CAN I GET ID?

[G2-B]

These fish were an unexpected addition to a used tank I bought Saturday. I had not considered getting into cichlids yet, but I could hardly let them flush them down the toilet. I would appreciate identification.
ALSO: will these interbreed?


This is not the (late) fish with the crooked back, but looks like the same species.
It does have faint vertical stripes.

V227 mentioned that this is probably a male Kenyi Mbuna Cichlid aka Maylandia lombardoi. I assume the others are cichlids as well.​

The majority of the other fish are greyish with stripes.
Are they the females and juveniles of the same species, or different species?


The lonesome 3rd type is a mottled black / pink / white color.
Google tells me "OB Peacock cichlid?"


The 4th species is likely a common plecostomus.
Do these tolerate colder water = 50ºF / 10ºC ? The 250 gallon IBC totes in my aquaponics system would probably be a better location once this one gets bigger, but the water gets cool in the winter.

These fish have all been living together for several years in this tank (even while the grey ones were breeding) and appear to get along pretty well.

 

[G2-B]

It only took me 2 days to reinstall and get this tank functioning again. They're back in their old home. I know, not ideal for cichlids, but at least it got them back in their tank instead of that blue barrel that I transported them in. I'll find them some things to hide in and under.
And of course, the first comment I got was: "You should have put that one in the living room." Beyond a doubt, those colorful cichlids make a better showpiece than guppies.

 

[Andy Sager]

These fish were an unexpected addition to a used tank I bought Saturday. I had not considered getting into cichlids yet, but I could hardly let them flush them down the toilet. I would appreciate identification.
ALSO: will these interbreed?

View attachment 392784
This is not the (late) fish with the crooked back, but looks like the same species.
It does have faint vertical stripes.

V227 mentioned that this is probably a male Kenyi Mbuna Cichlid aka Maylandia lombardoi. I assume the others are cichlids as well.​

Based on the underlying stripes, I'd put money on that it's a kennyi.

View attachment 392788 View attachment 392781
The majority of the other fish are greyish with stripes.
Are they the females and juveniles of the same species, or different species?

These are Convict cichlids. The others are African cichlids and these are Central American of different families so the shouldn't be able to breed or even if they do, the eggs most likely wouldn't hatch.

View attachment 392785 View attachment 392786
The lonesome 3rd type is a mottled black / pink / white color.
Google tells me "OB Peacock cichlid?"

Yay for Google. These could, in theory, breed with the kennyi but again, it's unlikely but not 100% impossible. Since both types of fish are mouth brooders, you could get some weird looking hybrids out a Peacock/ Kennyi pairing.

View attachment 392787
The 4th species is likely a common plecostomus.

This looks more like a Sailfin Pleco ( Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps ) than a Hypostomus plecostomus but there are a couple of " Hypo" species that get clumped into H. plecostomus for simplicity. The difference would be in the dorsal fin. The Hypo will have a triangular dorsal fin while the gibbiceps will have a rounded elongated dorsal fin. I live near a Hypo pleco farm here in Florida and those fish have no spots like the gibbiceps.

Do these tolerate colder water = 50ºF / 10ºC ? The 250 gallon IBC totes in my aquaponics system would probably be a better location once this one gets bigger, but the water gets cool in the winter.

Sadly, neither species of pleco it could be will do well in water that cold. Low 70s is about as low as they can tolerate and for only short periods of time. If they get too cold, they can't digest food properly so even if they do eat, it would actually be bad for them. The other fish also shouldn't be in water that cold. They are called " tropical" fish for a reason. 50 degrees is for carps/ goldfish, some minnows and a few other varieties of fish not typically kept in a fish tank.

These fish have all been living together for several years in this tank (even while the grey ones were breeding) and appear to get along pretty well.

That' a little odd because they really should be in different water parameters but with domestication of all those species, they may have adapted to a more "centralized" water.

 

[G2-B]

These are Convict cichlids.

Thank you for the confirmation.

I have 18 of these in a 55-gallon tank, plus the pleco and the 2 Africans. How many would be reasonable and feasible. A single breeding pair, or would several be OK?

It was only the pleco that I would have considered moving in with the goldfish if they would have tolerated the low temp, but that is obviously not going to happen.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for the confirmation.

I have 18 of these in a 55-gallon tank, plus the pleco and the 2 Africans. How many would be reasonable and feasible. A single breeding pair, or would several be OK?

It was only the pleco that I would have considered moving in with the goldfish if they would have tolerated the low temp, but that is obviously not going to happen.

The problem with convicts is that they can get very aggressive when they pair off and want to breed. There are 2 schools of thought with them: 1) keep them so crowded that they can't pair off and have space to themselves or 2) Keep only a pair in a tank. With a 55, they could realistically take over a side of the tank leaving the other side for the other fish to hang in. They could also take up residence in the middle of the tank and defend both the left and right sides of the tank so nothing is safe. This is why when you have a pair, you only decorate a tank in an area where you want the fish to breed at. Unfortunately, that doesn't really make for a pretty tank.
Personally, I wouldn't waste a 55 with a single pair of Convicts. They would do fine in a 20 gallon long.
Hope this helps.