a cross breed of the 2.
here is a picture of a labiatus/citrinellus cross that i currently own.

also here is a very good article on the red devil complex.
http://www.cichlidae.com/articles/a106.html

 

[chopperdoc]

Thanks. That was a very useful article. It's still a difficult proposition to id them when they are juveniles. Even the yahoos at the lfs have a difficult time. It's always whats on the manifest. Other than that you pays your money and takes your chances. I believe i have two juvenile a. labiatum based on the descriptions, but, with them being polymorphic its hard to tell till they get larger.

 

[rus]

how big are they? they grow fast so it wont be long before you know for sure.