finally figured out what they are...

Ok.. so i have 9 african cichlids in my tank right now and i finally figured out all of their names (except 1)!!!

2 Labidochromis caeruleus (yellow labs)
2 Pseudotropheus elongatus
1 Pseudotropheus socolofi (looks like an albino fish, white with red eyes)
1 Melanochromis auratus
1 Melanochromis johanii
1 Nimbochromis venustus


EDIT- this topic came back up for some reason so i thought id put the list of what i have now, The Venustus died.. which is ironic becuase it was one that i wouldn't be able to keep anyway. So

2 Labidochromis caeruleus - yellow labs
4 pseudotropheus elongatus - blue with verticle black stripes
2 Pseudotropheus socolofi - albino looking, all white pink eyes
1 Melanochromis auratus - a female im sure, half white, half yellow with black horizontal stripes. stripes
1 Melanochroms johanni - orange with 2 darker orange horizontal stripes
1 Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"
Still 1 mystery one that is pretty much dark grey lookig with darker verticle stripes.

and i have 2 clown loaches, 1 rainbow shark, and 1 sailfin pleco.

[Simpte]

Did you get them from a [acronym:63d28e60e6="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:63d28e60e6] or a breeder?

[Fishyfanatic]

Your stocking looks good with exception of the Venustus. They grow quite large and need a tank larger than 55 [acronym:a0b646e6e5="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:a0b646e6e5]. We have a male that is beautiful, but huge. Ours can eat algae wafers whole and he's not even fully grown yet. Also, be careful with that Auratus, but you already know that. At the first signs of aggression, its time for him/her to go. It only gets worse. And, if he/she starts to turn majority black, I'd definately take him back. That means that he's a male and they are mean little buggers. They won't take too kindly to your other fish.

The unknown fish, is it a hap? If so, I take it that its still a juvi? If it doesn't start to produce color as it grows, then it is a female hap and will stay the gray coloration. They are very difficult to determine the specie because they do not produce much coloration.

how do you tell if it is a hap, mbuna, or peackock? I don't know.


Ok.. so i can keep the Venustus until he starts to outgrow the others? Then i can take it back? Also i know about the Auratus and i know i can return it if there are any problems.

Simpte- i got them from a fish store.

[Fishyfanatic]

The Mbuna's have distinct facial features, the slope of the "forehead", the body shape, blunter mouths, and so on. Haps tend to have a longer face with a pointed mouth. Their body tends to be longer. Compare the Acei and Sunshine Peacock. They have two different distinct body shapes.

The Venustus can easily reach between 8 to 10 inches in size requiring a 100 [acronym:bb857533d3="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:bb857533d3] tank. When he/she starts to reach the size of the Mbuna's then I would definately take him/her back. They also become aggressive towards Mbunas when they reach sexual maturity, especially if they are in a 55 [acronym:bb857533d3="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:bb857533d3] tank. At least that's what I have found. Our Venustus tries to breed with the Mbuna's. So I think a female is definately in order to try and "curb" his aggression. He's too pretty to take back to the [acronym:bb857533d3="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:bb857533d3].

so are peacocks and haps the same thing? This one looks more like an Mbuna. It has vertical stripes.

[Fishyfanatic]

Simple answer, yes Peacocks and Haps are the same thing. [acronym:cc6e87286e="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:cc6e87286e] The peacocks and haps used to be two seperate things and they were combined into one.....well, ok, it's a long explanation. Do you have a pic of the mystery fish?

no, i don't unfortunately.. my camera phone doesn't take good pics of small fast moving fish... [acronym:89918d8c6f="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:89918d8c6f].

[Fishyfanatic]

[acronym:3f3d0780e6="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:3f3d0780e6] My digi cam doesn't take good pics of small fast moving fish either. As it matures you'll be able to determine if it is a Mbuna or a hap. Since you say it is gray in coloration, it leads me to believe it is a hap since they tend to be gray with verticle bars. But time will tell.

see, when i first saw it i thought it was going to turn blue or red... but its still grey... of course, they are all still less than 2" apeice sooo.. we still have time for color chagnes. Basically i bought at least one of each type they had in the assorted baby tank. I figure.. i can learn what they are and find out whats compatible... sell the ones that cause trouble back later on and build from there. Because it was the cheapest way to get started. Once i figure out what i really like, i can add more big ones when they get big.

So far my favorites are the Yellow labs and P. elongatus. I love the bright blue and yellow colors. Those are both Mbuna?