ID, please

[Labenator65000]

Any ideas?

 

[HN1]

Young nimbochromis venustus, giraffe cichlid.

 

[Labenator65000]

Young nimbochromis venustus, giraffe cichlid.

Say, that looks like it! Thanks! How's it's temperament?

 

[HN1]

I haven't kept them myself, but I believe they are generally peaceful with fish as large as they are. They do get big though and will consider smaller fish food.

 

[Labenator65000]

I haven't kept them myself, but I believe they are generally peaceful with fish as large as they are. They do get big though and will consider smaller fish food.

Really? What about 5-7" peaceful tank-mates? Write ups from other sites concerns me.

Anyone else out there have any experience with these guys?

 

[kay-bee19]

I wouldn't consider them a peaceful species. They're semi-aggressive to aggressive. Matured males can be very aggressive towards each other and possibly to matured males of other nimbochromis species.

With that said, Rift lake african cichlid temperment and aggression is generally in relation to what they're kept with.

Mbuna's (which they probably shouldn't be kept with) are generally more aggressive than venustus. If kept with them the mbuna's are capable of dominating them despite being smaller. Venustus probably won't seem aggressive at all if kept with them.

When kept with other lake malawi 'haps' (their most compatible tank mates), venustus the can be a little on the dominant side. Particularly the males....and especially the males if their female counterparts are also in the tank.

I've kept them with malawi eye biters and malawi blue dolphins and the male venustus was the alpha fish in the tank. The females were generally peaceful, though as mothers they would get VERY protective when their fry were concerned. I always knew that one of the females spat fry in my 180gal when all of the other fish in the tank were huddled in one half of the tank, while she occupied the other half (with her fry congregating in one of the tank corner's on her side of the tank). (this would only last for a day or so).

 

[Mogurako]

Nimbochromis venustus are normally fine with other Haps around the same size. They will consider anything smaller than them food however. I've also read that Nimbochromis tend not to get along very well with other Nimbochromis of any kind.

 

[Labenator65000]

Nimbochromis venustus are normally fine with other Haps around the same size. They will consider anything smaller than them food however. I've also read that Nimbochromis tend not to get along very well with other Nimbochromis of any kind.

Yeah I've read that in a few places as well. I'm wondering how literal to take "anything smaller than them." In other words, would a 7" Nimbochromis venustus try to eat a 5" Lab or Peacock?

Right now mine are juvies, and the smallest in the tank. However, the tank is only 55. I read that the N.venustus can get up to 11". That tells me that I can probably enjoy them until they reach 5-6" and then I'll have to give them away to someone with a bigger tank. Agreed?

 

[kay-bee19]

...I'm wondering how literal to take "anything smaller than them." In other words, would a 7" Nimbochromis venustus try to eat a 5" Lab or Peacock?

If the fish can't fit in the mouth, it should be safe from ending up as a meal. The sub-adult ~3.5" cyrtocara moorii in the center was completely safe with the much larger male venustus on the left:

 

[Mogurako]

Venestus like most other Haps are open water ambush predators. IMO no fish is trusty safe with big predators. Take this picture under consideration.



While this isn't a Venestus it is a Nimbochromis Fuscotaeniatus, same family. Even though this Otopharynx is much to large to fit in the Fusco's mouth it doesn't stop it from killing it and trying to eat it.

 

[stone1269]

The ones I had never bothered any of my other cichlids even the smaller ones maybe I just had mild tempered fish lol and that pic looks they are lip locked my fish do that from time to time

 

[Mogurako]

That's not a lip lock his head is literally inside its mouth. I am not saying that something like this will happen its jut you always have to be prepared for something like that.

 

[stone1269]

Wow that's crazy I've never seen a fish attempt to eat another fish the same size as itself lol did u break em up??

 

[Labenator65000]

Venestus like most other Haps are open water ambush predators. IMO no fish is trusty safe with big predators. Take this picture under consideration.

While this isn't a Venestus it is a Nimbochromis Fuscotaeniatus, same family. Even though this Otopharynx is much to large to fit in the Fusco's mouth it doesn't stop it from killing it and trying to eat it.

Hey maybe this is what I have. It was labeled "Fuscus" at the LFS, but couldn't find any reference to a Cichlid of that name anywhere. Looks like these get up to 12" long. Looks like I'll just be a "Foster Keeper" until these start to outgrow the others. I'll give them away afterward.

 

[Mogurako]

Hey maybe this is what I have. It was labeled "Fuscus" at the LFS, but couldn't find any reference to a Cichlid of that name anywhere. Looks like these get up to 12" long. Looks like I'll just be a "Foster Keeper" until these start to outgrow the others. I'll give them away afterward.

That's exactly what you have Nimbochromis Fuscotaeniatus.