New peacocks

[TankGirl]

Well I finally stocked my 44 ARLC and got 3 peacocks, and three Labidochromis caeruleus (I know, Menagerie - you don't recommend mbuna with haplochromines, but I have talked to several who have done this successfully - could not resist!)

Anyway, I am thrilled with the peacocks but want to be sure about their ID. I have no luck getting anything but a blur when I try to take a pic of the fish, but they are easy to describe:

A) Completely blue but with an orange/red stripe across the very top of the dorsal. No red in tail or anal.

B) This one at first appeared to be ngara flametail, which is what I wanted, but now it is starting to develop some very non-uniform blotchiness and I am disappointed that it might be a hybrid, like there is some OB in the mix.

C) Almost solid black with red tipped anal, caudal and dorsal (Blue Orchid?)

The peacocks are almost 3" and the labs are slightly smaller, but everyone gets along great. Am trying out New Life Spectrum food now for them and for the community fish - this stuff is getting really great reviews.

 

[Menagerie]

Great fish!! I am not into peacocks due to my aggressive Mbuna. Labs are pretty tame and they should get along *crosses fingers* Plus, you are an experienced fish keeper and know the signs of trouble. I can't wait to see pics!

 

[TankGirl]

Thanks - I was worried you would fuss at me...

 

[Menagerie]

FUSS?!?! Me?
No, I am making my own usual choices these days. Someone should take away my keys and my wallet!

Some Mbuna can hang with peacocks, you just have to know which ones

 

[TankGirl]

I'm kidding - I would probably have given the same advice to others, and for good reason. Mbuna are not to be trifled with - that is for certain. I know a guy who is keeping yellow labs in a community tank, yep, a regular, community tank with loaches and angels and tetras and such, and they are spawning, and I think yellow labs in particular have been tank bred for so long that you can get away with this in a big enough tank. I think my biggest problem in this tank is going to be the adult size of the fish. 44gals is probably not going to cut it in the long run, but I am obsessed with these fish now and will definitely be looking at a 90 before too long, now that I have the room. Talk about needing someone to take away their wallet!! 8O

 

[TankGirl]

Here is a pic- can't see the fish, my efforts to capture them have so far failed.

 

[Menagerie]

Nice tank with lots of hiding spots.
BTW--what kind of camera are you using?

 

[TankGirl]

This is a Fuji Finepix 2650 - el cheapo 2 megapixel model that I borrowed from my mother. I am actually having better luck getting at least a decent shot out of it than I did with my husband's Canon 3 megapixel. Closeups of the fish are so far not happenin'.

 

[madasafish]

It's funny. I've got a very similar setup in the tank I've set up for my professor. The fish are Labidochromis trewavasse, Aulonocara maulana "bicolor 500" and Aulonocara (nyassae?) "Neon Flavescent". From everything I've heard and read, Labidochromis are the black sheep of Mbunas. They are insectivores, and not "aufwuchs" eaters, so can deal with a much meatier diet than other genera of Mbuna.

So far, they're all under 1.5", but the Labidochromis are really starting to show some color already. Fins are yellow, body is acquiring a purplish tone. No irridescence yet on any of the species, though, unfortunately. It'll come eventually.

TG, I share your enthusiasm on these guys. African Cichlids are so interesting to watch and study! I'm def. going to set up an shelly tank soon! To do it, though, I've decided that I must break down one other of my tanks... That's half-way done right now.

 

[TankGirl]

I almost got the bicolor 500 from Cichlidtrios but my favorite LFS got some really nice ones in, and they let me in the back to have my pick of the litter, so to speak.

I really love the yellow labs and since they are, as you say, madasafish, not a very mbuna-ish mbuna ( :? ) I thought they could handle life with peacocks (or, vise versa). So far everyone is doing extremely well, and as they have been on New Life Spectrum cichlid diet they are really coloring up nicely. I still feed Omega One but I wanted to check out the Spectrum that I had heard so much about - so far so good. I just adore these peacocks. I have also since opened up some of the rocks that are stacked (glued sections are pretty open) to give them a bit more room as they grow. I am keeping a close eye on them - the tank is in my office - but so far so good.

 

[madasafish]

Hmmm... right now I'm feeding these guys some generic Wardley's food and some Hikari cichlid pellets. I'm going to have to get Omega 1 and Spectrum for these guys. I think their color will be a lot better. Thanks for reminding me to do that!

