What type of cichlid is this?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

butterflyjenni

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Oct 7, 2011
Messages
74
Sorry about the poor quality pics.
 

Attachments

  • image-3358635061.jpg
    image-3358635061.jpg
    69.1 KB · Views: 93
  • image-2729213164.jpg
    image-2729213164.jpg
    69.2 KB · Views: 89
  • image-3499554540.jpg
    image-3499554540.jpg
    63 KB · Views: 90
My friend says he thinks it's a geophagus or something. Any thoughts? I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to tell if it's a Bolivian ram or a geophagus. They look the same in the pics to me but my research is telling me that the geophagus gets much bigger do I would like to figure it out. Fingers crossed that it's a Bolivian ram.
 
Here's a couple more pics.
 

Attachments

  • image-1682202743.jpg
    image-1682202743.jpg
    68.6 KB · Views: 73
  • image-2431124362.jpg
    image-2431124362.jpg
    71.2 KB · Views: 108
I appreciate the help. I guess if he grows to 12 inches instead of 3 I'll know he's not a ram :)
 
I finally got a couple of really good close ups.
 

Attachments

  • image-2804342977.jpg
    image-2804342977.jpg
    66.2 KB · Views: 81
  • image-3689522962.jpg
    image-3689522962.jpg
    66.4 KB · Views: 74
This is definitely NOT a Bolivian ram.

It appears to be one of the species of Geophagus, but getting an exact ID on the fish at this size is going to be next to impossible. Some species of cichlids just look almost exactly alike as juvies. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that is is not a ram or apisto of any kind.
 
At that size, you won't be able to tell what species it is, much less be able to sex it. I promise.

We have 2 species of geos about that size- fish that look completely different as adults- and if we hadn't tanked them separately we would not be able to tell them apart.
 
I don't want to start a fight with anyone, but in the picture it has the line through its eye, the spot, and the black on the dorsal fin. I know that both of you are much more experienced then me but it doesn't look like a geophagus. Just my opinion.

This is what I found for "Geophagus Surinamensis" on Google Images. IMO it has a different dorsal fin, and head shape. Please correct me if this is the wrong fish ;)
 

Attachments

  • 01_tank_shots_2_009.jpg
    01_tank_shots_2_009.jpg
    171.1 KB · Views: 64
There are quite a few Geos and Gymnogeos. No way to ID them to species at that age. Non-dwarf SA cichlids are tough to even get to genus at a young age because they all look a lot alike.
 
And it lacks all other markings characteristic of a Bolivian ram, and is shaped slightly differently.

Bolivian rams are not the only cichlids that have a dot on the side and a line through the eye. Far from it actually.

The picture you linked is of an adult fish. Juvenile geos look nothing like the adults.
 
So it's a geophagus? Is that what we've settled on? Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.
 
That's just my best guess without anything more to go on.

Where'd you get it from?
 
Back
Top Bottom