# Confused, African I.D's



## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

Ok i need some help with identifying these africans.... and if the setup i have in my 55g tank will workout in the long run. I'm so confused trying to I.D these on my own... i looked under the "cookie cutter 55" section of this site and theres like 3 different africans that look like these blue guys I have which leaves me confused as to which one i have.
My tank goes...
1 red zebra
4 electric yellows
and these 3 guys (who are the real aggresive ones)
oh and a couple really small baby convicts who get left alone by the others.

This guy is the MOST aggresive in the tank, what is he?

















then this guy i think is the same cichlid but darker in color

















and last this guy is all blue and the second most aggresive in the tank

















so.... anyone know?  
Thanks so much in advance for your responses!


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

the two barrred ones are male and female kenyi....golden one being the male and blue the female...the male will be very aggressive when he gets bigger and will probably tear ure opther fish up....3rd is some type of zebra....i would get rid of the kenyi and the cons...if a pair forms from the cons all **** will break loose


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## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

Here's a pic of the convict showing their size.. this ones actually the biggest one, they're all really tiny.. but how long do you think they have before they're old enough to pair up and get aggresive? i don't know how fast they grow...

oh and what if i got rid of the male kenyi, will the female chill and be ok? she barely causes any stir at the moment, but i understand as they age that could be a totally different story.

thanks for the reply btw


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

they can pair up really small and get pretty aggressive when spawning...so id either get a sperate tank for them or take em back....theyll cause chaos if spawning trying to defend their nest...as for the kenyis...i would keep either gender in tank ure size...id recommend a 75G to be on the safe side...they can be real nasty male or female....id add some more red zebras 1 more lab and then go with another less agressive species as ure third species...


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## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

and your pretty sure the 3rd guy (all blue one) is fine or will he be just as aggresive? seeing as he's pretty aggresive already. if i get rid of the kenyi's i'd rather get rid of him at the same time rather then make 2 trips hehe.


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## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

oh yeah and could i keep ONE convict in there and be safe? since one alone can't spawn... or are they still by themselves too aggresive to be with zebras and yellows


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

a convict alone is no threat to mbuna...hes not an african cichlid however...so i would advise not keeping them with africans...diferent regions of the world...i believe the cons are Central american.....so while u can since most fish from LFS are bred in the same water as africans...i dont recommend it...as far as the blue one goes....im not sure on the species...but africans in general especially mbuna are real aggressive...so no matter what you do you will always see some chasing around of the fish in the tank...i juss know that when those kenyi get to be about 4 or 5 inches you will probably start losing fish.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

nd the third one kinda looks like http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=791


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## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

yea it does look like him! thats gotta be it, so he should be fine to keep in the tank since he's basically a blue zebra and should have the same temperament as the red zebra


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

correct...although you will find while general agressivenes of a species is good to take into consideration...fish have their own tempermants just like people ...so u can get a complete *******...and some might be sweethearts ...juss depends on individual temperment. :thumb:


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## jacobptm (Apr 20, 2009)

thanks for all your help i really appreciate it.. Tomorrow i'll probably take the kenyi's and convicts to the LFS and maybe order me a couple more zebra's, any preference or recommendation for a 3rd type of cichlid to add to my tank?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

anytime...thats what were all here for...i would recommend any cynotilapia species or some M. cyanerhabdos (Maingano) or M. johanni and any of the Pseudotropheus species besides demansoni...u need a whole clan of these guys...like to beat eachother up and the crabo are real mean ones too...id stay away from them...any other questions and im sure youll get them answered...CF is a great site :thumb:...also take into consideration ure gonna want at least 3 females for every one male....and while theyre yound id try sticking a Bristle Nose pleco in there for ure algae problems down the road and they keep tanks clean very well....you can also get 5 or 6 syno multicats...theyre really cool addition to african tanks.


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