Mean Blue Fish

[NoSkiveez]

Hello everyone. I am new here. I have a few questions about my fish. I dont know exactly what the name of it is. It is blue (pretty vibrant blue) and it is an African Cichild. It has a stripe of yellowish/orange on it's bottom fin.

When we got this fish, we had Convicts, A Fire Mouth, and a sucker fish. Everything was fine before the blue fish. Once the blue fish (that we were told he was compatible with our other fish) went into the water, the next morning we got up and all of the other fish except the fire mouth were gone. No bits no peices floating. The blule fish and the Fire Mouth were fine for a long time together. Then one day they werent fine (a year or so later). The blue fish had pretty much killed the fire mouth.

I dont think he was killing out of hunger because sometimes he killed the other fish and didnt eat them, sometimes he did eat them.

Our problem is that we would like to have more than one fish in our tank, but dont want the blue fish to kill it. Any suggestions on what I might be able to put into the tank with him?

He's about 8 1/2 inches long now.

Our tank is a 30 Gallon tank.

We feed a color enhancing Cichild floating pellet food.

Any Tips, Ideas or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

[DeRo316]

Your tank is too small.

If you want to keep the blue fish I suggest you get a bigger tank, create lots of hiding places and add more african cichlids. The fish you had before(convict, firemouth) are south american cichlids and not really compatable no matter what your pet store says. By bigger tank I suggest 40+

[NoSkiveez]

A bigger tank. Not a problem. I can do that. I wasnt aware that it might be too small. But good to know.

40 + is good. But in getting a bigger tank, can I go wrong in purchasing one that is bigger than 40 gallons?

[Nolapete]

A grill with some lemon pepper comes to mind. jk. What they said above.

[rwilliams254]

First of all, welcome. Glad you made it over from Craig's list.

You can't go wrong with a bigger tank. :) Despite what my wife tells me, bigger is better.

[Rbishop]

Can you post a picture of this 8 1/2" blue African...it would greatly help..?

[severum mama]

Go for a 55 or 75 gallon if it is in your budget. Then you should be able to keep other African cichlids. When a cichlid tank is set up correctly; i.e. the proper size, with proper stocking, with plenty of caves and hiding spots, then it can be absolutely fascinating. Otherwise you'll face the same problems you've been having. I totally agree with not mixing Africans and SA/CA cichlids. Behaviorally, they are very different, and they prefer much different water perameters and have vastly different dietary requirements (at least, when considering Mbuna).

[Sym]

An 8.5 inch african? Is it a mutated african? lol

[pugwash]

Oh behave Sym! Wondering if the blue fish is a C.moori aka blue dolphin...

[DeRo316]

If you don't have a pic can you describe what color blue it it? Light/sky blue or a deep/dark/royal blue?

[ThirdEyE]

An 8.5 inch african? Is it a mutated african? lol

:perv: i was thinking the same thing lol

I'd advise a 55 gallon minimum if your trying to add fish, sounds like he's :devil: so your best best might be to keep him alone, you might be able to get away with getting a 40 long if he's maxed out in size. Pics would help.

[kay-bee]

Posting a pic of your current fish for positive identification will also allow us to recommend compatible tank mates and quantity of them. (At this point I'm thinking it's a Sciaenochromis fryeri based on the description).

I recommend a 55gal-75gal tank to contain the fish you're describing (due to it's behavior).

Additionally, when you do set up the larger tank, add the big boy last after you've completed stocking and the (probably smaller) occupants have well established themselves.

Your blue cichlid (whatever species it is) will probably still dominate the tank but by adding it last it won't be as motivated in killing all the others (and by stocking with the proper african cichlids, additional losses can be avoided).

[NoSkiveez]

I dont have a picture of him. I knew what it was when I got him, but couldnt be certain now. He very blue and has a thin stripe of an orangish/yellow color on his underside fin. He wasn't very big when we got him, but he was the biggest one they had there when we got him. They had others in the tank with him. He was about 4 inches when we got him. I only wanted to get one because I thought he was a "pricey" fish and I didnt want to spend alot of money on a fish that might end up floating (I am not real good with fish or plants...LOL).

