# My orange fish turned into this



## jeb5573 (Jun 29, 2021)

What I thought was a cute little orange Mbuna(metriaclima estherae?) has now taken on these colors. And help with more accurately identifying is greatly appreciated.

Did'nt get the best pictures, was trying to get top fin flared up, fish had other plans. It has a hint of yellow across the tip of the top fin and more in the tail.


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## jeb5573 (Jun 29, 2021)

My applogies for posting in wrong channel. Thank you admin for moving.

Further digging in species profile section leads me to think this might be some sort of Metriaclima greshakei? Just haven't found a clear match from bright orange at 2" to a dynamic changing orange,brown,blue,purple body with yellow tips and tail.

Have of the fun for me so far is trying to figure out what we have aquired from our LFS's.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Greshakei don't have markings like that. Others are better at this than me and will hopefully chime in soon.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

Could it possibly be metriaclima msobo?

https://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/ ... php?id=801


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Markings could work but it has an odd shape.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Probably is Msobo, of part Msobo. They start out light orange. See if he turns even darker.


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## jeb5573 (Jun 29, 2021)

Thank you all for the replies, knowing this is probably a hybrid of some sort helps. I will need to be more selective what I get for my tanks and where from. Unfortunately, we went to the local big box stores for most of our current population. Wife would go for food or substrate and come back with another fish. Oh boy, such a fun mess. Others came from local actual fish stores, and have even had a mix up or so thru them.


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## SenorStrum (Aug 14, 2020)

That looks exactly like a transitioning Msobo male to me. I have one that looks just like him... trying to get pictures though...
I would not fret about fish selection yet. I bet he's going to get a LOT bluer, and the black will come in nicely, he'll be a nice fish. I don't see any reason to believe he's a hybrid.


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## jn1981 (May 10, 2021)

I have Msobo and although mine were never an orange hue, the photo loos exactly like a juvenile or subdominant male in my tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Mine have more of a shape like my estherae. That guy does not look like mine when they are young (when they first transition to blue).


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## SenorStrum (Aug 14, 2020)

I present to you Quad, our least transitioned male Metriaclima Sp. Msobo Deep Magunga.
I did it! Also, I'm pretty darn happy with this as a cell-phone pic. He just came to the end to pose as I was prepping food last night.


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## jeb5573 (Jun 29, 2021)

Thank you SenorStrum for the confirmation. I did a little googling of the name and found this site and more info on the Msobo Deep Mangunga, http://www.african-cichlid.com/Msobo.htm. At the bottom of the page it shows a male transitioning from orange to blue/black. What an awesome little fish.

This fish is currently kept in a 75 gallon with 5 others which we are still working on identifying them all.

We "think" we have in there:
1 Msobo Deep Mangunga
1 Metriaclima callainos
1 Labidochromis caeruleus
1 Metriaclima zebra (OB)
1 Aulonocara something? (brown/grey color)
1 Aulonocara something? (Top/Tail fin with greenish tint)

Would there be any concern with this combination of these type fish?

The OB zebra is the largest at roughly 4", The Msobo and the Callinos are close behind in size, as is the possible Aulonocara (brown/grey color). The yellow lab and the greenish Aulonocara are just over 2". Some high speed chases go on but no real attacking going on.

Is there any concern for cross breeding? Although most of them starting to seem to be males.

Again, thanks to all who have commented, we are learning a lot about our new friends.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In a 75G if you were going to have mixed genders, you would ideally shoot for 4 species or less with 1m:4f of each.

With the large number of species you already have, it would seem you are working toward an all male tank which involves about 12 individuals that mature less than or equal six inches and look nothing alike.

If this is true, you would want to remove females.

Since haps and peacocks are less aggressive than mbuna (msobo, callainos, labidochromis, OB zebra) they are easier for an all-male tank. I would not do both aggressive mbuna like Metriaclima (msobo, callainos, OB) with peacocks in any tank. They are usually too aggressive for the peacocks to show their best colors.


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## jeb5573 (Jun 29, 2021)

Thank you for the advice, we are sorting them out. Once we can be sure of M/F and what species we will adjust the population accordingly. Have a 55g and 150g being prepared and several smaller tanks for temporary accommodation.


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