Is my Goldflake a hybrid?

Brautumn · Jul 6, 2018

MrsBugmaster said:
@Brautumn Yours has a lot more white on it's anal fin than mine does. Don't know if that means anything.
My GF has different pattern on body than my hybrid.

I do see what your talking about and really crazy. The gold flakes start out with a black dot near the back as juves and the black increases around it (supposedly) as it matures with the gold flakes. Maybe contact the vendor? Love your rock work. Good Luck.

MrsBugmaster · Jul 6, 2018

The description of the goldflake says it has black fins and are bordered by a striking blue. While the description of the flagfin does not mention the blue border on the fins. Although not visible in my pictures both fish have the blue border on their anal fins.

Robert Vacchiano · Jul 6, 2018

They both look like hybrids now

Xanthurum · Jul 6, 2018

I hate to be a bubble buster but I’m not even sure that you have 1 hybrid. I do know for sure that the little one is not a Goldflake. Goldflakes do not have any white on their fins at all. They both look a lot like Flagfins judging from the lack of very distinct golden flecks. I would check and see if there is any chance of compensation.

lion king · Jul 6, 2018

You can see yellow gold flakes through my flagfin, the flakes are more yellow than gold. This gives him an overall metallic look, it depends on the angle and it never comes out in pics I've never seen a flagfin less than 4". how big is the one in question. Mine has no blue border on the anal fin, I got him when he was 4" and he's about 5" now.

MrsBugmaster · Jul 6, 2018

lion king said:
You can see yellow gold flakes through my flagfin, the flakes are more yellow than gold. This gives him an overall metallic look, it depends on the angle and it never comes out in pics I've never seen a flagfin less than 4". how big is the one in question. Mine has no blue border on the anal fin, I got him when he was 4" and he's about 5" now.

The biggest one, which is suppose to be the hybrid, is now around 4 1/2 to 5". The smaller one, that is suppose to be a goldflake, is around 2 1/2"

Greenstreet.1 · Jul 6, 2018

Wow this is a good one wow. In your first pic o would say goldflake for sure but after that it’s all flagfins I see. very strange I must say.

Is it possible that the goldflake was the hybrid and since being with the flagfin its changing back ?
I believe I read somewhere before that there is a chance that a hybrid could lose its hybrid colors. Think I read this when I was looking into the hybrid yellow tangs.

Halal Hotdog · Jul 6, 2018

If it truly is a hybrid then it's very disappointing after such a large expense most people can't distinguish it from a flagfin angel. May want to contact the vendor you purchased from and discuss coloration. Did you intend on breeding them?

tiggs · Jul 7, 2018

I'm very confused right now. lol. It almost seems like the big one was just a regular flagfin and the smaller one was the goldflake/flagfin hybrid, which colored up to look like a regular flagfin as it got older. With that being said, the smaller one couldn't be too young when you got it then, since juvenile goldflakes don't have the same coloration as adults. Very strange.

Joshky · Jul 7, 2018

@evolved do you know anyone on r2r that may be able to chime in? I can think of a few people on reefcentral, not sure if they have accounts or frequent here though.

MrsBugmaster · Jul 7, 2018

Halal Hotdog said:
If it truly is a hybrid then it's very disappointing after such a large expense most people can't distinguish it from a flagfin angel. May want to contact the vendor you purchased from and discuss coloration. Did you intend on breeding them?

No, not breeding them, but trying to create a "pair" themed tank.
(Well the fish that form pairs in the wild anyway, not all do.) I thought it would be cool to have everything in pairs and have a more natural setting to watch them interact. I discussed my plan with my LFS guy, which is one of the good ones and not just looking to make a buck, and I gave him the possible fish species I researched and was thinking of, Goldflakes being one of them. Since doing all pairs I knew I would be limited to the number of different species I could put in so, I was looking for more unsual or rarer fish. And I knew from my research that to be more successful I needed one to be a juvenile. He got on his vendor sites and we started looking at options. He saw that Quality Marine had a goldflake/flagfin hybrid. And we both thought it would be cool to see if I could pair it with a goldflake. After all them do in the wild. So he order it for me and let me know when a juvenile GF became available.

I looked at my records again and I was wrong on the time of buying them. I got the supposed hybrid(largest one) at the end of January and the goldflake in beginning of March. Since trying to pair them I needed one to be a juvenile and it was not available in January so I had to wait until March when one became available.

And here we are today, not knowing for sure what I even have.

puffy127 · Jul 7, 2018

John Coppolino (copps) is an expert but I don't know if he is on r2r. Here is a post he made on a different forum when someone asked if they had a possible hybrid goldflake:

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/84859-goldflake-x-flagfin-hybrid-angelfish/?p=734305

MrsBugmaster · Jul 7, 2018

puffy127 said:
John Coppolino (copps) is an expert but I don't know if he is on r2r. Here is a post he made on a different forum when someone asked if they had a possible hybrid goldflake:

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/84859-goldflake-x-flagfin-hybrid-angelfish/?p=734305

Good thinking! I use to be treasurer of our local fish club and made arrangements for him to come give a presentation to our club awhile back so I have his email. I will contact him. Thanks for the idea.

MrsBugmaster · Jul 7, 2018

puffy127 said:
John Coppolino (copps) is an expert but I don't know if he is on r2r. Here is a post he made on a different forum when someone asked if they had a possible hybrid goldflake:

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/84859-goldflake-x-flagfin-hybrid-angelfish/?p=734305

Based on what John Copps says in this thread, the large one is most likely a hybrid. The blue edging on the anal fin is the give away. Flagfin do not have the blue edge on it's fins. I am waiting for him to respond back to me.

Joshky · Jul 7, 2018

MrsBugmaster said:
Based on what John Copps says in this thread, the large one is most likely a hybrid. The blue edging on the anal fin is the give away. Flagfin do not have the blue edge on it's fins. I am waiting for him to respond back to me.

That has to be a big relief, I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

Truly fascinating thread.

MrsBugmaster · Jul 13, 2018

Update: I have not heard back from John Copps, I also posted on Reef Central and no response there either. So I still don't know anything for sure.

MrsBugmaster · Aug 5, 2018

Update:
my LFS contacted the vender and the hybrid was from Bali Aquarich and is captive bred. The goldflake was wild caught at Christmas Island.

I also heard back from to John Coppolino (copps) he believes the hybrid is indeed a hybrid and he got his hybrid from Bali also. The goldflake is a full wild goldflake. This is what he said:

I believe you have a full wild goldflake. The lightening in color I believe is independent of the fish being with a hybrid. This is common in captivity and I've seen it in many species... it's something from captivity... it may be diet... or lighting... or hormone related... not quite sure.

Let me know how they do and I love that you're keeping them together! I collected a pair of flagfins in Guam last year. What a species!

Thanks,
John

I never knew fish could do that! Very interesting for sure. At least I got what I paid for!!