# Fish ID...thoughts?



## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

The LED light came in a few minutes ago, just waiting on the stones now. While I'm at it I thought I would try to ask if this is an actual type of Mbuna or just a mutt. He's my favorite so far.

the stripes on his head


this shows more of what his color looks in person


this captured him with the light a certain way you can see his stripes, he never ooks this light really


this is him again


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## Chas531 (Nov 9, 2014)

Im new to the hobby as well but i think it has pseudotropheus elongatus in it but not sure if its a hybrid


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

While Even The Best Of These Photos Isn't Really Good Enough To Make A Real ID, I Would Agree That It's At Least Partly Pseudotropheus elongatus. Most Likely It's A Hybrid, But I Can See how It Could Be A Mix Of Different Elongatus Species Rather Than An Elongatus And Something Else Entirely.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

Yes, sorry about the photos. The fish are just so fast it is so hard to get them with my phone. I will definitely look into that type, I really like him, he seems smarter than the others somehow.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

Wow, you guys are good! That's for sure him, he's not as dazzled as some but he is definitely one of them. I just read they are very territorial though, bummer, my tank is far too small for all that!


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

FishBoss said:


> Wow, you guys are good! That's for sure him, he's not as dazzled as some but he is definitely one of them. I just read they are very territorial though, bummer, my tank is far too small for all that!


He won't be nearly as territorial as the auratus will (the one with yellow, black and white horizontal stripes) - that one is one of the most aggressive mbuna species out there, a true killer. Most of the fish I see in your pics will need at least a 4' long 55 gallon tank (the elongatus and socolofi or cobalt zebra - can't tell which it is), and others still will get big enough or aggressive enough that I would suggest a 75 gallon tank minimum, or better yet a 6' long 125 gallon tank (like the auratus and acei). What size is your tank?


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

Yes I was actually just dicussing this in my first forum post, my tank was what I originally thought 40 gallon, but after checking the demensions it seems I have a 30 gallon...I'm also horrible with measurements and measuring tape so I could be off and it may be a 38. I was told by the LFS guy that i needed to overstock baby Mbuna and when they got bigger or agressive i could bring them back for trade. I'm finding I'll have to take them all back sooner than I though from what I'm being told so far. After doing some research I have found that I have two Giraffe Haps, a Borleyi, a red zebra, an albino... (?zebra? its all white and shaped like the red zebra) two Aurutas, 3 yellow tail acei, a yellow msobo, a yellow something that almost looks dirty with a blue dot on its cheek, and three other blue fish I am not sure of. I'm going to upload some clearer pics and maybe you can tell me, I'm so amazed at how good you are at it! I just placed some stones today so they all have some hiding spots, theyre all getting along great for now.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

So here we have a Borleyi, two YT Acei, elongatus, aurutas and then "dirty yellow" and the "blue guy with dark stripes"


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

then I have no idea what this blue one is...


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

and here is little guy with the stripes again next to another one with stripes that looks completely different.


I pologize in advance for the crummy iphone pics. It's all I have to work with and these dudes are fast!


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

Dirty yellow could possibly be a yellow lab mixed with a red zebra. Second blue guy looks like a cobalt blue zebra, although the marks on the face are strange. Thirdly, the striped guy on the left appears to be a Kenyi, but I can't quite tell what the guy on the right is.

Also, albino zebras are fairly common, as are "snow white socolofi," so your white fish could go either way. See if you can snag a picture of him for a more positive ID.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

after taking 80 more pics I got a decent one of the bigger blue striped one, it looks different from the little dude in the first pic, it also has black spots on its dorsal fin which the other two don't have.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

The Cichlid Guy said:


> Dirty yellow could possibly be a yellow lab mixed with a red zebra. Second blue guy looks like a cobalt blue zebra, although the marks on the face are strange. Thirdly, the striped guy on the left appears to be a Kenyi, but I can't quite tell what the guy on the right is.
> 
> Also, albino zebras are fairly common, as are "snow white socolofi," so your white fish could go either way. See if you can snag a picture of him for a more positive ID.


yes, I thought the little striped one was a Kenyi as well. Originally I figured all three were, but the other two look more alike and don't favor the little kenyi. Ill be back with albino pics, I'm off to take another 87 to get a good one :lol:


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

okay the LED made him pinkish in photos so I took some with flash and in moonlight.