I remember the info on the tank he was in saying that he could grow up to 24 inches. I dont know if this helps in identifying what exactly he is.

[rwilliams254]

Cna you call the store and ask them the name of the fish? Desribe to the the location of the tank in the store?

[kay-bee]

If it gets up to 24", then it's definately not the species I was thinking of, and it will require even a much larger tank (72"-96" tank length if that potential max size is indeed accurate).

By any chance does it bare a resemblance to any fish on this site:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/african_cichlid_genus_gallery.php

[NoSkiveez]

I am not real good with the whole fish thing. There were a couple that look kind of like fish that I have. I will try to get a good picture of him tonight.

S. fryeri (Electric Blue)

C. azureus

Are the two the he most resembles to me. But neither one have that orange yellow stripe on the tail. I also looked at the information provided with those fish and the max size doesnt match what the fish store tank said...unless they were just as wrong with the growth size, as they were with the compatibility of the other fish that he could be put with.

[Jmerk]

Pix would be great

[Coler]

just curious why you would get a fish (whatever it is) that you think can grow to 24 inches for a 30 gallon tank ?

[NoSkiveez]

Here is the best picture I could take of him.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b324/NoSkiveez/102_5753.jpg

[NoSkiveez]

just curious why you would get a fish (whatever it is) that you think can grow to 24 inches for a 30 gallon tank ?

Because when we got the tank, we bought fish to go in it that we thought were hardy fish that wouldnt easily die (at the stores recommendation we bought cichilds). Once time went on and they were still alive we went back to get a few more fish and we told them what we already had, and how big our tank was and asked what would be suitable and appropriate to put in the tank. The blue fish was one of the fish they told us that we could put in there.

[FreakIndeed]

Sciaenochromis ahli

Should get to about 8 inches tops.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_ahli.php

[dbcb314]

lol 24 inches my ***

wow strong pet store

[mostlycichlids]

Yeah hes about full grown if hes 8 in now!

[NoSkiveez]

Oh thats nice. I love an honest sales pitch. Being what he is, and he wont get bigger, should I still invest in a larger tank?
Should I keep him alone?
Where can I learn more about him?
Was him killing everything normal or did I screw something up?

Something else that I am noticing. The pictures of everyone elses tanks I am seeing here have a different bottom material than what they sold me. I bought dozens of bags of those glass things that slightly resemble a smooshed marble. Does it matter what I have on the bottom of the tank?

I would like my tank to look nicer, but dont want to change something and end up killing my fish.

[NoSkiveez]

Sciaenochromis ahli

Should get to about 8 inches tops.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_ahli.php

Yes, that looks just like him. I looked at so many blue fish pictures today and wasnt finding the right ones! Thank You!

[Sym]

I dont have a picture of him. I knew what it was when I got him, but couldnt be certain now. He very blue and has a thin stripe of an orangish/yellow color on his underside fin. He wasn't very big when we got him, but he was the biggest one they had there when we got him. They had others in the tank with him. He was about 4 inches when we got him. I only wanted to get one because I thought he was a "pricey" fish and I didnt want to spend alot of money on a fish that might end up floating (I am not real good with fish or plants...LOL).

I remember the info on the tank he was in saying that he could grow up to 24 inches. I dont know if this helps in identifying what exactly he is.

A 24 inch african? lol Is it a survivor of the chernobyl (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=chernobyl&spell=1) nuclear meltdown :drool:

[mostlycichlids]

A 24 inch african? lol Is it a survivor of the chernobyl (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=chernobyl&spell=1) nuclear meltdown :drool:

Frankenfish!...lol

[Coler]

lol Fair enough Nokivees; you're not the first or the last to get a bum steer from the fish shop - it looks like an Ahli to me as well so at least you know he's full grown now.

They are aggressive fish though, particular to similarly coloured tank mates, and do need more than a 30 gallon. I don't think you'll be able to keep anything in there in the long term with him.

[NoSkiveez]

Thanks! I guess in that sense I am happy that I wasnt buying a car from the fish store.

[Jeffery]

Does it look like this