# New Member



## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

Hey everyone.

my dad had a catastrophe involving one of the fluval filters in our 125 gallon tank. we lost our fish minus the pleco.

next thing i know i come home and he had purchased 2 African cichlids from petco.

then next thing i know i buy a 3 from a lps

then today i buy 6 more and a catfish(featherfin i think)

were both new to africans so im trying to read up and learn what i can about them.

any and all advice is appreciated.

took some video today after making some little caves with our existing rocks since i read they like caves. they immediately flocked to them haha.

i plan on getting some more rocks and some plastic plants to make the tank look nice.(had some very large pacus before that destroyed all the nice things i had when they got big)

was previously was running 2 fluvals 304(broken waiting for parts should be here in about a week) and 405. only working the 405 at the moment but will have the 304 running again once the parts come in.

anywho.... can anyone identify the species we have in the tank?

heres the video. i can take pics if needed.


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## jamesjay (Jun 22, 2013)

Hey! My name is james and i welcome you on this forum, How can i help you?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What were they sold to you as?


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

@james thank you. as for help i am curious if i can get manzanita from the mountains where i work and put it in the tank?

would i have to dry it out and how would i go about making it safe?

im also interested in a site that can teach me to identify the different species of fish since im new a lot look the same.

@djransome

they were bought out of a assorted tank guy said it was mostly hybrids in the tank so i have no idea what i got except for the yellow with dark stripes he called a bumble bee and obviously the catfish(i like catfish haha)


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Hybrids are frowned upon in the hobby. I would suggest returning the fish. If the guy is knowingly selling hybrids, I wouldn't buy anything from him.

Take a look at the species profiles. See what you and your Dad like. Stick to one lake, and post back for stocking advice. Check out the cookie cutter lists in the library for ideas. Doing it this way will be much more rewarding, IMO.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

another concern is that our tank has scratches(acrylic) and my dad wants to remove them but is thinkin about doing it with the fish still inside. im uneasy about it


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

wow really?

had no idea.

we basically are just getting the fish we like the look of.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

well just read about hybrids.

not sure if these are hybrids.

im not sure if he said hybrids by name but he did mention some of the fish that we bought that looked like more expensive were not true.

for example the electric yellow.

i had heard hybrid thrown around some i was just putting 2 and 2 together.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

It can be difficult to identify fish that were from an assorted tank, because a lot of them tend to be hybrids. It also makes it tough to stock a tank when you don't know what you actually have/adding.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

ahh ok


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

My recommendation..Take the fish back, empty the tank, learn how to remove the scratches. Then research fish while you fishless cycle. Be patient and spend time getting the "perfect" tank for you. You will have a much more positive experience. Even if all the "assorted cichlids " make it (which many will not with random stocking), they will hybridize, and most are hybrids already. African cichlids breed like rabbits, so you will be stuck with fish that no one wants.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

Well we both really like the fish we have already. I doubt I'd be able to convince him to take the fish back or myself either.

I hope I'm not offending anyone.

We're already attached since we picked the fish individually and have seen each ones personality.

Would it be better if we only bought fish from the assorted tanks?

Haha this probably sounds wrong but it seems like there's a lot of racism(fish style haha) in the cichlid keeping world.

Lol I know it's for preserving the many species there are but aren't the doing the same thing in the wild?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

There's nothing wrong with keeping them. Enjoy the fish! Just don't distribute any fry they may produce. Aggression/compatibility problems that arise will be difficult/impossible to predict, though.

When folks on here give stocking advice they factor in tank size, species compatibility,cross breeding, etc.

New 'species' take thousands and millions of years to 'develop' in the wild. No racism dude, LOL.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

Ok. We have no intention of giving fish away.

We used to have convicts years ago they bred a lot but we just let em do their thing. Most would die off but we'd usually end up with a few that grew up which was cool.

Haha the racism thing was a joke.

I though it was funny


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

The biggest issue is that with random stocking, you will probably end up with lots of aggression, leading ti diseased and dead fish, and that doesn't make for a nice fishkeeping experience, IMO.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

Got ya. Well that yellow one in my video that I put the captions on. He's the most aggressive.

He went from that tiny tank to our 125 gallon and theres about 10 fish 2 inches more or less.

I get paid on Sunday. Ill be getting some more rocks for shelter and some plants. Should help the other guys out.


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## Bowfront (Jun 3, 2013)

You have some of the most aggressive African cichlids known in your tank. When these fish get bigger you are probably going to have a Royal Rumble in there.
.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd make a post in the Unidentified forum and get all your fish identified. Then you will know what to expect (fighting/killing wise) as they mature and can make changes if you want a more peaceful tank.


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## Leoffensive (Jun 23, 2013)

Lol I don't want a royal rumble lol.

Ill try the identifier thread.

I hope they don't get crazy on eachother


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## Murkin (Jan 5, 2012)

looks like Kenyi, Auratus (female? not sure about size), Chipokae (psychotic), and some hybrids (an elongatus one for sure). Even in a tank the size of yours you will run into some serious fighting as they all mature. My money's on the Chipokae being tank boss unless that Auratus turns out to be a male.


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