# Peacock or Mbamba



## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

Please help with the id of this fish. New to cichlids was told he was a peacock. When we got him home and compared him to are peacocks we started thinking maybe he is a Mbuna. He is about 1.5'' to 2''


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## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

Sorry I meant to say peacock or mbuna.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

mbuna


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## amcvettec (May 11, 2012)

Definitely Mbuna - from there its a little harder to tell.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Definitely a mbuna. It might be a Cynotilapia afra


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## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

Thank you everybody for your help.


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## upo4ka (Dec 7, 2013)

oh, I bought a similar one at the Petsmart this week.it was labeled as Jacobi, all 6 sold out in a day b/c I had to return another mixed albino cichlid the next day due to aggression. 
People who marked them should be more honest, just put mixed if unsure...
I do like the fish though, he is very curious and fast. hunt and ate a shrimp. seems OK with a smaller yellow lab and 2 clown plecos.
I don't care what he is. He did CHANGE color after the removal of aggressor, became lighter and now he has an all-over slight orange tint. His bottom fins have a prominent white line on the bottom and anal fin is orange too. ..maybe he is not Mbuna after all.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

upo4ka said:


> oh, I bought a similar one at the Petsmart this week.it was labeled as Jacobi, all 6 sold out in a day b/c I had to return another mixed albino cichlid the next day due to aggression.
> People who marked them should be more honest, just put mixed if unsure...
> I do like the fish though, he is very curious and fast. hunt and ate a shrimp. seems OK with a smaller yellow lab and 2 clown plecos.
> I don't care what he is. He did CHANGE color after the removal of aggressor, became lighter and now he has an all-over slight orange tint. His bottom fins have a prominent white line on the bottom and anal fin is orange too. ..maybe he is not Mbuna after all.


Buyer beware - Petsmart (as well as most of the big pet stores) are terrible at labeling their livestock correctly, especially fish. It's not so much that the employees are dishonest - they just lack motivation to get it right. People still buy them even if they aren't labeled correctly, don't they?

You should research the fish you are interested in before you purchase it. Since almost everyone has a smart phone these days, it's as easy as googling the name on the label and comparing the results with the fish in the tank. Read up on the fish you are getting so you know how to care for it properly - like knowing that feeding mbuna shrimp is a good way to make them get sick and die.


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## MudbugnLouisiana (Nov 28, 2002)

Definitely Mbuna.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Folks who work at Petsmart have no control to how a fish is labeled. This decision comes from the supplier. Honestly, most folks that work there really have no clue what those cichlids are. Every now and then you will run into someone who is into the hobby.

I buy fish from them a lot. I expect to get a hybrid.


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## damo2211 (Dec 21, 2013)

upo4ka said:


> oh, I bought a similar one at the Petsmart this week.it was labeled as Jacobi, all 6 sold out in a day b/c I had to return another mixed albino cichlid the next day due to aggression.
> People who marked them should be more honest, just put mixed if unsure...
> I do like the fish though, he is very curious and fast. hunt and ate a shrimp. seems OK with a smaller yellow lab and 2 clown plecos.
> I don't care what he is. He did CHANGE color after the removal of aggressor, became lighter and now he has an all-over slight orange tint. His bottom fins have a prominent white line on the bottom and anal fin is orange too. ..maybe he is not Mbuna after all.


He would have coloured up when the aggressive fish was removed because he is ow more dominant in the tank peacocks ave much more pointed noses than this fish beautiful fish though


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Does look like a young "Afra". Looks like a nice little fish that should be cool looking if male.

Oddly, lately Petsmart has had fish labeled as "Afra" but they were actually "Hongi"


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## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

The lfs I got him from said he is a Labidochromis Hongi. He said we can keep him if we want and come in and get the peacock cichlid we were suppose to get. I want to keep him but I think he is going to get to aggressive for the peacocks I have.


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

That is a Hongi. Your fish's snout shape and mouth are wrong. It could be part hongi but to me that fish looks like a hybrid.
It's a crappshoot as to whether it will grow up to be a mean fish. If you planned on having a peacock tank, I would not throw this fish into the mix.

Also, can't you source your fish locally from breeders and other hobbyists? LFS sell trash african cichlids, unless it is a privately owned store that specializes in cichlids.


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## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

pablo111 said:


> That is a Hongi. Your fish's snout shape and mouth are wrong. It could be part hongi but to me that fish looks like a hybrid.
> It's a crappshoot as to whether it will grow up to be a mean fish. If you planned on having a peacock tank, I would not throw this fish into the mix.
> 
> Also, can't you source your fish locally from breeders and other hobbyists? LFS sell trash african cichlids, unless it is a privately owned store that specializes in cichlids.


I see what you talking about on his snout and mouth. The place I have been buying my fish from is a privately owned store that specializes in cichlids. I went up there and they have him labeled a Hongi. Just need to find a home for him now. Thank you


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

pablo111 said:


> That is a Hongi. Your fish's snout shape and mouth are wrong. It could be part hongi but to me that fish looks like a hybrid.
> It's a crappshoot as to whether it will grow up to be a mean fish. If you planned on having a peacock tank, I would not throw this fish into the mix.
> 
> Also, can't you source your fish locally from breeders and other hobbyists? LFS sell trash african cichlids, unless it is a privately owned store that specializes in cichlids.


Yep, L. hongi are pretty easy to ID even as juvis, and your fish certainly isn't one (or a pure one, anyway). If the LFS was willing to give you the peacock you were supposed to get, won't they take this one back? I don't think you should keep him with peacocks.


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## Tonyarc (Dec 9, 2013)

Family member has a Mbuna tank so I am going to let them take car of the fish. Good thing about that is I will get to see it grow out. I will post a picture of him when he gets bigger.


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