The Bicolor 500 look absolutely nothing like the adults online at the moment. They're striped black and white! Look more like convicts. Kinda cool, but I sure hope they get some more color soon!

I guess I should take some pictures...

 

[chasgood]

The cichlids are new to me. I tried to look up a pic of what your Peacocks look like. I came up with 3 fish with that name.

Aulonocara baenschi Sunshine Peacock

Aulonocara hansbaenschi Firebird Cichlid, Peacock

Aulonocara stuartgranti Grant's Peacock

 

[madasafish]

"Peacocks" generally refers to Malawi cichlids from the genus Aulonocara. For some reason, these tend to a) have very vivid coloration and b) show 2+ bright colors on their body (as opposed, say, to an electric blue haplochromid).

They also all tend to be quite small (between 3 and 6 inches), and relatively non-aggressive. Malawicichlids.com has some good info if you want to look them up there.

 

[TankGirl]

One of mine is almost solid blue, like the ahli, but it might show up with some other colors as he matures. The black one is just stunning, with red fins. I am often asked if it is a SW tank, especially with the labs and their vivid yellow - I am definitely seeing a difference since the Spectrum food, and my Boesmani's in my community tank are coloring up very well after starting that tank on the Spectrum community pellet (I crush it a little so it floats better).

 

[madasafish]

Right on. I'll order some soon!

 

[chasgood]

for some odd reason the 3 lfs I have been to don't have Kribs. No keyholes either. See lots of Yellow labs and some peacocks. I see tanks marked assorted small cichlids. Not knowing much I stay away from them.

Is the Auratus a mbuna? lfs have them too.
Saw some Australian Rainbows also.
I find it hard dealing with scientific names.

 

[TankGirl]

Yes, the Auratus are mbuna, and one of the more aggressive. I too have been asking about keyholes and my fave LFS says he has not seen them in a while. Guess that's what I need to start breeding next, LOL!

Yellow labs and peacocks abound here, as well, so no mystery why that is what I have now!

As far as scientific names go, it is very confusing, I agree. Some names that are commonly used now, like kribensis, for example (Pelvicachromis pulcher) are not exactly correct, so you have to stay on top of the nomenclature changes. Over time, though, as you see fish at the LFS with their scientific names, and on the web, you will start to learn the names. I use Google a lot if I am not sure.

Another problem with the "mixed African" tanks of cichlids is that these are almost always juveniles, and many will have completely different coloration once they mature, so you have to know what they look like as juvies (which can look like the adult form of a completely different fish :? ). I feel your pain!

 

[madasafish]

Also, very few of the African Cichlid species are aggreed upon in terms of nomenclature. They started out calling a lot of them haplochromis ____, and then disregarded the name (though it stuck as the name of the "flock" of free-swimming, omnivorous/carnivorous cichlids in Lake Malawi), and are constantly changing phylogenies after genetic analysis shows that certain species are more or less related than thought. Argh!

And then, some of the species have different color morphs even at the adult stage. The obvious example is the yellow lab, Labidochromis caeruleus. You look at the lab, you look at the name, hunh? "Caeruleus" means "blue", so how can this name refer to this fish?? Well, the first L. caeruleus found *were* caerulean blue. Subsequent members of the same species were found with the yellow/black marking. Confusing!

And, even worse, the line that divides the species in these lakes is always so incredibly fine, as they have developed so quickly (in under 12,000 years they speciated from 2 species to something like 1000 http://www.evolution.bio.titech.ac.jp/f_research/cichlid/cichlid_e.html ) that a lot of the species can interbreed and even produce viable offspring... which will look even more different.

But I do my darndest to learn all the Latin names of the Africans, as that's really the only way to go for identifying species.

 

[chasgood]

Well I scratched Auratus off my list.
The apistogramma cacatuoides or cockatoo/crested is listed as one of the few SA cichlids that likes hard water so it went on my list.
The Asian cichlid Etroplus maculatus or orange chromide is on the list too. So those along with krib, keyhole and peacocks on the list I should find something. Hopefully by next weekend the tanks nitrites will have settled down and can finally add more fish. Will hit the stores with list in hand.

 

[TankGirl]

I posted this in the Show Off forum but thought I would put the pic here - it is the only pic I can get, and of the only peacock that does not hide from the camera. Not sure what it is going to wind up looking like, it actually has rather a lot of orange on it that does not show up on the pic, mostly caudally and ventrally, as well as a splotch between its eyes.