# Made new id post might help more/ help me id these



## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

I have been trying for weeks finding out what type of cichlid it is. i know you cant tell it in the pic but on the ends of the dorsal and anal fins there are little red dots and the dots are outlined with pale blue. The breeder said they were electric yellows which they clearly are not. Can someone help me out


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Best chance for ID is to post multiple pics from various angles.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

I tried to get a better pic they wont stop moving lol. Hopefully this pic will help. Like I said I have 6 of these


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

I dont know what type of fish that is but I do see some Auratus in there with what appears to be a Taiwan Reef. I dont think the Taiwan Reef will do well with the Auratus, at least mine sure didnt. Just saying, keep an eye on that.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Are they white?

There are some different races related to Yellow Labs, but they are rarer in the hobby. Maybe the breeder said they were similar to Yellow Labs?

Other than that, they could be hybrids with one parent a Yellow Lab. The pictures are not really clear enough, they don't really look like anything specific.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

I have 6 of these cichlids the first pic is of the actual color, idk why the other pics look gold. anyway they are about 5 months old, the are an opaque yellow with red/ outlined pale blue spots on their dorsal and anal fins. breeder told me they were electric yellows which as you can see they are not, im still new to cichlids. i hope someone can help me id these. i took someones advice and posted multiple pics hope this helps i wish i could have gotten better pics but was unable to


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

No they are not white they are this ugly pale or opaque yellow and underneath the yellow color there is grey coming through. i have seen some peacocks that have the same markings and zebras. idk im so confused


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Well, did the breeder seem like an expert?

I would guess they are just unattractive hybrids, rather than a rarely seen fish. A male might color up more at some point, hard to guess with a hybrid, but I would not assume that these fish are going to get attractive. Good Yellow Labs are colorful and attractive at over 1".


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

These almost look like what you would expect from a cross between yellow labs and what people refer to as a Dragonblood peacock (or Firefish). They have some characteristics of both - the body and head/mouth shape of a lab, the almost opaque coloration and fin shape of the Dragonblood. I can't say with 100% certainty without seeing some better photos (these are just too out of focus), but they look mostly like some type of hybrid. They may end up looking kind of cool - the males, anyways - but all bets are off when it comes to hybrids. You definitely don't want to distribute any offspring they produce - avoid somebody else going through what you are right now.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

That could be possible, when I went to the breeders house I saw they're cichlids and they had all kinds which most people do. I do remember them having an ob peacock along with a dragonblood, a couple of haps, electric yellows. The pics you see were supposed to be electric yellows. The whole batch was like that.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

How long does it take for cichlids grow? I have had mine for about 4-5 months and the blue kenyi's I have are just now starting to color up. I have a taiwan reef that has started but not fully.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

The growth rate depends on many things, such as the species, how clean you keep the water, how often/what you're feeding them, etc. Most mbuna from Lake Malawi will start to color up fairly young (males, anyways), depending on these factors, as well as dominance. Haps, on the other hand - especially large ones - may take quite some time to start showing adult coloration. It sounds like you've got some pretty aggressive species - Kenyi and auratus - what size tank are they in? And what is your ratio of males to females? The previous post is correct in that your Taiwan reef won't do well with these mbuna.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Interesting that someone would produce such poor looking guys and sell em as Yellow Lab/Electric Yellow.
Would get a very bad rep very quickly and lose all customers fast.
Sorry can not help much on the Id. Just a poor looking hybrid I guess.
No idea what you can expect from them. But you can not make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

All the best James


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## Daffypuck (Feb 25, 2012)

In your pics I see a Bumble bee, an auratus (sp) and what looks like a red zebra hybrid or a poorly bred red zebra. As far as growth, *** had a full tank of guys that are almost a year old and theyre growing slowly. Then on the flip side, I bought a Bumble bee that was maybe 2 in long an within 4 months he was nearly 7in!! Water, genetics, breed, quality of food, temperature etc etc can be factors in growth. Certain breeds grow quickly while others take a longerr period of time to reach full potential.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

