Help, What kind of fish??

[voodoogurl8]

Hi guys, i was wondering if anyone would be able to help me out.

A friend i work with asked me if i could look after her fish while she is on holidays for 3 months. I thought it was just going to be a gold fish but it isn't. She said she got it from a friend, who got it from a lake or river, but she doesn't actually know what kind of fish it is. The tank is cold and fresh water and without aeration. The worst part is she didn't give me any food for it, but she said she just feeds it pellets you can get from the super market.

I was wondering does anyone know what kind of fish it is, and what im actually meant to be feeding it because it doesnt look like it could survive on just pellets. Also if i should have some sort of aeration system in there.

Also i live in Queensland, Australia, if that helps to identify it. Thank You!!

 

[phatpaul]

Hi. I don't know what fish it is but by looking at it's mouth I would think it's some sort of predatory fish so I would think some meat based pellets would go down well. And tell your friend the tank is way to small for the fish lol

 

[allaboutfish]

looks like a cichlid to me and it needs to be in a 55 gallon aquarium. hikari cichlid pellets would be good.

 

[Ickletas]

Have had a massive mooch around the internet and couldn't find a native QLD fish that looked even close to that fish. Sooooo I had a look at the QLD Govt. Fisheries website and there are a few species on there that look a lot, but not exactly, like this one. Now for the bad news. All of these fish (the ones that look like but not exactly) are on the noxious fish list ie it is illegal to keep, hatch, rear or sell these fish ( I assume there are licences availiable but am not that aux fait with aussie laws sorry ). You should get your friend to check this fish out with the fisheries dept. especially as it was found in the wild as it is also illegal to "release" these fish into the waterways. Don't mean to frighten you and sorry if I have but in this case I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

Exotic pest fish | Primary industries & fisheries | Queensland Government

 

[voodoogurl8]

Oh no!! I really hope its not illegal to have. And I cant really tell her any of this because she is in China for the next 3 months and i have no way to get in contact with her.

I guess all I can do is look after it as best i can and tell her all this when she gets back.

 

[rich311k]

With large mouth and lips it is some kind of African mouth brooder, maybe in the tilapia family.

 

[Ickletas]

Sorry, like I say I didn't intend to frighten or distress you but I thought it was worth knowing. But yes, like you say, look after him as best you can and give her the info on her return . For what it's worth it looks like some kind of cichlid to me to so maybe that's the way forward.

 

[Ickletas]

Ithought it looked a bit like a Tilapia too, although I've only ever seen red ones and they've been on dinner plates

 

[allaboutfish]

maybe you could upgrade it to a little bigger of a tank? just watch craigslist for a good deal a 20 gallon long and up would be best but definently try to find a 55 but alot of people are tight on money soyea.

 

[voodoogurl8]

Thank you all for your advice and comments. After looking about Google Images for Tilapia, I think we are pretty sure that's what it is. Just not sure which kind, possibly mozambique. Now to find it some food it will actually eat.