# ID of Yellow with black spots.



## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

New to the forums and it's an awesome resource so far! I need help doing an id on one or all of the cichlids we just picked up from Petsmart. I believe the blue one is an electric blue Johannii or a maingano. The one on the right is a giraffe******** something. The Bright yellow one is throwing me a curve. I cruised through about as many pics as my brain could handle before I posted this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I really want to know what I have so I can add to the tank gradually and no be providing fish food...... Already moved the angels and the cats out of the tank. Gimmie a few to figure out how to post a pic....[/img]


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

Figured it out I hope! I made sure to move our 4 angels, albino cat and the Upsidedown cat out of the tank. wasn't sure how well they would be "played" with.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

M. etherae "OB"

The n. venustus gets to as much as 10", and will need a big tank. I have 3 I'll eventually have to trade off myself.

The johanni or maingano are often bruisers.


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

I have the three of them in a 60g tank. I gather from other parts of the forum that I should have a higher amount of females than males. The green one is the only female from what I can gather the other 2 have "egg spots" on them. Is this right and is the tank big enough?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

I can't guess at the sex of any three of those fish.

The Venustus has a lot to grow before getting male color (if male) and will never have any defined eggspots.

The OB Zebra (based on the one pic that is my guess) can have eggspots male or female, but a male will have bigger brighter eggspots and get a blue sheen on the body and fins. Can't tell yet.

The Johanni type might be male but this is a confusing fish because I'm not sure what the fish actually is. If Maingano might still be a female.

You need more fish, a tank with three fish usually is either a disaster or unexciting. Lots of fish with a lot or females spreads around the aggression.


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

Excellent. Ill see what I can do. Last question other than the obvious is there any type or variety of fish I SHOULD NEVER put in the tank?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Sparrow said:


> Excellent. Ill see what I can do. Last question other than the obvious is there any type or variety of fish I SHOULD NEVER put in the tank?


You already have three of them. :wink: 
But Melanochromis auratus, Kenyi and Bumblebees are the worst three common Mbuna/Malawis for small tanks.

With just a 60g tank I would be thinking small species tank for Mbuna, I do not think you will have much luck with Mbuna Malawi mixes esp if you do not know your fish.

All the best James


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

Get rid of the venustus - gets to be far too large and probably won't hold its own if the OB decides to have a go at it.

The OB and mel. type will probably be fine. I've had both in a 60g (fully stocked) with no trouble.


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

OK just to show how new I am to these fish.... the ob is the yellow one? And the venustus is the green one right?
Or should I just be asking about a 60g crammed with a lot of colour and limited butt whoppings? Ya know what don't wanna waste your time... just point me in a good direction in the forums and I can look up the info otherwise I'm gonna sit here and keep asking questions that have already been answered half a dozen times 
I eventually want to set up a salt tank but want to get the science of the fresh down 1st. Y'all have been very gracious with your answers and replys and I don't want to 'wear out my welcome' with so many questions. Thanks for all the info. :thumb:


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Check out the cookie cutter setups in the library and pick one of the mbuna setups. 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_55g.php
Bounce any stocking ideas off the forum, somebody will have kept them and can give you an idea of what they are like.

The OB is the yellow one and I'd keep it. It's a "mbuna", which means rock dweller, and the venustus is a "hap", which is a more open water fish. The mbuna are generally smaller and more fiercely territorial.

The difficult part about keeping cichlids is choosing compatible species and acquiring appropriate sex ratios, after that you just feed them and change water!


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

ok so the yellow one is a mbuna got it. looking at the body style I am presuming the black and blue one is the johanni and is from the same reigon as the Mbuna (OB) the green one is the Hap ( store called it a giraffe) and that one is gonna get too big for the tank and should remove it/ trade it in. I love the Johanni's colors and hope I can keep it. Definitely gonna hit up the cookie cutters and see what works for us. Next I need to finish the Angels tank. Immense help from all of you. thank you so much!


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

We got 2 Labidochromis caeruleus and 1 Metriaclima estherae added to the tank. the labs are a bit smaller but we re-arranged the tank after we took OB and Johanni out and put the three new fish in 1st. Made quite a few "caves" and it seems to have worked nicely. It's a split between the 2 Mbuna cookie cutters but seems to be doing ok so far. Now to grab some more fish to make it about an even 10 in there.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

You may want to consider trading in the venustus as well - in 2- 3 months it will easily be twice as large as any of the others you have, and it will need a larger tank within a year. Introducing any small juveniles (1 - 1 1/2") will be pointless in 4 months, because unlike the other species, the venustus (giraffe cichlid) is a carnivore and a predator, so they would just become lunch! They are cool fish, but just not well suited for your setup.


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

Yup, the giraffe got traded in. I took the advice, I gathered he would make anything smaller a meal. Still got room for 5 more fish and now I am gonna be picky (specific) about the last 5. Thanks for the info good looking out! Edit... I wasn't clear on my last post. We kept the OB and the johanni they are doing fine with the other fish we added


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## QHgal (May 18, 2006)

So your looking for 5 more fish of a different species to add to this tank??? You need to pick two species and stick with that. You've got a start of M Estherea and Yellow Labs. Either keep these two and increase your group sizes or build up from one of the groups. Yellow Labs are a really good start. Peaceful and the ratio's aren't as important as the others. M Estherea, or Red Zebra will get dominant, but as long as you have proper ratios they will be fine.


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## Sparrow (Oct 1, 2011)

No keeping the species we have adding more of them. Just gonna be picky about the particular fish of those species. Certain markings brightness of coloration and the like. No more new species to the tank.


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