Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

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Mol_PMB
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Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

For about 18 months now, I've had a group of 10 , which came from Pier Aquatics.
There has always been a pale one among the group. The fish are pretty shy unless there's food around, so I don't see it clearly very often.
Tonight I fed some live blackworms, which sparked a feeding frenzy and I managed to get quite a few reasonable pictures of the pale one among its normal-coloured colleagues.

It's actually quite yellowish, though there may be some influence of the tank lighting. I haven't altered the colour balance of the photos; the are feeding on home-grown yellow courgette!

It's not an albino as it does have some colouring, but maybe a xanthic variant?

Anyone seen one of these before?

Cheers,
Paul

Footnote: There are also two in this tank, which I've had for 2.5 years and are not shown in these photos; they're bigger than the rest. I used to have a big old too, but sadly he passed on.
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[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
[clog]Brachyrhamdia marthae[/clog], normal coloured and pale (xanthic?) examples
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by pleco_breeder »

Definitely something interesting. Before looking at the pics I expected to see only a lighter colored fish. However, the first thing that struck me, after the golden color, was the lack of the black spot on the dorsal fin.

Larry Vires
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

Thanks Larry. You're right, the dorsal fin is almost clear. I've attached a few more photos (not quite as good as the first three, but they may show the dorsal fin better).

Of course it's possible that the fish is a Brachyrhamdia meesi (which doesn't have such a strong black patch on the dorsal), but it doesn't look like my examples of B.meesi and it certainly doesn't have the other black markings of that species such as the eyepatch.
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Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
Brachyrhamdia marthae, xanthic?
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

I've been looking back at the photos of these fish that I took when I first got them about 18 months ago. It's not so easy to spot the odd one out. Back then they were all a much paler colour. The majority have matured to adult colours while this one seems to have become paler as it has grown and matured.
Now, these photos only show 9 of the 10 fish (I've never managed to get them all in one photo) so it's possible that the pale one was hiding). But you can see how they were all generally paler when I first got them, and the black patch on the dorsal was less pronounced.
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Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
Group of Brachyrhamdia marthae when newly purchased
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

Here's another picture from this evening of 'normal' coloured ones. That pale yellowish patch behind them is the odd one out.
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Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

A few more photos during another feast of worms this evening. Firstly, three photos featuring one of the big as well as the . The two B.meesi are a year older than the B.marthae and a fair bit bigger; they are also distinguishable by a generally lighter-coloured head with a dark 'bandit' eye-patch.

The pale-coloured smaller fish was bought as B.marthae and has no sign of a dark eye-patch. These photos do suggest some shading in the dorsal fin though it's not as dark as on the other B.marthae.

I'm aware the lighting in this tank does cast a slightly yellow tint, but that pale little fish is genuinely yellower than the others.
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Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

And three more photos of the pale fish among 'normal' .
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Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
Brachyrhamdia marthae
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Shane »

I have seen a similar condition in catfishes that are blind and thus do not change colors correctly when the lights come on. Are all the others light colored at night or will they take on the same pale coloring if placed on a very light colored substrate?
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

Thanks Shane. When the tank lights are off (but with some ambient natural light from a window so I can see) the colour difference remains - most are dark and the pale one is pale (and slightly yellowish). I have some photos.
I'll try some more experiments next week as I'm about to go away for a long weekend.
Since the colour difference was not so obvious when I bought the fish, I think you may be right that it's a behavioural issue rather than a genetic one. Still strange though, apart from colour the fish behaves the same as the rest as far as I can tell.
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by Mol_PMB »

Sorry for the delay in posting these, but I've been away.
These photos were taken before the tank lights came on, but with a little diffuse natural light from a window a few feet away. Picture quality not so good in the gloom, but they are true colours in natural light.
The small pale fish still has a yellowish tinge. The largest fish in one picture is a ; the others are .
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Brachyrhamdia marthae, under dim natural light
Brachyrhamdia marthae, under dim natural light
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi, under dim natural light
Brachyrhamdia marthae and meesi, under dim natural light
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Re: Xanthic Brachyrhamdia?

Post by pleco_breeder »

Completely unrelated, but am curious what the non-catfish species in that first photo are. Look like old world characin, but have to admit my ID skills in that area are rather poor.

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