severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm seeing so many ID threads lately in this subforum. While plenty of members are more than willing to lend a hand with fish IDs, I think it's important to mention that purchasing a fish without knowing what it is, is most often a bad idea. I believe this to typically be the case for fishkeeping in general, but especially for cichlids.
I see a lot of folks that toss together a tank full of unidentified cichlids. In some instances, you might be able to get away with it for a while with juvenile fish. Everything may look like it's going just fine... until your fish hit sexual maturity, and then it isn't. Or, as is often the case, you've inadvertently chosen a fish that outgrows your tank. Perhaps your fish turn out to be incompatible due to their dietary needs. Some cichlids (such as Mbuna) need a lot more vegetable matter in their diet than others, for example. These are just a few problems that people may encounter by stocking random cichlids.
If you don't know what something is and can't get an answer from your LFS, snap a photo of the fish you like and post it for ID... BEFORE you buy it. It's better to walk away from an impulse buy so you can get more information, and go back later for the fish if it turns out to be compatible with the rest of your stock list. Don't rely on an employee for stocking information, generally. Some don't know, some just want to sell fish, some don't care. There are some awesome lfs employees, but if you're just starting out it's hard to know the difference. Caveat emptor.
I see a lot of folks that toss together a tank full of unidentified cichlids. In some instances, you might be able to get away with it for a while with juvenile fish. Everything may look like it's going just fine... until your fish hit sexual maturity, and then it isn't. Or, as is often the case, you've inadvertently chosen a fish that outgrows your tank. Perhaps your fish turn out to be incompatible due to their dietary needs. Some cichlids (such as Mbuna) need a lot more vegetable matter in their diet than others, for example. These are just a few problems that people may encounter by stocking random cichlids.
If you don't know what something is and can't get an answer from your LFS, snap a photo of the fish you like and post it for ID... BEFORE you buy it. It's better to walk away from an impulse buy so you can get more information, and go back later for the fish if it turns out to be compatible with the rest of your stock list. Don't rely on an employee for stocking information, generally. Some don't know, some just want to sell fish, some don't care. There are some awesome lfs employees, but if you're just starting out it's hard to know the difference. Caveat emptor.
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