To answer eveybody's questions... I have a 30g tank I got all of my fish from the same people I really wouldn't call them a breeder just some friends that I no longer talk to anymore. I was new to the whole cichlid thing, they told me that 18 cichlids would be suffice. So I bought 18 of them for only $18 good deal lol. I bought 4 blue kenyi, 4 arautus, 6 (electric yellows) some kind of hybrids apparently, 2 taiwan reefs ( 1 died after I moved), and to mainganos (which were suppose to be johanni) since then I have added 4 jewels. I have spoken with experts before and they said that is way too many. So far they have all been doing fine. All of them are aggressive but for the most part they get along fine. As far as the ratio of males and females I really can't tell they are still young. I want to say for every 2 boys there is a female. The bumble bee someone refered to is actually a blue kenyi or so I was told but I looks really weird to me its face looks like it was mashed in. I will try to post a pic of it. Like I said the taiwan reef has been fine I have not had any problems with them attacking each other.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Well, crowding helps. A larger group is easier, but they will keep getting bigger. They are still young, with much less violent aggression. Long term, this won't work well. You won't have many attractive fish in the tank either.

AS for growth, really depends on water quality. Clean water, they grow fast. Overcrowded tank with few water changes, they will not grow very fast.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

I think most of us have made the same mistakes when starting out - overcrowding small tanks with relatively inexpensive species. The cheap fish are cheap for a reason, and that's because they're hard to sell to people with some experience. When these fish are young, they are generally not real aggressive, hence the small tanks at the stores that are overflowing with baby cichlids. As they mature and become territorial and wanting to breed, problems arise. It's hard to say which of your fish will start killing first - it could be the kenyi or auratus when the males start to color up, or it could be the jewels when a pair bonds to mate. A larger tank with more floor space (and room for combatants to get away from each other) will help, but you'll also want to adjust ratios so you have 1 mate for each 4-7 females. The jewels are an exception since they form a pair. I'm not trying to scare you off or blame you for making mistakes - as I said, we've almost all done it. Rather, I'm just trying to make you aware of what you WILL face, and offer some suggestions so you can enjoy cichlid keeping. It's a great hobby, but as with everything worthwhile there is a learning curve.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

I do have another tank which is 20g. I have goldfish in that one at the moment I am waiting for them to die because we all know they dont last long. I was planning on moving some of the cichlids to that tank eventually. I apreciate everyone for helping me. I just wish I knew what those fish were.


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## timbo6684 (Aug 29, 2010)

You do know what they are... hybrids


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

timbo6684 said:


> You do know what they are... hybrids


Yep. You'll likely never know beyond that.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The fish in question looks like a possible peacock / mbuna cross. It is not pure, whatever it is.

And, your friend has really misled you all the way around. Your tank is FAR too small for these fish. It is a recipe for disaster. Auratus should not be kept in anything shorter than 4 foot in length, and personally, I would advise 6 foot. Same for Kenyi and maingano...And, if the maingano were sold to you as johanni but aren't, I wouldn't count on them not being hybrids, either. If your friend had two Melanochromis species in the same tank, even the auratus may not be pure. The jewels have no place in this tank at all - in fact, this tank is really only appropriate for a pair of jewels out of all of the fish that you have in there.

As they mature, you are going to have all kinds of problems. Stress leads to constant health issues and losses.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

A 20G is not suitable for any of these fish, either.

Unfortunately, about your only choice long term is to leave a pair of jewels in the 30G and buy a minimum 4 foot tank for the rest (no jewels), and even then it may not work out with two volatile species like Kenyi and auratus.


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## Mark1212 (Apr 7, 2013)

Does anyone have a big tank laying around they can give me? I am out of work at the moment and cannot buy a tank that big


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Mark1212 said:


> Does anyone have a big tank laying around they can give me? I am out of work at the moment and cannot buy a tank that big


Check Your Local Craigslist Postings - Sometimes You Can Find Really Cheap Tanks, Or Even Free Ones That Just Need Some TLC (re-Sealing The Seams, Etc). I Got My 125 Gallon That Way For MUCH less Than A New One Would Have Cost Me. Good Luck!


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