finally figured out what they are...

[Guest]

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 lfs or a breeder?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Your stocking looks good with exception of the Venustus. They grow quite large and need a tank larger than 55 gal. 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.

 

[Guest]

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 gal 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 gal 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 lfs.

 

[Guest]

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. LOL 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?

 

[Guest]

no, i don't unfortunately.. my camera phone doesn't take good pics of small fast moving fish... LOL.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

LOL 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.

 

[Guest]

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?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You are correct, they are both Mbuna's. They are very interesting fish to watch beacuse they each have their own individual behaviors. I have a fish that sticks to the corners of the tanks. He swims up and down the corners in the bubbles. He'll do that all day long. Then the next day he will go to the next corner. He's also the one that was stuck in the output tube of the filter. LOL

The best way to purchase Africans is when they are juvi's. That way you can monitor their behavior and they will be able to adjust better to new tank mates. Plus, they are a heck of a lot cheaper than adults. But if you are interested in breeding, then purchasing as adults is generally the way to go since you will be able to determine the sex easier.

 

[DeFeKt]

couldn't help but notice the melanochromis johanni in ur sig, if it's the little blue one with vertical stripes you mean, correct me if i'm wrong but don't johanni's have horizontal stripes like the maingano (cyanerhabdos) ?
If I have been lead correctly the juvi's are also a yellowish/orangie like the females.


Matt.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

There are several variations of the Johanni. Some have horizontal, some have horizontal and vertical, and some have vertical with a slight hint (if any) of horizontal. We had one that was like a checkerboard pattern.

 

[Guest]

The one i have is orange with 2 darker horizontal stripes. It hasn't turned blue yet so im thinking its a female. But it could be a male if its colors start to change.. how large are they when colors change? All of mine are between 1 and 2 inches long.

 

[Guest]

oh and its changed from the beginning. This is what i have now

2 Labidochromis caeruleus
4 pseudotropheus elongatus
2 Pseudotropheus socolofi
1 Melanochromis auratus
1 Melanochroms johanni
1 Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"
still one mystery one that i don't have a clue.
and i have 2 clown loaches, 1 rainbow shark, and 1 sailfin pleco.

 

[DeFeKt]

thanks FF, I do stand corrected, as I was not aware of that.
Plus it also acertains what I really have as well in my generation 2 Maingano's.

As for colour changes I would have assumed breeding age would be the time for the males to start doing there little wooing/attraction thing so i'd expect about now if they are 1-2" .

How are they all going together anyway? Had a look at your gallery, certainly is a good looking bunch.. any aggression? It'd be a shame to have to split them.

 

[Guest]

they are all doing great!!! the only problem ive really had is that my rainbow shark has claimed one of the flowerpots as HIS.. he will share it with Bob.. my pleco no problem, but if one of the cichlids enters he chases it away!!! But there has been no damage done and they are all doing great... growing beautifully and their colors are really brightening up.

 

[DeFeKt]

nice, whats the growth rate like? i just had a mouthful of 26 spat, they were 8mm and now are almost 2cm's at 3 1/2 weeks. just wondering what they will grow like in once they get to that size?

Matt.

 

[Guest]

well when i got them they were all in a baby assorted tank and i didn't have a clue as to what was what, but they were all under 1" and cost 1.99 apeice. Now they are almost 2".. some of them are 2", and the Acei i just bought him out of the acei tank and he is 2" long and he was the smallest in the tank. He cost me about $5.

I believe.. when was my other post? I believe i started this about 3-4 weeks ago.. so they are growing pretty fast!

Thu Dec 08, so yeah about 3 weeks ago and it took me about a week to figure out what i had.. lol.. so i have had the first 5 i bought for about a month and the ones i added a week later. It's so exciting that they are big enough now i can buy from the tanks that are labeled and i actually know what im getting.. although its more expensive.. LOL. But i am having so much fun with this tank!!!

 

[jrp1588]

an inch in a month...nice. I hope this is a typical growth rate because i want my mbunas to get bigger