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

I'd say it's a Socolofi. Personally I prefer them to albino zebras. They tend to be more of a pure white with nice red eyes, while the zebras are a pinkish color with some slight red on the fins.


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

Yes it's a pretty fish, I wish I had bought a few more when I got it, when I went back to get the next round they were all snatched up  This one dug a giant pit the size of my fist in the middle of the tank the first day. I think I pissed it off when I rearranged things with the rocks, he seems a little lost now without his pit!


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

the other striped blue is definitely Kenyi. her stripes just colored up very prominant when I fed them. They fade a lot though.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

I'd say the albino is socolofi, as well. As for the blue barred ones, the littler one is at least mostly kenyi and the bigger one is probably a kenyi hybrid, too - the markings on the dorsal aren't consistent with any pure species. The little "dirty" yellow one might be a Ps. johanni or saulosi that's starting to change color, but still need a better pic to say for sure. You seem to have a pretty good handle on the ID's of the other fish in the pics.

So now the real question - what is your plan for this tank/these fish? To be honest, none of them are suitable for a tank that small, whether it's a 30 or 40 gallon, and the mix you've got most likely wouldn't be sustainable even in a 55. Too many aggressive species in improper male to female ratios. It's not surprising that you aren't having aggression issues now since they're all juveniles, but as they become sexuality mature that will change.

If you plan to upgrade to a larger tank, you'll need to do it soon, and you'll still need to adjust your stock depending on if you want to keep mixed genders or all males. If you want to keep the acei, venustus (giraffes), and borleyi, you shouldn't consider anything smaller than a 75. A 125 (6' long) would be better, and would be a must if you want to try keeping the auratus (though I wouldn't recommend it).

If a larger tank isn't an option, you should take all of these fish back now and see if you can get Ps saulosi - a group of 7-9 of them should work in a smaller tank like yours, with 2-3 males and the rest females. Another option would be to get a group of 4 each (1M-3F) yellow labs, Labidochromis caeruleus, and rusties, Iodotropheus sprengerae. But your options are pretty limited when considering Lake Malawi cichlids. There are a few more options if you could do Tanganyikans or west African or south American dwarves.

Either way, I (along with most others here) just want you to enjoy the hobby, so please don't take this unsolicited advice personally - we've all made mistakes when setting up our tanks, too. Last tip - don't take LFS employees stocking advice without double checking it first - their motives usually have more to do with the cash register than the health of the fish and your enjoyment of fish keeping...


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## FishBoss (Nov 19, 2014)

It's a 38 gallon, I'm hoping to upgrade in March to 125, I will get at least 75 though. I started two years ago with a 10 full of guppies! I'm sorry I keep forgetting that I have two threads going. The background on the cichlids I have is they all came from a mixed Mbuna tank. I don't think he was trying to steer me in a direction to make money off of me, he suggested I try them out this way because he sells them very cheap- 8 for $20. He basically said I should overstock them so they wouldn't kill each other and when they became bigger or too agressive I could trade them to him for more babies, rehome them, or upgrade my tank and after I had more experience I could move on to the more expensive cichlids he carries. He is a really nice guy from what I can tell, I think he considers Mbunas kind of like cichlid starter fish for beginners, he doesn't seem too interested in them. I have a feeling he prefers his more exotic cichlids, he carries a lot of really nice fish. I'm not sure why the Haps were in the tank when I got them, but that day they were and I didn't know what they were, I just thought they were beautiful. Right now the 2 (venustus)Haps are the smallest fish in the tank but they are fighting with each other tonight so I'll take them, the aurutas, the elongatus,red zebra, borleyi and 3 aceis back to work out a deal with him. the msombo, dirty yellow, albino and two wannabe kenyi can stay for now, they are the most mild (I suppose it's because theyre all very tiny like the Haps). I cant afford to buy the full breed fish in large numbers, I'll have to do four at a time, so I'll switch the little Mbunas out on the last round. The Aurutas have been very docile along with the little fish, I would have never thought they were on the high end of the aggression spectrum if I hadn't read this forum. They just seem to really like hanging around rubbing on the rocks more than anything. The elongatus is the meanest by far so far. The aceis just seem like brats and the borleyi is very calm but he will get too big. I will see about your suggestions tomorrow when I go up there and I appreciate all advice and constructive criticism! You have all been very helpful and demonstrate genuine concern for the good of the fish.


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