ID's Please :)

[emmamc91]

Got a couple of fish here that I'm not completely sure of they're name...

Thanks x

 

[Freakgecko91]

Last one is a jewel cichlid, which, if I remember correctly is an African riverine cichlid, not a rift lake

 

[emmamc91]

Yeah remember the discussion I had with the guy in the Abyss, a Lfs in Manchester, it was in a tank labelled "mixed Malawi cichlids" and he said then, that this was a riverine fish, but the only worry is the ph shock, and that it is fine in a Malawi tank... Dunno what anyone else's thoughts on this are, he's been doing fine, not had any harassment, I took his word for it, and the fact it was in with Malawis there...x

 

[Nimo]

The little yellow and black one is melanochromis auratus, the one hidding in the rock I sm not sure but I think it is Pseudotrophus Estherae. The last is definitely a jewel and a very beautiful one.

 

[Nimo]

If I am correct about the pseudotrophus Estherae it will loose the dark tones it has now and trade them for blue, they are very pretty adults.

 

[emmamc91]

Yeah knew the auratus, had someone telling me the other day that I shouldn't have 4 of them, and that despite buying them from a shop that has all female tanks, apparently I can't guarantee they're female, and ALL my fish will die, and I'm irresponsible, haha... It was the purple coloured one in the rock I'm struggling with, I have uploaded some photos to my profile now, got a good one of my green phantom plec x

 

[Nimo]

The auratus can sexualy change female to male where there are no males present, there is no guarantee that your girls will change but it is possible, and the are some of the most aggressive with their own kind, can be aggressive with others but mostly among themselves

 

[kay-bee19]

The auratus can sexualy change female to male where there are no males present

Has this been scientifically proven? (particularly when immature male melanochromis auratus are identical to females prior to their color transition).

 

[Nimo]

I read it on a web site when I was researching mine, it was one of the descriptive sites with all their scientific data on this particular fish, and it seems to me that I saw it in a couple different places, My largest female has taken on the male coloration. I had 3 females and I guess the dominant one decided to be a boy

 

[kay-bee19]

Taking on male coloration (which some dominant mbuna females such as kenyi and auratus are capable of doing), is one thing, but undergoing an actual gender shift (that is to say: going from fertile female to fertile male) is something completely different.

Not meaning to get off topic a a ID thread

 

[emmamc91]

Love it when a debate begins, my understanding of it, was that the top of the hierarchy of auratus females, when in female only conditions, can don male coloration, but obviously doesn't become a fertile male, it simply does this to mark itself as top of the tree... I heard that this doesn't affect their aggressiveness x

 

[Nimo]

I am just going off what I read. The article said that the dominant female can change sex where there is no male present so they could breed in a situation if males were lost. Angel fish can do it to.

 

[severum mama]

Yeah knew the auratus, had someone telling me the other day that I shouldn't have 4 of them, and that despite buying them from a shop that has all female tanks, apparently I can't guarantee they're female, and ALL my fish will die, and I'm irresponsible, haha... It was the purple coloured one in the rock I'm struggling with, I have uploaded some photos to my profile now, got a good one of my green phantom plec x

At that size, I would just about bet that there's no way the shop could reliably keep an "all female" tank.

 

[Ukdans1k]

Your jewel should be fine,although like so many fish no guarantee can be made. Lol they become more aggressive when spawning. I had a breeding pair about ten years ago, they breed rapidly and dominated one corner of my tank. Was nice to watch.

As for your I.D, it's hard to say from the pic, I'm no expert but looks similar to a few fish. That's the trouble with malawi's, there's a lot of blue!!!! Lol

 

[emmamc91]

Thanks, all still seem fine, had a bout of ich, used the high temp method to rid the tank of it.. Only just lowered the temp, but it's looking really nice, bright, and the fish are happy, like to give me a friendly nip if I put my hand in, or will eat from my hand...x

 

[Ukdans1k]

Lol, you wait till they get bigger, I have a tank of mature adults all full grown. If I have food in my hand they will almost jump out to get it, and if I'm not careful they draw blood!

 

[emmamc91]

Sounds like fun, I do enjoy watching them, it's so relaxing, they each have their own little personality x

 

[Fready]

Could the hiding one be a daktari female?

 

[emmamc91]

It's possible, it looks so much like a few fish, its really difficult to distinguish x

 

[bcurlacher54]

no AURATUS do not change sex. the females can just assume male coloration when they dont feel dominated by a male. my female auratus changes colors all while still holding from a younger smaller male.