Now a fan of Angels! Lots of pics.

[Zionas]

This along with Majestic, Regal, Blue Line and Bandit are my fave angels in the “doesn’t get huge” category.

 

[i cant think]

Yeah they certainly don’t have the black tails. Tried to get a better pic of the captive bred. The wild caught has the black tail.

I’d say the top one isn’t purebred, purely due to the dorsal fin only having a thin streak of black. The bottom is more likely to be closer to purebred however I’m pretty sure the belly is too white.

 

[Zionas]

I suspect one or both are the Goldflake x Griffis hybrid, relatively unknown in the West but I’ve seen them from Mr. Su here in Asia on a few occasions. Either way Biota really has to be careful to make sure the CB Goldflakes they’re offering are indeed purebred. I have no interest whatsoever in the hybrids, they look like awkward compromises between both species.

 

[i cant think]

I suspect one or both are the Goldflake x Griffis hybrid, relatively unknown in the West but I’ve seen them from Mr. Su here in Asia on a few occasions. Either way Biota really has to be careful to make sure the CB Goldflakes they’re offering are indeed purebred. I have no interest whatsoever in the hybrids, they look like awkward compromises between both species.

It’s the same thing over here, certain hybrids I can deal with but when it comes to fish where you can obviously see both parents in the species I become weary as with age they can look extremely ugly.

 

[Zionas]

I honestly don’t get the whole craze over creating new hybrids. Are the parent species not good enough when mated with their own kind? Of course you can occasionally get stunning results from hybrid breeding, such as certain Lemonpeel and Eibli and sometimes Lemonpeel and Half-Black Angels, but for the most part I just don’t get them. Like the parents themselves when mated with each other are more beautiful as purebreds.

I would much rather have a Majestic than a Majestic x Blue Face hybrid.

Take the Goldflake hybrids for example. The hybrid with the Flagfin looks like you’re awkwardly trying to genetically fit a Goldflake onto a Flagfin. The colors and patterns aren’t as good looking as they would be on a purebred Goldflake, while even the purebred Flagfin has a cleaner and easier to digest look. The Goldflake x Griffis hybrid feels like someone is intentionally trying to mess with the Goldflake Angel’s beauty by slapping it onto a less colorful palette. The purebred Griffis is kind of niche and average looking, and by no means IMO meant to mate with a Goldflake if it means IMO toning down the beauty of the Xanthopunctatus.

 

[i cant think]

I honestly don’t get the whole craze over creating new hybrids. Are the parent species not good enough when mated with their own kind? Of course you can occasionally get stunning results from hybrid breeding, such as certain Lemonpeel and Eibli and sometimes Lemonpeel and Half-Black Angels, but for the most part I just don’t get them. Like the parents themselves when mated with each other are more beautiful as purebreds.

I would much rather have a Majestic than a Majestic x Blue Face hybrid.

Yeah, I totally get you!
I’m confused as to whether I have a hybrid Genicanthus melanospilos x Genicanthus caudovittatus or a full bred of one of the two species. He’s definitely not a female though, I wonder if Genicanthus do actually revert to female or if that’s not true?

 

[Zionas]

Hey there! I don’t think you have a hybrid, chances are it’s just a specimen stuck halfway after losing its full male colors. That’s just my opinion but be sure to ask around for more experienced ones. Caudovittatus and Melanospilos don’t meet in the wild.

 

[i cant think]

Hey there! I don’t think you have a hybrid, chances are it’s just a specimen stuck halfway after losing its full male colors. That’s just my opinion but be sure to ask around for more experienced ones. Caudovittatus and Melanospilos don’t meet in the wild.

That’s great to know - It was sold as Melanospilos but I don’t really think it is that species, although it’s hard to tell - Definitely not a Semifasciatus though.

 

[Zionas]

I definitely don’t see Semifasciatus as they usually come from Japan or the northern Philippines, they have a fairly narrow range. If you can get a pic with better lighting maybe I would be able to better tell.

 

[i cant think]

Not much better lighting but here’s most of the fish. I’ll try find one before lights on if that helps as his lower body half is a blue colouration.

 

[Zionas]

Yeah I think it’s just a Melanospilos that’s halfway between male and female.

 

[i cant think]

Yeah I think it’s just a Melanospilos that’s halfway between male and female.

Thanks, I wouldn’t complain about it being a different species but it’s nice to know I have a definite melanospilos.

 

[Dave1993]

Not much better lighting but here’s most of the fish. I’ll try find one before lights on if that helps as his lower body half is a blue colouration.

how big is it looks massive

 

[Zionas]

Glad I could help.

 

[i cant think]

how big is it looks massive

Only about 4-4.5 inch, The lubbocki behind him is about 3 inch, and the tail to the lubbocki next to him is about 2 inch. The melanomarginatus in the corner is around 3.5 to 4 inch.

My largest fish is a 5 inch but slow moving magnificent foxface (Never seen someone swim as little - Even my blenny is more of a swimmer!)

 

[Dave1993]

Only about 4-4.5 inch, The lubbocki behind him is about 3 inch, and the tail to the lubbocki next to him is about 2 inch. The melanomarginatus in the corner is around 3.5 to 4 inch.

My largest fish is a 5 inch but slow moving magnificent foxface (Never seen someone swim as little - Even my blenny is more of a swimmer!)

looks way bigger than 4 inches i thought it was like 6-7

 

[srcleary]

I’m pretty sure mine is a Griffis / Goldflake hybrid. And I have to agree with the previous comments. Why create a hybrid when the pure looks so much better? At least when it come to Goldflakes. My pure is looking better all the time while the hybrids are looking more drab.

I was at School of Fish yesterday where I bought the pure Goldflake and he told me Biota deals in a number of Griffis hybrids. So he suspects it is a cross.

I’ll look forward to seeing what Biota says this week. It’s a bit disappointing. I wanted pure and originally thought that is what I was getting. And spent $500 each!

 

[Dave1993]

I’m pretty sure mine is a Griffis / Goldflake hybrid. And I have to agree with the previous comments. Why create a hybrid when the pure looks so much better? At least when it come to Goldflakes. My pure is looking better all the time while the hybrids are looking more drab.

I was at School of Fish yesterday where I bought the pure Goldflake and he told me Biota deals in a number of Griffis hybrids. So he suspects it is a cross.

I’ll look forward to seeing what Biota says this week. It’s a bit disappointing. I wanted pure and originally thought that is what I was getting. And spent $500 each!

That's what i paid for my pure

 

[i cant think]

This is what a pure bred captive goldflake looks like he is only dwarf size atm though got him cheap as chips

The more I look at this the more it doesn’t look like a pure. I could be wrong though - I’m not an Angel expert by any means.

 

[Zionas]

Biota’s being really incompetent or maybe they aren’t bothered in this regard. The juveniles of the Goldflake x Griffis hybrid are clearly distinct from pure Goldflake juveniles. I hope they get back to you soon but I feel I got it right this time. This hybrid isn’t really well-known in the West but I have seen it a number of times in Asia.

The least they can do is to contact Bali Aquarich and request that they either only ship pure Goldflakes, or if they’re going to ship both pure ones and hybrids, to be sure to label them correctly.

I’d have to sack a few people over this if it were left to me.