Koran X Emperor?

[LemonLemon]

Hi everyone,

i'm a little bit stumped on this one.

I've obtained a pomacanthid angel that resembles koran. but somehow it does not look entirely koran-ish.

the large complete ring near the tail is very emperor. but it's not unusual to have korans exhibiting this ring pattern too. however this one has it on both sides.

the dorsal and anal fin looks funny and the overall shape is more elongated than high. the dorsal fin has the blue colouration that looks strange.. and very emperor like.

at this stage, juvenile korans usually have more bars and a more opaque tail fin. but i'm not an expert in angels, so i don't really know

so.... is it just a normal koran? or a weird looking one? or, very unlikely, a hybrid?

the first picture is of my specimen with it's fins extended. the second photo is from my friend in Thailand with it's fins clamped. I cannot get a good photo of mine showing clamped fins so i borrowed his pics.

Both fish look identical except for the difference in barring. Both fishes by him and me are presumed to be "weird korans."

so what's your take?

 

[capt85]

I would lean to an altered version of koran. If it was an imperator you would have circles near the tail fin instead.

 

[LemonLemon]

thanks!

keep the comments coming.

although it might very well be just an ordinary koran.

it just looks different no? the rounded fins, the lack of stripes, the large circle at the tail.

 

[AfricaOffroad]

Its the face that tells me its a Koran.
The vertical line that runs down the ridge of the face.

The Imperator has white lines that span horizontally across the mounth and eyes.
Check this pic of my juvi Imperator for comparison.

 

[niles1967]

I cant tell you if it's a Koran or hybrid but I can tell you that it will take years for that fish to change into adult coloration. Korans change very slowly. Mine is almost 6" and still has only the very beginning signs of change. Good luck with him.

 

[LemonLemon]

i won't need to wait till it's an adult to know if it's a koran or an emperor or a hybrid i think

as long as the tail does not become opaque, it's not a koran. korans have opaque tails and even when juveniles, the tail colour is evident. it's quite big now and the tail is still transparent.

but i'm not very good with juvenile pomacanthids

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

First off let me say that is a beautiful little fish, very healthy looking. I'm leaning towards a unique looking koran but time will tell. Korans do have a large range in the wild and I imagine there are several localities where they display some "local" markings or other traits. I love this species, one of my favorite Pomacanthus, the full blown adult coloration is amazing.

 

[LemonLemon]

thanks kahuna tuna.

it's very healthy you're right. feeding very well on pellets and everything.

i got it awhile back because i thought the patterns were unique and not at all koran-like. it looks like it has some emperor traits but what's the odds.. no adult koran x emperor have been documented so far.

so i also think it's a koran but a weird one.. it doesn't look koran at all except for the face.

 

[inselaffe]

I would agree with the above defo a chance its not a normal koran but will be intresting to see what happens with it.