# pseudotropheus sp "Blue Dolphin"



## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

Is this considered to be a rare fish the guy a t my lfs said it was a rare fish


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Yes, it isn't a common fish.


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

Yep, relatively hard to find, but certainly not impossible.


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

ok does anyone know if this is true the guy said that it was only discovered like 5 years ago and does any one own one of these beasts


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Squege56 said:


> ok does anyone know if this is true the guy said that it was only discovered like 5 years ago and does any one own one of these beasts


It isn't too far from the truth... I can't recall exactly when they were first imported, but it hasn't been too long... five, six... somewhere in there. I've had them, found them to be one of the more disappointing fish I`ve kept, and moved them on.


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

Can't vouch for how long ago it was, but I know it wasn't terrible long ago.

I have 6 of them in a tank right now. 1 that is 3 or 4 years old and 5 that are about 2" long.


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

they have one at my local fish store and it is 8 inches long and a real cool blue and black


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## Malawi Mac (Aug 20, 2004)

I have 8 of them in a mixed mbuna community. They are one of my favorite species. They are extremely mild-mannered for a blue black-barred mbuna. I've even kept them in a male hap tank in the past.

Yes, they are very hard to find. The only time I've ever seen them in a retail pet shop was in the Chicago area a few years ago. I bought mine from a breeder via Aquabid.


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## kyboy (Oct 30, 2009)

BoilerFan, what size is the 1 you have that is 3 -4 years old?



Squege56 said:


> they have one at my local fish store and it is 8 inches long and a real cool blue and black


 you are now obligated to post pics of the one at your LFS  opcorn:
One of my faves - I had some, but didn't keep them because my tank is a 55g.


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

The older one is about 4+" right now. He's apparently not getting any bigger. I expect them all to get 6" or more based on what I read, but I don't see him hitting a growth spurt at this point. HHe (she?) is happy and healthy by all accounts, but below average length.


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## xsarahx (Mar 16, 2011)

I have a 4" blue dolphin in my tank, he/she is one of my favourite fish i like how it is slightly different in shape to my other mbunas, its also realy calm and spends much time swimming accross the front of my tank almost like putting on a show :wink: didnt realise they was hard to find but now i think about it i havent seen any in my LFS whilst *** been checking out what they have got, sure you would find them easy enough online as im learning this is the future, good luck :thumb:


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

xsarahx said:


> I have a 4" blue dolphin in my tank, he/she is one of my favourite fish i like how it is slightly different in shape to my other mbunas, its also realy calm and spends much time swimming accross the front of my tank almost like putting on a show :wink: didnt realise they was hard to find but now i think about it i havent seen any in my LFS whilst I've been checking out what they have got, sure you would find them easy enough online as im learning this is the future, good luck :thumb:


The Blue Dolphin you have is a Cyrtocara moori.

The Blue Dolphin discussed in this thread is a Metriaclima zebra complex fish.

The Cyrtocara moori is not rare at all.


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## 69183 (Apr 25, 2011)

I was at an LFS on Friday, looked like they had a few in one of their bigger displays. Not entirely positive it was one, but the kid pointed them out thinking it was big demonsani, I looked over to see what he was talking about and told him it was too big to be a dem, that it was probably a blue dolphin. I'm fairly new to all this, but I had thought about stocking my tank with a few and then decided to go with the demonsani, so I could be wrong.


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## xsarahx (Mar 16, 2011)

Fogelhund said:


> The Blue Dolphin you have is a Cyrtocara moori.
> 
> The Blue Dolphin discussed in this thread is a Metriaclima zebra complex fish.
> 
> The Cyrtocara moori is not rare at all.


Ok, i cant delete it now, I havent kept them long enough to know there is 2 different Blue Dolphins :?


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

i know the one at my lfs is only 3 years old and is 8" and mine right now is two inches also what do you feed yours mine hides when i put food in the tank and he willl only eat one pellet and then he also eats the algea waffers i feed them so he is pretty picky on food.


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

today my blue dolphin came out and now showing more dominance in the tank and he seems to be pushing his gills out to look bigger :lol: im so proud of him


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

how can i tell the sex of these fish


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## kyboy (Oct 30, 2009)

Venting is the only sure way (if they are big enough), other than that the males are usually larger & have a bit more color.


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## Lombardo2nd (May 28, 2011)

I had one and really enjoyed it. Until I lost it to my filter  Now I'm having a hard time finding more. I also have the moorii. But it's having problems.


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

I also have both they are about one and 3/4 of an inch so hope to watch them grow


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

I have some of these guys. Either I'm down to 4 males, or they are just tough to get to breed in a community setting. My LFS breeds and sells them, as of the last time I checked in with them. I've got 1 brightly colored male with perfect barring (in my avvy, older pic), and another brightly colored male with a broken bar on one side. They skirmish from time to time, and the nice male ended up with a white bump on its lip a couple weeks ago (its healed now). The 3rd and 4th aren't as brightly colored - one of them is so dull I think it might actually be a female (and I have seen the males shimmy at it now and then), but they're mature size now and I've never seen anyone holding eggs. The only dissappointing thing about them is that I'm sad they haven't produced fry for me. As far as mbuna go, I haven't found them any different than the other docile species in my tank. I'm about due for a food trip to my LFS, maybe I'll see when I can grab up another half dozen juvies and try to get a harem going for my nice male that I like.


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

i think i got mine from the same place too because i live in ohio and my lfs is in cleveland :fish:


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

Squege56 said:


> i think i got mine from the same place too because i live in ohio and my lfs is in cleveland :fish:


Sounds like it.

By the way, this particular store has raised the price of them from $8 per 1" juvie to $20 each since I bought mine - just found this out today . This is disappointing, I was gonna get some more to hopefully get some females since mine aren't spawning, but not at $20 per juvie. Especially since I haven't had good experiences with trying to return fish for store credit.


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## Creepy85 (Aug 26, 2009)

ItÃ‚Â´s called Metriaclima (or Maylandia) spec. dolphin.

http://www.malawi-dream.info/Maylandia_ ... _Manda.htm


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## Squege56 (Apr 19, 2011)

yep payed 18 dollars for mine


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