Identify Cichlids (pseudotropheus) - and a bit of advice :)

AndiPants

AndiPants

AC Members
May 25, 2007
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So after giving away the last of my convict cichlids and their zillion babies we switched over to an african cichlid tank :grinyes: The other day we went to the LFS and got 6 assorted pseudotropheus. I have no idea what they are, other than that one is a yellow lab, and one is maybe an albino zebra? Any ideas on what these guys are? (sorry for bad pics, new camera and new fish :P )
Oh, and the LFS said that we should add more to the tank so that the fish will be less agressive :confused: We have 6 in a 25 gal (with no guarenteed upgrading soon), the guy recommended that we go for at least 15, if not more...is more better, 15 seems like a lot to me?

1.jpg 3.jpg 4.jpg 5.jpg
 
OOH, one more quick one: i heard that you shouldn't feed these guys fresh blood worms, but are dried ones ok?
 
First looks like p. acei (but could be something else since adults don't have those vertical stripes), second pic top livingstoni (which is a hap and will grow to 12" I beleive), middle looks like a male red zebra and bottom a female red zebra, third pic looks like an albino metriaclima greshakei and the last pic is melanochromis joanjohnsonae (possibly a male if it's starting to turn blue).

What you have now is in my opinion too much for a 25 gal tank, what are the tank dimensions?
 
25 Gal

Not sure who gave you the advice on the number to put in a 25 gal tank - even the 6 fish you have there is going to be a problem - as they grow they will start to take each other out - that is too small of a tank for these as they are fish that will get to about 5 inches.
 
yeah, 15 seemed really rediculous to me. just shows to alway take the LFS advice for as much as it is worth :headshake2:
right now they are all small (about 1"), so they should be fine for a bit. i am hoping to get a bigger tank, and this will be more motivation. i'd really like to keep all of them. if not i guess i'll have to let a few of them go.
how big should i go for the 6 fish? or how many can i keep in the 25 gal?
i think the dimensions on the tank are 27x12x13" (i haven't measured it in awhile, need to double check)
 
ok, so i measured.
2.55 ft long. when i set it up for the africans i bought a bunch of rocks/plants/hiding spots..set it up so each fish has its own area, all seem pretty content for now. i'll still work on getting a bigger tank.
thanks for the help with the id btw :)
 
AndiPants said:
....i'll still work on getting a bigger tank....
Click to expand...

If intending to keep all the fish you have posted pics of, you'll probably need a 125gal because of the nimbochromis venustus you have (id'd by ibr3ak as a livingstonni, which they are similar to). That fish will have the quickest growth rate, will max out at about 10-11", and is an active swimmer. It'll be at least half that size a year from now. It also has different dietary needs than the mbuna's you've posted (it's a predator by nature so will thrive on a high protein fish/crustacen-based diet, which is the opposite of what the others require: low protein plant-based diet).

AndiPants said:
OOH, one more quick one: i heard that you shouldn't feed these guys fresh blood worms, but are dried ones ok?
Click to expand...

The venustus will do well on blood worms (and other high protein foods). I'd refrain from feeding them regularly, if at all, to the others. Fresh, frozen, or dried, the protein content will too high from mbuna's to be provided as a staple diet.

Interestingly, (taking in account the title of this thread), none of the fish are apparent members of the pseudotropheus genus.
 
ha, my bad, its what they were all labeled and given to me as pseudotropheus at the store, and this is my first african cichlid tank. i stand corrected.


does it help to id the livingstoni from the nimbochromis venustus if it has a lot of blue in it (as i first said, my pics are bad)? or does it need longer to know which he is?
 
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