# Hybrid mutant fish?



## OneFishTwoFish (Apr 16, 2009)

Not quite, but, I do have a question. A few weeks back my mom went to one of the LFS here in town and called me all excited because they had 'orange von rio flame tetras'. I told her to pick me up three since I already had three. And so she brings home the very different looking fish. In all honesty, they look like they are black skirt tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi ) /orange von rio tetras (Hyphessobrycon flammeus) crosses. Now being that they are both from the Characidae family, is it safe to assume that a black skirt and a flame did the deed, and these are little hybrid mutant babies?

They have the body & build of the black skirt, but the distinctive orange/red coloration on the belly like the OVRFT. I will try to get a photo, but MAN, those fishies are fast!!!!:fish:


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## llamas (Jun 29, 2009)

Photo time! That sounds really cool! I guess it is possible since they are both from the same family. I have never heard of it...


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## N0z (Jun 3, 2009)

i wanna see a pic dude lol


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## OneFishTwoFish (Apr 16, 2009)

Okay, so these are the best photos I can come up with, hope you can see what I am talking about.

The first photo is of a black skirt, its just a google stock image, not from my tank or anything. The second one is one of my Orange Von Rio tetras, and the third is one of these little mutants. You can see the body shape/coloring is like that of a skirt, until you get to the belly and you can see the orange like a von rio. I'm wondering if these were just mislabeled, and are some other type of fish, or if they are a hybrid between the species. They are just a bit bigger than my OVRFT, but then again, my flames were itty bitty when I got them.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

OneFishTwoFish said:


> Okay, so these are the best photos I can come up with, hope you can see what I am talking about.
> 
> The first photo is of a black skirt, its just a google stock image, not from my tank or anything. The second one is one of my Orange Von Rio tetras, and the third is one of these little mutants. You can see the body shape/coloring is like that of a skirt, until you get to the belly and you can see the orange like a von rio. I'm wondering if these were just mislabeled, and are some other type of fish, or if they are a hybrid between the species. They are just a bit bigger than my OVRFT, but then again, my flames were itty bitty when I got them.
> 
> ...


It looks like a Long-Finned Serpae Tetra to me, but it has the scales of a barb. This is very strange indeed.


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## OneFishTwoFish (Apr 16, 2009)

They don't have the personality of serpaes IMO. These guys are really skiddish like my tetras, and aren't nippy at all.


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## wrestlerboy (Apr 8, 2009)

that looks like an ornate tetra in my opinion


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

they actually look alot like rosy tetras:
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/characins/RosyTetra.php

the coloring is a little off but then again, most from petstores are. any one els e agree they look alike?


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## OneFishTwoFish (Apr 16, 2009)

Well, there is no coloring on the tail fins, and its more orange than it is red. Also no white. But, I can see some similarities.


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## SouthernBelle23 (Mar 24, 2009)

I had some Flame/Von Rios tetras that looked like that. Mine were not orange, but red and some of them had less color on their bodies than others. I think its just a regular Von Rios tetra and not the orange version.

Pic I found on google: http://www.tjorvar.is/assets/images/flame_tetra.jpg


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i am thinking that the orange von rio is more of a mutant that the new one..the new ones lack any kind of brilliant colors that would spur sales..the von rios that i had kept and bred were more of a pale red..but really no orange in them...


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