Mystery cichlid

I have a cold water tank set up. I bought the tank second hand 6months ago and it had previously been tropical. Today I have a mystery cichlid appear.
Any advice as to how or what to do with it. Thanks

Darren89 said:

Any advice as to how or what to do with it.

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uuummm....i dunno....maybe feed it, and take care of it?

I think a few more pictures will help. Either that is a huge moss ball or it is a very small fish. I can't see the head shape very well but the body and fins look more African cichlid rather than American to me. If it is just a young cichlid you probably won't be able to get a good ID on it until it grow a bit.

Did the tank have water in it when you bought it? If so I take it you didn't dump all the water out? Also, cold water as in how cold? Most cichlid species prefer water on the warmer side, ranging from 72-80 F depending on species.

mikey11 said:

uuummm....i dunno....maybe feed it, and take care of it?

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Well yes!!! More do I need to re-home it away from the orandas

I'm probably completely wrong but it looks like one of those baby convict cichlids from the store. idk though. edit: i'm wrong; its too skinny

Demeter32 said:

I think a few more pictures will help. Either that is a huge moss ball or it is a very small fish. I can't see the head shape very well but the body and fins look more African cichlid rather than American to me. If it is just a young cichlid you probably won't be able to get a good ID on it until it grow a bit.

Did the tank have water in it when you bought it? If so I take it you didn't dump all the water out? Also, cold water as in how cold? Most cichlid species prefer water on the warmer side, ranging from 72-80 F depending on species.

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Thanks, the tank had the stones but no water. (This might sound dumb...but could it have got through the external filter)
He's only little at the moment, probably about 2-3cm.
Just concerned for my orandas if he's likely to attack them and if he needs a warmer tank. (Mine current running 70-72°f)

Getting a better look at the head, that does indeed look like an African cichlid, probably a mbuna or some sort. I could be wrong of course, but that's what it looks like to me.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get the little guy his/her own tank. Do you have any spare tanks on hand? If so what sizes? Generally speaking, mbuna like temps closer to 76. When it grows up I would bet it will beat your orandas up quite a bit. African cichlids are not very nice but they are quite beautiful.

As for how the fish arrived in your tank, if there was water in the filter that wasn't dumped out it could of been in there. It's also possible it was inside a hollow ornament that had some water left in it too. Another theory is it might have been netted out along with the goldies but you didn't notice as it was just a tiny thing. If you added live plants it could of been in there too. Basically, you may never know how you got it.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get the little guy his/her own tank. Do you have any spare tanks on hand? If so what sizes? Generally speaking, mbuna like temps closer to 76. When it grows up I would bet it will beat your orandas up quite a bit. African cichlids are not very nice but they are quite beautiful.

Thank you for all that. Yes I've got a spare one I keep for medicating or quarantine so will set that up and fish him out. H

I believe that is a female Aulonocara.

If it survived so far I would leave it till you find someone who wants it and can provide a suitable home or till it gets in trouble with your Orandas. Provided temps don't drop below 70.

It is for sure an African rift lake cichlid and it is for sure not an Aulonocara.

I actually am pretty sure it's Amatitlania nigrofasciata, a Convict Cichlid. It's one of the only cichlids that boasts stripes like that that I know of, besides Aulonocara maylandi, the Sulferhead Aulonocara, which shows off a bright yellow head, which yours does not appear to have.

EDIT: If it is one, either buy a 30 gallon tank, or try to find someone who can keep it. They get to be 5-6 inches long from my experience. A single one can be kept in smaller, like a 20 gallon though.

That is definitely not an Aulonocara (peaock). Nor is it a convict cichlid, look at the eyes, long body, relatively short fins. Even young convicts are much more rounded in body. The head shape is far to blunt and the body too long. I can pretty much guarantee it is a mbuna. As to which species, its hard to say when they are young and it makes it even harder when different species readily cross breed together.

So a rough summary of what it could be: https://images.search.yahoo.com/sea...WQDBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=mbuna&fr2=piv-web&fr=mcafee

I think a 20gal would be plenty of room to keep the little guy on his/her own. Most species of mbuna stay around 5in. Should be interesting to see how it matures

Maybe Metriaclima lombardoi? A female of course.

Thanks all.
I'm inclined with the mbuna identification! Also gonna see how he goes whilst finding him a new home. We keep the tank a bit warmer as have variated platys and a plec.
Will keep it up to date with progress.