# What Am I?



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

Saw this guy at my LFS in the assorted tank and want an Id before i buy he is about 1 inch so still very small



















And on another note i know what this fish it but here lately she has been getting fatter and was wondering if she is pregnant.


----------



## nmonigold87 (Aug 17, 2010)

To me the top one looks like a Tawian Reef and the second looks like a Melanochromis Auratus. Im by no means an expert please correct me if I'm wrong


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

Yeah i know what the second one is i was just wondering if she was pregnant or just fat. And i was always wondering about the top being a taiwan reef.


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

pit2005 said:


> Yeah i know what the second one is i was just wondering if she was pregnant or just fat. And i was always wondering about the top being a taiwan reef.


Fat. Auratus are mouth brooders.


----------



## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

Definitely fat. Too fat.


----------



## christopher1325 (Aug 26, 2010)

> Fat. Auratus are mouth brooders


Just because it is a mouth brooder does not mean it is just fat. Mouth brooders do get pregnant if that is what you want to call it and plump up full of eggs a few days before they lay to be taken into the mouth. What is the size of this auratus are you even sure it is a female?


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

Well i think it is a female aren't the males black. And it is about 3 inches in length.


----------



## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Dominant males are black.. If no other auratus male in your tank then at 3" pretty safe bet it is female. Never seen a auratus so full of eggs it looked like that. Not sure its just fat may be ill. Though apart from the distended abdomen it looks healthy I guess 2 weeks without food and a dose of Epsom salts might help reduce the swelling.
Please check the poo. If white or stringy or clear and jelly like I would reach for your bloat treatments.

All the best James


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

will do. Thanks for the help


----------



## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

My rusty females look like that a few days before they are holding. My first 9 rusty fry are just a half inch in the 10g fry tank barely out a month and I can already tell the female is about to hold again, all puffed up with a little protruding vent sticking out. Has been maybe just a month since I stripped.

Seen the same thing in a yellow lab, thought it was sick, and made a thread here about it. I'll see if I can dig it up. A few days later, she was holding.

yup here's the thread with pics!


----------



## christopher1325 (Aug 26, 2010)

> I can already tell the female is about to hold again, all puffed up with a little protruding vent sticking out


This is also how i tell my auratus or any other fish is about to hold. pit2005 why dont you take a look at the vent and see if its swollen and protruding this should tell you if it is bloat or not if the fish is swimming fine with protruding vent i would say it is just eggs and would not treat for bloat.


----------



## Guest (Dec 31, 2010)

it could be malawi bloat (which is deadly) what are you feeding the auratus?


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

I feed them aqueon small slow sinking cichlid pellets twice a day. about every three days or so i will throw in some tropical flakes just for a change. And then probably once a week or every two weeks i mix up some blood worms, Spirulina brine shrimp, and some beef hearts.


----------



## Guest (Jan 1, 2011)

auratus are only supposed to eat vegetable matter.. pellets are made with fish meal..not saying thast what it is.. but if he dies in a few days then you know it was bloat...


----------



## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

I would definitely cut out the blood worms and beef heart!


----------



## Guest (Jan 1, 2011)

i sort of have the same problem Mbunas eat vegetable matter exclusively and haps and peacocks like invertebrates(crusaceans) and insects and regular cichlid pellets/flakes so its hard to feed them all properly when together.. i havent had any problems yet.. but i feed mine the tetra spirunlina flakes(veggie flakes) once at nightthey are quite pricey... then i suppliment with a little bit of pellets and sinking crumbles each night too then bloodworms like once a week... oh and 3 or so times a week i give them algae sheets which they destroy and all seem to love.. i think its jus the ripping it to peices they like cuz once its ripped up they dont seem to care about it that much... i havent had a problem yet ::knock on wood:::


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

Ok the auratus is still alive and the poop looks like normal fish poop. But no eggs or anything. Is it sick?


----------



## pit2005 (Aug 18, 2010)

The auratus is now holding. She was pregnant.


----------



## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

8) Happy to be wrong this time. :wink:

All the best James


----------



## Nina_b (Jan 3, 2011)

Let us know when she releases her fry and how the whole process went 

Pictures are always nice too!


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

football mom said:


> I would definitely cut out the blood worms and beef heart!


+1 Too much protein. As an alternative you could feed brine shrimp every couple of weeks.


----------

