Introduction

The Photograph Check page is not here to criticize people, rather I want to harness the collective knowledge of the world's cichlid hobbyists and professionals to help move us forward a little faster in the area of identifying cichlids.

Here's how it works. What I want is for people to suggest common aquarium reference books that have photographs that appear to be misidentified.

The purpose is NOT to be nasty to those who have published photos with wrong information, but rather to help clear up confusion. Keep in mind that authors don't always get to see which photographs are chosen to accompany their words. I am extremely grateful to all those individuals and companies who have provided us with the wealth of published photos that we have to work with. Without them, we would be lost. But, there are some contradictions and misidentifications that some people are aware of and that the rest of us could benefit from.

For instance, recently the "Aqualog" series of books has provided three volumes on New World cichlids. There are tons of pictures in there. Are there any that appear to be incorrect?

The term "incorrect" conjures up all sorts of possibilites, e.g., flat-out wrong, use of an older name, misspelling, etc. I greatly appreciate your input to this project.

Format: We need to know the name of the publication, the page number of the photo in question and what you think is wrong with it. I would prefer to list your name and email with your comments and I will also post other opinions. For example, Joe Blow might say "I have never seen a C. xxxx that looked like that". To which, Jane Doe might respond that in fact that particular color variant comes from the River x in Guatemala. This way we all benefit from each others knowledge.

 

The Data

Cichlasoma spinossissimus verus C. spilurum

Citation	Sands, David (1986) A Fishkeepers Guide to Central American Cichlids. Tetra Press. Repeated in Tetra's Popular Guide to Tropical Cichlids. Tetra Press. which is a compilation of books including David Sands' 1986 book.
Page	68 in 1986 book, p 180 in 1994 book
Proposal	The two photos in Sands' books are of Cichlasoma spilurum (the blue-eyed cichlid) not C. spinosissimum as suggested. The latter has a very distinctive "peppery" look due to tiny spots. Nice photos appear in The Cichlid Yearbook Volume 1, p. 68 and in Aqualog SouthAmerican Cichlids III, pg. 72-73 (#'s S05960-2, S05960-3, S05960-4, S05962-4).
Photo	This is the real C. spinosissimus. Photo taken at ACA convention, Detroit, July 1999.
Proposed by	Ron Coleman, rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com, July 23, 1999
Comments:

 

Chaetobranchopsis spectabilis versus Caquetaia spectabilis

Citation	Glaser, Ulrich and Glaser, Wolfgang (1996) Aqualog: reference fish of the world. South American Cichlids I, Verlag A.C.S.
Page	80
Proposal	The fish in photo S11935-4 is identified as Chaetobranchopsis spectabilis. It appears to be the same fish as Caquetaia spectabilis (see Aqualog South American Cichlids III, p. 113, photos S11321-3, S11320-2, S11320-3, S11320-4). Further the fish Chaetobranchopsis spectabilis is not listed in the comprehesive index in volume III.
Photo
Proposed by	Ron Coleman, rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com, July 23, 1999
Comments: