# Feedback before I get rid of this guy ...



## thestanz (Nov 10, 2015)

Bought him from Petco prior to finding a good LFS. He looks cool but is terrorizing my tank. Awesome digger but just too ferocious. Also I am guessing he is a hybrid which means I am going to have a hard time getting rid of him later and I am at the 30 day return window with Petco.

Any feedback on Hybrid status or other solutions before I let him go?

In case you are interested my newb self has this guy, 1 Socolofi (prego with this guys hybrids), 5 zebras, 2 peacocks, 2 labs, 2 Haps, 2 Venustus, 1 Pleco, in a 55 Gal. Adding a 75 Gal on Saturday. Plan was to put the Zebras and the other aggressive guys in the bigger tank and leave the Peacocks, labs, and other more dociles in the 55. But I think this dude will cause trouble anywhere. Any advice?

Untitled by axpstanz, on Flickr


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## thestanz (Nov 10, 2015)

Poor guy is back at Petco but my other fish are much happier. Thanks for the feedback nerds!


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## G-russ (Oct 12, 2015)

Hi mate, just my thoughts on the matter, here is two problems I would identify..

Firstly, your male is going through the change of life and hasn't fully got his male colouring. All saulosi are born yellow, and after some growing the males start to change blue, so you get a few months of this intermediate change. Mines is going through the exact same, il try to attach picture.

Secondly, I wouldn't say your male is at fault for the high aggression, saulosi are relatively mild aggression but when in a mixed tank that theory goes totally out the window. You have haps, peacocks and mbuna In the same tank, and out of them three mbuna can be the most aggressive. You might find further down the line you have other u related problems cause of this, a very small percent of people has a successful mixed tank as such. My male is in a full mbuna 55g tank with 17 other fish and is the top dog, didn't do any chafing as they all know it!!

Some one might advise differently but this is just my advice/experience, there are people who know a lot more than me on here!


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## thestanz (Nov 10, 2015)

Thanks so much for the reply. Yes, definitely my fault for adding these fish and hoping it would work out. I'm adding a 75 gal Saturday but was afraid that by the time it cycled some of them would not make it. I know better now. Thanks!


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## Roger That (Aug 12, 2015)

I don't know...he looks a lot like a Cynotilapia species. Possibly Elongatus Chitimba? Mbuna are a harem species meaning to curb the aggression he needs a few females. I have a group of 1m:4f Cynotilapia sp. Hara where the male can be very aggressive at times, he is certainly the tank boss but has not yet hurt any others.

I would leave the Mbuna in the 55 and move the Peacocks, Venustus and other Haps to the 75 as they get much larger.

On another note....you will not always receive as quick of a response as you would like on this forum due to a small amount of traffic on this site as well as there are far more less experienced as apposed to more experienced forum members. But insults will not get you very far.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Looks like a hybrid, pretty certain. Might even be a low quality Electric Blue Johanni hybrid. Not sure he is going to color up much more if he already was a terror for a month, thou I suppose he could have been maturing.

If you want a similar fish that might be more attractive, you could try a Metricalima Msobo or a pure Johanni (males turn black and blue with both species) or a Maingano (males and females are both black and blue)

yes, mbuna are aggressive, but not impossible.


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## thestanz (Nov 10, 2015)

Thanks Rog, Noki. Appreciate the help.


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## Roger That (Aug 12, 2015)

No problem. He does definitely appear to be a hybrid though. He has the vertical bars of a Cynotilapia and the horizontal stripes of a Johanni or Maingano. Here's a photo of both a Maingano and a Cynotilapia sp Hara.


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## thestanz (Nov 10, 2015)

I agree and I thought the presence of horizontal and vertical lines was a sign that he was mixed. The only possibility, and I think still a possibility, is that he is M. Interruptus and was just a little less colored up. Moot anyway because he is back at the store  But definitely an educational experience for me.


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