# Cynotilapia White Top Hara?



## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

Is this a Cyno White Top?









I'm talking about the dark colored fish in the middle of the picture. It just looks so different than the rest of the white tops...


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

the darker one looks more like a "Red Top Zebra" of some sort


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

The seller I bought it from also breeds the following:

Metriaclima zebra sp. "Red Top"
Cynotialpia Mbamba 
Ps. Demasoni 
Maingano 
Melanochromis Auratus

Do you think it is one of the above fish, or could it still be a Cyno White Top? It does kind of look like a zebra red top. :-(

Will this cause a problem in my tank, aggression wise? Also, I don't want hybrids. I'm not very familiar with the zebra red tops. Do you think the above fish is a female, or a male? It seems to be the most aggressive fish in the tank.


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

Here are some more pics of my unidentified cichlid. He gets a really cool color when he gets mad!









































(he's the one on the lower right)


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

not white top hara


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

That's what I thought. Any ideas what he really is? (I say "he" because with the way he guards his territory, I'm assuming the fish is male).


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

most very likely Metriaclima zebra sp. "Red Top"

Cynotilapia Mbamba... Cynotilapia of some sort is possible but it doesn't look like a Mbamba to me

... and if you think it has any REMOTE chance of being one of these 3 species below you are not trying very hard! 
Ps. Demasoni 
Maingano 
Melanochromis Auratus

if it a male it will color up, if female it will never be very colorful


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

:lol: I didn't think it was, but I thought I'd post a complete list of all the species the seller has offered for sale in the past...

I contacted the seller and he said the only fish that could've possibly made it's way into the shipment would be a Cyno. Mbamba


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

In the last few pics the fish is darker, does it look like it is getting a light blaze on the forehead? Thsat would be the sign of a male Mbamba.


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

The fish gets very dark when he is mad, and yellow barring shows up on his forehead. He also start to look like his back has been dipped in gold. That's why it seems to me as if the fish is male.. :-(

I guess I'll have to get a new tank for him and pick up some females. Any ideas on other species to keep? Or what size tank I should get?


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## Adrnalnrsh (Mar 18, 2008)

Definitely Cynotilapia Mbamba as I have some that look exactly the same.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

There are several different locales for the Cynotilapia Mbamba. I would hope the seller would be a bit more specific! :wink:

It's a young fish, right?

I had both the Chitende Island variant and the Nkhata Bay variant for quite some time.

This one looks much like the Chitende Island females did as mature fish. Young Nkhata Bay juveniles looked alot like that, but as they matured, they darkened considerably.

It's going to be impossible to say for sure what it is unless your breeder only has one variant and you can get the females from them.

Kim


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