Need ID on new fish!

[Maverick]

I just bought these fish withing two weeks of each other. I added the new one last night. The are very aggresive toward each other. HELP! They are the only cichlids in the tank (20 gal.)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p39365886bc31ae78156b1b1d8d7ac8ec/fbe58a4c.jpg

[Marcus]

It's hard to say just exactly what they are but this much I can tell you. They are a Mbuna type fish from Lake Malawi. As such there is no way you will get them to live together in a 20 gallon tank. As you already mentioned, they are very aggressive towards each other. As they grow this problem will be magnified. Eventually one fish will win out and the other, if it is not killed outright, will hide in the corner behind a heater or other decor and slowly wither away. You (and the fish) will be better off by taking the fish back and getting something that is more suited to a 20 gallon tank.

[Maverick]

I was afraid of that...
I was pretty sure they were from Malawi but still haven't found a match.

Space aside, is the aggression (more than normal) present becuase they are the same kind of cichlid, same or different sex, or are from lake malawi?

These are my first cichlids and I know nothing about them, I knew this was a bad move...I broke my own rule...never buy a fish before you know EVERYTHING about them. This sucks.

[dave76]

the reason that the agreesion factor is so high is because, your fish need much more room than a 20 gallon, if you kept one it would outgrow your tank in a matter of months and either die early or have stunted growth or both. If you want cichlids in a tank that size i would suggest a nice pair of kribensis. But please as the last poster said do yourself a favor and take the fish you have now back. Also I would suggest reading more info on the species profiles before buying fish and if your LFS cant tell you what species they have for sale then maybe you should consider buying your fish elsewhere.

[Maverick]

Just how big do these fish get!? The guy at my LFS, whom I can usually trust to give accurate info., said 6 maybe 7 inchs. I'm not taking them back until I at least know what they are. If you have good sites to help me match, nows the time to list um!

This isn't the first time I've upgraded tanks to suit just one fish. If circumstances allow, I'll do it again.

[dave76]

if they are indeed mbuna, they will get to 6-7" and that is way to big for that tank. even for one, I would suggest at least a 40 gal for a fish of that size. Go to the species profile on this site or google mbuna.

[Maverick]

Lets say it IS a 6" fish. If I were to keep ONE. How long do I have to get the new and BIGGER tank if its currently a one inch youth.

[Corax]

I would say you have maybe 6 months. Try www.aquamojo.com for more info on the ID, they will probably know without much guessing.

Btw, a good cichlid for a 20 would be a Ram or some sort of Apistogramma. No more than 1 male and 1 female though, else you'll have a war on yer hands.

[scholar]

THe choices go like this. First the tank size, get the biggest tank you are willing to buy, have a place to put in, and to maintain. Maintaining is somewhat the same for all tank sizes.

Then you check to see if your tap water is hard or soft. This dictates whether you go african or south american. Central americans can go either way. but they are very aggressie and much bigger, and require at least 75G tank.

Now you check the size, shape and color of the fish that fits your water, suits your taste. On how many fish. I would go with at least 5 gallon per fish. The conservative gallons per fish is length*length in inches. A fish that max out at 6 inches needs 36 gallons. Hence the 20g you have is too small for him. :(

Once you have settled on the tank size and the kind of tap water you have. We all be happy to give you our varied fish preferences. :) :)

Good luck,

[Fish Hunter]

Scroll down on this post. The one in the bag looks just like it.Third pic down.
http://aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12490

[Maverick]

That is very close, but the dorsal fin should be red.
Here, i managed to get a profile shot last night, and did a quick painting to display the dorsal fins.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p7450e20f797fd97d20321a5e405d2b89/fbe4a5a8.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p5aa61acfd8f9dd431a798da3b25e9612/fbe4a5ac.jpg

Thanks for all the help guys.

[Maverick]

*bump

[peifc]

Hey! Check out this website.

Maybe you will be the judge of that, what fish is it that you have.

This website gives you the picture, scientific name, and common name of the fish, from Malawi, South America, and many more fish from all different area.

Play around the site, you might find what you need. :)

http://www.notcatfish.com/findex/malawi_scientific.htm

[Maverick]

well I'll be, I beleive I have found a match...at least a VERY close match. =)
The Metriaclima greshakei. There's a SLIGHT color difference, but its possible mine might be a mix...

Thanks for the link!

[peifc]

The pleasure is all mine. That's who I found my South American and Central American Cichlid too.

The coloration on your fish might be due to the age of the fish?! Just wondering. Maybe as the fish mature, the color and pattern with be a big different.

:)

[Casper]

Originally posted by scholar
Now you check the size, shape and color of the fish that fits your water, suits your taste. On how many fish. I would go with at least 5 gallon per fish. The conservative gallons per fish is length*length in inches. A fish that max out at 6 inches needs 36 gallons. Hence the 20g you have is too small for him. :(



Is this really correct? One African Cichlid for a 36 gallon tank? By these specs, I have a 46 gallon and have 9 Mbuna and Tropheus and 5 clown loach, 5 albino cory, 1 chinese algea eater, 1 queen botia and 1 lace syndontis catfish.
SO>>>>>I'm extremely overstocked??????????????
Have had this set up for almost 2 years now and have only lost one fish.

I wanted to keep a Red Fin Borelyi in a 10 gallon cause he was being abused in the 46, but.....obviously this won't work either!
ARGH!

And Maverick, great drawing! :)

[Maverick]

That I CAN do casper. =)

If I don't make it as a draftsman...maybe I can make a living doing fish potraits! hahaha