Hi! Need your kind help to ID this guy

[palgo47]

Hi people! ive juz got my first cichilid! :headbang2:wohoo! since im kinda new to this could someone help to ID this guys? also any suggestion regarding their tankmates? ive got them house in a 15g tank with 2 cories and 7 tiger barbs ..would really appreciate any advice!

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/4125/dsc1043qe5.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/149/dsc1067fx1.jpg
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6219/dsc1057fc0.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3856/dsc1085kf2.jpg


heres the tank mates

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2678/dsc1094nf7.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/117/dsc1015sc7.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/393/dsc1021jb6.jpg


Wtf? why is he spitting gravel? lol! explanation?

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/8464/dsc1096wt0.jpg

[Coler]

Nice fishies :)

Those are mbuna cichlids from lake malawi. Spitting gravel is normal for them they like to dig in the substrate.

A 15g is nowhere near big enough for them, think in terms of a 3 foot long tank; they will eventually kill each other otherwise. 40 Gallon long is about minimum size for adults.

They require to be housed with similar species. Your current tank mates are likely to be stressed/out competed for food to death.

The blue fellow may fact be a pseudotropheus elongatus, and there is something about the yellow one that makes me think it may be a hybrid as opposed to a pure strain mbuna.

They do also look a little like like juvenile Pseodotropheus Saulosi to me, the female is yellow, the male blue. Pics here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_saulosi.php

Your other fellow is definitely an albino Pseodotropheus Socolofi.

If you google those names you will get tons of information about them, but the main thing is larger tank needed.

[Lupin]

Please isolate your tiger barbs and corydoras before those mbuna cichlids harass them to death. It won't happen for awhile as they are juveniles but as they mature, those fish will be in more danger than they had ever been.

[palgo47]

thanks for the info & advice above!

oh gosh! will definately seperate them...ill get a bigger tank soon for the cichilids...izit safe to mix different types of cichilid?

[krytan]

It depends on which cichlids you want to mix, but not until you have a bigger tank.

[Lupin]

thanks for the info & advice above!

oh gosh! will definately seperate them...ill get a bigger tank soon for the cichilids...izit safe to mix different types of cichilid?
As long as they are of similar origin, it is fine. Don't mix them with Lake Tanganyikan cichlids, CA/SA cichlids and other continents. Their aggression and other requirements vary. It is advisable to research their dietary requirements first. Mixing them with other cichlids that require rich meaty foods is a bad idea as their body system is not designed to take in excessive proteins. This can lead to the common issue, Malawi bloat or dropsy which damages their internal organs. You want to avoid this by feeding them foods with high fiber content than proteins albeit vegetables, spirulina flakes and other plant matter.

[Coler]

For starting out with Mbuna, you are best to keep them only with other Mbuna.

You want a 3 foot long tank of at least 40 gallons, bigger is better. Don't get a tall one, get a long one as this is the dimension within which they will operate.

Say in a 40 Long you can put around 10 in there, of the smaller varieties. You are best to keep 1 male to 2 or 3 females of each of say 3 species, or alternatively just keep 1 male of each of 9 or 10 species, avoiding similar colourations. Keeping all male removes breeding aggression from the tank, and you simply have to cope with the extreme territorial aggression. However keeping a mix of male female is in general a less aggressive tank. A 55 Gallon would be perfect for them.

You can mix them with some lake tanganyikan species, but better off not to try this until you have some experience and know what you are dealing with.

Mixing with other cichlids is a bad idea. You need to overstock the mbuna to contain their aggression. In with a large group the SA/CA cichlids may be stressed/out competed for food to death unless sufficiently large in which case they will eat small Africans. Equally the dietary requirements are very different and the mbuna can take very ill as pointed out by Lupin.

They will eventually kill anything not able to stand up to them - so corys, gourami, barbs will not last long.

[palgo47]

is my yellow mbuna a female? im thinking of going with the 40g tank and keep only 3 mbuna for the time being...not gonna risk with the aggression by getting more mbuna..lol!

[MRomalin]

I have one that looks just like the yellow on top. I was trying to ID mine yesterday. He (she) is supposed to be a Yellow Lab (Labidochromis caeruleus), but doesn't look much like one to me.

It's really hard to figure out what you have with these guys--or has been for me. There are so many that are nearly identical, and/or change so much as they mature/morph.

I'm not very experienced (in the sense of knowing what the heck I'm doing), but I have pretty diverse mix (all Lake Malawi) which got on pretty well until I separated out the non-African cichlid mix I kept with them. They're a lot scrappier now. I feel bad even walking up to the tank. They think they're going to be fed which initiates full-scale warfare.

I have two very dominant fellas in the tank: a male Kenyi (Metriaclima lombardoi), and a male Melanochromis auratus (don't know common name--I think he was labelled a Johanii something or other at the pet store?). They aren't too bad as long the others stay out of their hang-outs. They did both beat the snot out of other 'mates' I bought with them--to the death. From what I'm learning, I guess the others were males as well.

A couple of thoughts that might be helpful in choosing tankmates, from my experience, Plecos (particularly larger ones) can be a problem for some of the Mbuna that hang in their caves at night. I had one nice female Kenyi stripped by a pleco. And, big 'opportunistic eaters' like pictus cats and bichirs can make it hard to add new Africans at a later date, because larger adults/sub-adults aren't typically stocked at the pet stores--again, just my experience.

I have a few smaller tanks I keep on hand. I've been using one to "pre-condition" water changes (apparently a silly thing to do!)...but I have used them in the past to give tiny newbies some time to grow, so it is kind of nice to keep it up and available.

I'm not sure I'm giving good advice here...just my experience so far. I'm sure the "old-timers" will correct me if need be. :D

And, they are beautiful fish BTW. Congrats on your first cichlids!

ETA: I agree about the tall tank. I have a 150g tall (vat? marine? whatever the heck it's called!) and even thought it's BIG, it seems like the top half is sort of a waste. If it were possible to find tall rocks that would work in the tank, that might make a difference...but I've never seen fakes available that big, and I imagine anything real might be way too heavy...and way too expensive! ...anyway...

[palgo47]

Thanks for the info MRomalin! Really appreciate the input! ill definitely need to do sum research before adding tankmates..lucky mine are stil young! lol!

im currently feeding lettuce and carrot (they seem to be nipping so i guess they are eating) can i feed them veges as a stable diet?

[MRomalin]

I'm not sure about that. I mainly feed mine a flake diet. I alternate b/t Omega One and Spirulina, and I supplement with lettuce a couple of times per week. I'm pretty sure these guys are mostly omnivores, so I don't know that they'd get enough protein on veges alone. I mainly give the lettuce to them just to make sure they get some fresh plant matter. I used to feed them brine shrimp, but was told that could cause dropsy, parasites, etc. so stopped. ?

I'm not really sure if what I'm doing constitutes an optimal menu/schedule (I only feed them every 2nd to 3rd day--most of the time). Hopefully you'll get some (and me by proxy!) good advice/suggestions here!

[fishman887]

my cousin has that fish. it is some sort of ciclid. what kind, i dont know.

[Coler]

Best food for them is a dedicated pellet like New Life Spectrum Cichlid Forum. You can supplement with veggie but they need more protein than these will provide as a full diet.

[palgo47]

i went to the store today and they were selling hikari cichilid excel and hikari cichilid staple...anyone tried those before? they any good?