# Assorted African Cichlids



## LTrue (Feb 15, 2009)

Hi all! Everyone on this forum has been fabulous in helping us with our tanks. We've had cichlids for the last year now and never knew about this site until this week. Now I'm on 24/7. 
I've been posting here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... &&start=15 regarding our new fry and apparently we have A LOT to learn! 
I was asked to find out what species my african cichlids are so that I can hopefully take some steps to prevent more mixed breed fry from happening. 
I THINK I've identified a few (the orange male is a red zebra) but really, I have so much to learn.

I appreciate all of the help you can give me.

Thanks SO MUCH for your time...I think this is the nicest forum I've ever been on! 
Lisa

I have 9 African Cichlids total. We purchased them last year from our LFS. If I recall they were labeled "Assorted African Cichlids". Honestly, we chose them based upon color and didn't know anything about species. Now that we were graced with about 50 fry we're learning. Hopefully not too late. The pictures are above the notes (i.e. talking about the fish pic above rather than below)
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2.








This is the father of the fry. I think it's a Red Zebra?

3.








We believe he is a male. He's been doing the "love dance" lately with another cichlid.

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This is the mother of the fry.

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6.








This fish changes color frequently. Sometimes almost black and other times BRIGHT yellow with black stripes.

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This fish used to be bright yellow and has slowly turned purple / blue.

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## jennye0 (May 27, 2008)

1. melanochromis auratus
2. red zebra
3. ?
4. pseudotropheus acei
5. female kenyi? I may be wrong
6. pseudotropheus crabro
7. ?
8. ?
9. melanochromis johanni


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

My input:

1. Melanochromis Aurutus male
2. Metriaclima Estherae (Red Zebra) Probable male
3. Metriaclima Greshakei male
4. Acei female
5, Kenyi female?? washed out, hybrid?, but I see faint barring
6. Pseudotropheus Crabro, Probable male as he is turning darker.
7. Hybrid Saulosi or subdominant Saulosi Male
8. Socolofi? Elongatus? poss hybrid? Looks male
9. Melanochromis Johanni male

It looks to me that you have a predominantly male tank. If you want to keep the same look, get rid of the two females, and try to add a few males. This may be difficult, as you have a very aggressive tank with the Melanochromis Species and Ps. Crabro. People are usually looking to sell/donate extra males out of their breeding tanks. There is also fish store that will sex the fish they sell you. P.m. if you are interested. IMO, the best bet would be to remove all the fish in your tank. buy 6-8 Males as close in size to your fish as you can. Redo all the aquascape to make new territories. Put in the least aggressive fish first, 2-3 at a time about every 15 minutes or so, going to the most aggressive. Be ready to pull fish that don't play nice.

If you want breeding, you would be better off to buy 6-8 juvies of only 3 different species and go from there, trying to get 1M 3-4 feamles per species. Pick no two species that look alike or are from the same Genus. Stay away from Auratus, Kenyi, Crabro, Johannis.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

1. Melanochromis male... auratus most likely because it is most common. 
2. Red Zebra 
3. Metriaclima greshakei most likely, male
4. Acei? Hard to tell from pic.
5. Kenyi, likely female
6. Crabro 
7. Metriaclima sp. Msobo male
8. hybrid, odd looking fish
9. Melanochromis interruptus? Johanni type, probably not pure.

as for purity, quality, naturalness... sure they can be argued but the point is to basically identify


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## LTrue (Feb 15, 2009)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. SO MUCH. 
I'm having a blast googling each fish and learning about them. Thank you. 
Floridagirl, you said that it would be best to remove them and start over. Why? Is there a benefit? 
I can understand removing the two females but is it a bad thing to have a tank full of males? 
We're not interested in breeding and all of them seem to get along fine. For the last year at least. The only aggression we've seen was toward the female that just had the fry and that was before they mated / bred / did the deed...(whatever it's called in cichlid speak) :-? 
If we're having no problems with them should we still take action or not fix what ain't broke?

Hope I'm not asking too many questions. Maybe I should take this discussion back over the the original post regarding the tank set ups / fry? 
Have a great Tuesday! 
Lisa


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I think what we find odd is so few but aggressive Mbuna are doing so well in the tank.
What size is it?
We hope it lasts but given the rep of many of your cichlids, this may not happen.
So the steps given above, may help you for the future.

All the best James


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## LTrue (Feb 15, 2009)

Good Morning 24Tropheus! (at least it is here  )

Well, for the first 8-9 months we had them ALL in a 29g set up. They did remarkable but they grew FAST! This was our first ever tank that was given to us from a friend. We didn't know any different so we essentially went to our LFS and picked them by color.

We noticed that they were being aggressive toward what we now know is a female so we purchased a 55g tank thinking perhaps they needed more space. So about 2 months ago we transferred them all to the 55g tank. They have all grown substantially since moving in to the new tank.

