Please Help With My Cichlids?! .. Few Slightly Major Problems!

I was given a fish by my sister and I would like someone to help me identify it so I can research it and make sure i'm giving it all of its right requirements.

I have been to my local aquatics and they cannot identify what sort of cichlid it is but they are definitely sure it is some kind of cichlid. I had to remove it from my other fish tank as it was being abit aggressive and rough with my other fish.

I bought a completely new tank for the fish and done all the necessary cycles and everything you should do with a new tank and the fish was fine on its own and seemed quite energetic and definitely more happy.

Anyway as I was saying I really would like help identifying this fish, the has very faint grey stripes that become alot more darker when disturbed.

I have included pictures of the unidentified cichlid.

I put two dwarf jewel cichlids in with it and it seems a little defensive and seems to be guarding one corner of the tank which is where it likes to hide but other than that they seem to get along and the new cichlids have seemed to catch on not to go into that corner.

Also another slightly major concern I have is I cant get the cichlids to eat much at all, I have tried flakes which they do not even attempt to try, live brine shrimp which the bigger cichlid (the one no one can identify) had maybe 2 at the most and I have alsoi tried frozen bloodworm which lasted for about 2 days then they did not want to know and then I tried abit of frozen cichlid mix and also frozen krill but im at a loss completely. Anyone have any ideas on that ?

Looks like some type of ram to me? Not sure exactly though.

yeah maybe, thanks for the reply tho.

It's a Bolivian ram Mikrogeophagus altinspinosus, a south American dwarf cichlid that is quite hardy, although they prefer water that is soft and acidic.

Do you know what the 'dwarf jewel' cichlids are? If they're the normal jewel (red, with turquoise 'sparkles') they'l be far to aggressive for the Bolivian, once they start to mature.

Cichlids are very prone to going on 'hunger strike' if they, or their tank, are moved about. They will eat given time.

My dwarf jewel looks very similar to the pic below but less red-ish colour and they seem to just swim away from the other one and the aquatics have said they are dwarf ones not regular jewels. And are you sure that is what the fish is as i have researched rams but cant seem to come across ones with stripes like mine, the stripes are generally nearly unnoticeable until he is disturbed then they become very dark. Thanks

Yes, I'm sure. The dark lines are stress bars and only show up when the fish is unhappy, or very cross.

I've honestly never heard of dwarf jewel cichlids. We'd need to see a pic of the actual fish to identify it; many cichlids look quite similar.

I will try and go get a pic of the dwarf jewel cichlids, i'm only going by what the local aquatics called them, 2 seconds and i will have pics uploaded. thanks

The day fish shops stop using common names, I'll be a very, very happy bunny indeed!

Best of luck with the pics; fish are usually not at all co-operative!

Thats the best picture I can get at the moment, btw the tank looks grubby but its actually the water marks on the outside due to a water change and I havent got round to clearing them off, thanks

Well, they're not the normal jewel cichlid. I think they might be Anomalochromis thomasi, but I cant be 100% sure from those pics.

I have just done a bit of googling and yeah they do seem to look like Anomalochromis thomasi and i have just read they are peaceful and I have sat and observed them and they do seem quite peaceful little fish from what ive seen, Thankyou for helping!

They also look a little stressed. Do you have plenty of plants in the tank? It would make them feel much more settled.

Yes I have a few types of plants in there that were recommended by the bloke at the aquatics and I agree they do look a little stressed but that is probably due to me taking a picture or the larger cichlid giving them some trouble which I am planning to move the smaller ones into a differ tank, do you think the smaller ones would be ok in my main tank, all fish in there are community fish ?

Looks like juvenile Green terror of Texas cichlid to me. (have kept both species)

That has helped so much, Thankyou! I definitely think Ive got the right identification for my fish now as I have just found this link : http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+889+916&pcatid=916 and mine looks exactly the same and also has the bright blue markings on it.

Great help!