African cichlid ID

[Khalix]

Not the best picture, I'll take one tomorrow unless this one suffices. It was snapped on the go.

I was given a 35 gallon hexagon fish tank.. with the condition I take her african cichlids... well, by the time I made it out there the remaining cichlid had killed the other. Not surprised when I got there and saw her setup.. it was on the small side anyway and since it was a hex it really left little room for territory.. plus all she had in there was a pirate skull to hide in. They also had no heater whatsoever and when I put my hand in to start siphoning water out I gasped because it was so cold.

I plan to re-home him as soon as possible. Just kind of curious to see what he may be.

 

[Khalix]

She doesn't look very blue in that picture because of bad lighting but browsing around she seems like maybe she's a cobalt blue from comparing pictures.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Looks more like a labidochromis or maybe even melanchromis species... doesn't look much like a metriaclima species IMO. Looking at that pic almost makes me wanna say a very stressed yellow lab, but if its blue, thats not the case. Take a look at Species Profiles -- Cichlid-Forum and see if you see any fish that look like it.

 

[spoonman]

Looks like something that cross-bred with a yellow lab.

 

[Khalix]

Thanks for the responses guys.

She is definitely more than likely stressed, too, so there's no telling what she'll actually end up looking like. On top of all the other issues with the lack of heater and hiding spots.. she never changed her water. Ever. When I brought in my siphon and started emptying the tank she just said Ohhh so that's how you do it.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Thanks for the responses guys.

She is definitely more than likely stressed, too, so there's no telling what she'll actually end up looking like. On top of all the other issues with the lack of heater and hiding spots.. she never changed her water. Ever. When I brought in my siphon and started emptying the tank she just said Ohhh so that's how you do it.

When i bought a tank last year i had the same thing. I asked them when they changed the water, cleaned the filter, etc.. and they were like...we just turn the lights on and feed them Just watch out because she will likely be in shock with the new clean water.

 

[Khalix]

When i bought a tank last year i had the same thing. I asked them when they changed the water, cleaned the filter, etc.. and they were like...we just turn the lights on and feed them Just watch out because she will likely be in shock with the new clean water.

I actually took 4 5lb buckets with lids and filled it with the old water to try to de-stress her a little when she was put back in at home and she seems to be doing pretty well. Somehow her water was actually not bad at all.. nitrites and ammonia were 0 and nitrates were at .10ppm. She's really happy about the caves I added, though!

Not much of a better picture, but she isn't hiding as much now.

I really wish I was all moved already.. I'd set her up her own tank and just keep her. She's grown on me. PS: don't mind the decorations. kind of just stuck odds and ends in with her for now.

 

[WendiDell]

Not the best picture, I'll take one tomorrow unless this one suffices. It was snapped on the go.

I was given a 35 gallon hexagon fish tank.. with the condition I take her african cichlids... well, by the time I made it out there the remaining cichlid had killed the other. Not surprised when I got there and saw her setup.. it was on the small side anyway and since it was a hex it really left little room for territory.. plus all she had in there was a pirate skull to hide in. They also had no heater whatsoever and when I put my hand in to start siphoning water out I gasped because it was so cold.

I plan to re-home him as soon as possible. Just kind of curious to see what he may be.

He is definitely a she and except for the obvious stress I have a male and female that look very much like her.
Have you heard of Red Top Cobalt Cichlids? When they are younger they are kind of a muddy charcoal color. The young males have the charcoal colored bodies with an orangie/red dorsal fin. But the females like most things in nature aren't nearly as colorful as their male counterparts.
So they tend to look brownish/grey with glimpses of that beautiful blue.
And like most Cichlids their color goes very dark to almost white depending on their moods or stress levels.
I've been told that as they mature more of the blue will show through on both.
When she is less stressed and her fins aren't so clamped, please take another picture. It would be easier to tell for sure what she is. But, I'm about 90% sure she's a Red Top.
Good luck with her. It sounds like she's had a rough start.

 

[Wy Renegade]

With all due respect, I disagree that it is definitely female. I also do not think that it is a labidochromis hybrid. I do agree that it looks like a Powder Blue or Pseudotropheus socolofi, could be either male or female based on the 2nd picture, and was definitely stressed (hence the appearance of the vertical bar striping) in the first picture.

 

[Khalix]

I actually rehomed him with a girl who keeps only cichlids and she named him as a socolofi on first sight. I'm quite ignorant when it comes to most cichlids, but I'm trying to learn to differentiate them.

Thank you for the responses.

 

[johmartz]

With all due respect, I disagree that it is definitely female. I also do not think that it is a labidochromis hybrid. I do agree that it looks like a Powder Blue or Pseudotropheus socolofi, could be either male or female based on the 2nd picture, and was definitely stressed (hence the appearance of the vertical bar striping) in the first picture.

I agree with Wy Renegrade that it is not a female. Judging from the second pix you could faintly see some egg dots if you look closely at the anal fin. I agree once again that it is a powder blue since I have one of those.