Everyone seems to get along and everyone has their own little spot / hideout. They all eat well and aside from the fry we now have we don't really have any troubles except they are growing so fast!

So I have a few...okay A LOT of questions...if this board isn't the place please let me know and I'll post there.

1. Are all of my fish mbuna? 
2. Are they all primarily from Lake Malawi? Enough that I should want to re-aquascape the tank to mirror the lake bed? 
3. Do I risk any problems if I have a male only tank? Can I move the two females to the 29g and leave the males in the 55g? 
4. Is it okay to leave the females in the 55g or do I run the risk of ending up with lots more fry? 
5. I know someone suggested getting rid of some and starting over but we're rather attached to them. Is that okay?
6. If I leave the males in the 55g tank I will have a total of 7 and 1 pleco. Do I have room for other fish in that tank or am I maxed out with 7?

I'm sorry if I'm asking a TON of questions but everyone is so knowledgeable here that I'm turning to the board in lieu of my LFS. They apparently haven't been so much help to date. 
Have a great day! 
Lisa


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## morningsky (Apr 22, 2008)

Hey LTrue,

Glad all of your fish are identified. I will answer the best I can.



> 1. Are all of my fish mbuna?
> *Yes*
> 2. Are they all primarily from Lake Malawi? Enough that I should want to re-aquascape the tank to mirror the lake bed?
> *Yes Lake Malawi- You can find ideals about aquascaping on the forums or other members tanks*3. Do I risk any problems if I have a male only tank?* Not sure I will leave to a more experienced member to answer.* Can I move the two females to the 29g and leave the males in the 55g? *Not sure again, I know Kenyi require a lot of room*
> ...


You sound really dedicated to your fishkeeping. I would look up the profiles of all of your fish(if you have not already) Then wait for more answers from other forum members. There is also the cookie cutter section in the library that will give you some ideas. Then you could decide what direction you want to go.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

I agree with each of Noki's identifications, spot on in my opinion.

As for your questions about aggression, here are my two cents: #'s 1, 3, 6, 9 and possibly 8 (hybrids are unpredictable) are all generally known to be bullies at least when adult males. In a nutshell it means that although everything may be going well now, it could change at any moment.

Have these fish been kept together succesfully in a 55 gallon tank before, yes many times. But also know that sometimes one of them goes on a killing spree, more often than not with auratus in the mix it's the auratus. But, it could be any one of them.

If you like the fish you have I would keep them, if they are currently getting along don't change anything. Keep a close eye on them and if they start to have problems you have the luxury of having the 29 gallon tank available to isolate the troublemaker if needed. Put the problem fish in the 29 for a week or so and then reintroduce at night after lights out. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Just don't forget to ensure the 29 is properly cycled before introducing fish to it. I keep a tank or two set up and ready to go just for such occasions.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

If it isn't broke don't fix it. If you are happy with the amount of fish, just pull the two females. Having the females aroung will cause aggression between the males. I thought you might have wanted a few more males. If not, let it ride. If it becomes a problem, then you can deal with it!


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## LTrue (Feb 15, 2009)

You rock floridagirl! (and everyone else that took time to answer too!)  
If we left the males in the tank and moved the females we'd have 7 males total in the 55g with our pleco. Can we add anything else to that tank? 
PS, wrong forum but do the mbuna prefer a crushed coral / gravel bottom or sand? 
I really like the way sand looks but if they'd be happier with what they have now (coral/gravel) we'll leave it.

Thanks again fish folks, you rock!


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

They like Sand. Anymore Cichlids will tip the aggression, which is why I recommended the rescape. Your Crabro is on the larger size, and may be the first to go. Everyone is so awed at the fact these fish are getting along, but they have been raised together, so you might get lucky. Adding more would be an issue. Thats why I said it might be best to start over. What you could add for interest would be some Syno Multis. 3-5 would be nice, cruise the bottom, and the black and white spots are interesting. There is an online supplier I got mine from. 3 3" Multis plus shipping was $100. Maybe you have better suppliers there. Florida stinks. If you do this, they will eat fry, so you can leave the females in , until they haved to be pulled due to aggression. It's not th best set-up long term, but its yours and you like it, so enjoy as long as you can!


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## LTrue (Feb 15, 2009)

Hi Floridagirl! Please don't say Florida stinks!  Maybe for fish but it's so warm there and it's so cold here! LOL
So they like sand huh? Good!  I'll do some reading up on that. 
When you said "What I could add for interest..." did you mean add those if I start over? Or add them now? Sorry to ask a bajillion questions, I just want to get it right!

If I read it right you mean put all 9 in the tank together and add the Syno Multis. right? Then when we're stuck with a bajillion more mixed babies they will be eaten and not a problem.

Someone mentioned keeping the other tank at the ready in case of aggression. Not a problem. The tank is aquascaped, heated and filtered at all times just in case. I have the acei (mama fish) in there at the moment so she can rest AND EAT before I put her back in the general tank.


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