Id My Cichlids

[Binge]

I am trying to decide what else goes in the tank with these guys so I need a good ID on all of them to determine what thier new freinds will be.

1. http/www.flickr.com/photos/13739571@N00/6142913547/ been told it may be a hybrid in another post
2 http/www.flickr.com/photos/13739571@N00/6143467512/ Pretty sure the yellows are a male and female lab
3. http/www.flickr.com/photos/13739571@N00/6142914625/


Thanks for looking.

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

1st does look a little hybridised, same markings as a female metriaclima lombardoi
2nd you definately got two labidochromis caeruleus
3rd looks to me like a pseudotropheus socolofi but there are other cichlids with similar markings so i would get a second opinion.
Hope that helped

The first is probabpy not a lombardoi though, the shape and face markings look a bit wrong*
Perhaps its a hybrid of something similar?

 

[markandhisfish]

yep i agree . nuch better pic of fish 3 this time . im going to commit to pseudotropheus socolofi now ive seen a better picture .

 

[Binge]

Cool thanks guys now I just gotta decide on tank mates. I guess with mbuna you go for similar lvls of aggression?

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

I can only reccommend mixing mbuna with mbuna im afraid, other fish with similar agression will have different diets, sizes and water parameters.
The only other type of cichlid you might get away with are the haps and peacocks. Also from lake malawi the water that is needed is identical. The haps and peacocks, sometimes called 'open water malawi' can grow much larger than most mbuna and some are piscivorus which mean they eat other live adult fish.
Mbuna generaly speaking need spirilinua/ algae base food where as the open waters really should be fed food more typical of american cichlids, so mixing the two can be difficult.
There are plenty of beautiful mbuna though and really that should be enought to satisfy you. Mbuna are very diverse so there are lots to choose from.
As for bottom dwellers other rift lake fish like smaller synodontis are perfect tankmates. Tank bred Ancistrus are good for algae eating and are hardy enought to take the cichlids and the alkali water.
If of course you ment same levels of aggression within the mbuna and ive completely wasted my time then yeah you are right to some extent. As long as you crowd them agression shouldnt be a massive issue, just dont put in too many males of a really agressive species. Eg socolofi, lombardoi and melanochromis chipokae. I find its best to put the species that have similar diets together as opposed to similar agression.

 

[markandhisfish]

for the main part the trick is avoiding overl;y similar species . species with overly similar males will likely fight and overly similar females may result in cross breeding . youve got just the 1 socolofi yes? if so 1st thing i would add is another 3 or 4 of those , with perhaps an afra of some sort . pseudotropheus flavus would fit nicely too . altho with flavus the m/f ratio is even more important as male flavus have been known to kill each other and can be pretty relent;ess with the girls when they need to scratch the old itch . pseudotropheus elongatus mpanga is another nice species that would work too

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

Elongatus Mpangas are incredibly attractive fish. I do agree though. The thought of crossbreeding mbuna makes me shiver!! if you can find nice zebras then i highly reccomend those. Just be careful not to buy hybrids, you never know what you are getting, ALWAYS grill the shop owners on the fish in question.
Good tankmates with your socolofi and caeruleus are things like pseudotropheus crabro, similar in colour to the flavus but noticably less agressive!
Cynoptilapia afra are a brilliant suggestion too! Plenty of shops sell them, just be careful it is infact an afra youre getting.
Other good tankmates like the labeotropheus fuelleborni and the labidochromis hongi show remarkable colour!
Things you really ought to avoid are really agressive fish like the melanochromis and the male lombardois.
Another thing i failed to mention is try to find cichlids similar in size. Big males will win when the little males get in there way.

 

[markandhisfish]

some good advice there , altho i have found with mbuna that smaller males of different species tend to be left alone as they are not seen as a threat . for example my dom male metriaclima hajomaylandi "pombo rocks" is fully grown , my other males are a lot smaller and theres no trouble . agression from mbuna seems to be based on 2 main things threat/competition to breeding and feeding . no perceived threat seems to equal minimal aggro .

i really cant reccomend a cynotilapia afra of some sort enough , they really are fantastic fish , beautifully coloured too . my dom male cynotilapia afra "jalo reef" is rapidly becoming 1 of my favourate fish .

 

[Binge]

Okay so If I go with what I am thinking the breakdown will be
my current 5 cichlids = 25 inches
2 more labs = 10 inches
3 more socolofi = 10 inches
4 cynotilapia afra = 12 inches

puts me at 57 inches in a 55. Since overcrowding is a must i can still add a algea eater of some sort. to fill it out a bit more.

 

[markandhisfish]

you can comfortably accomodate those no probs . forget the inch per gallon rule , it doesnt really apply with mbuna . . you could probably even add a few more too .if you add 2 more labs , how many will that put you at again?

 

[Binge]

if I add 2 I will be at 4. Guess I could do another 1 of each.

 

[markandhisfish]

id add 4 or 5 labs to give you 6 or 7 , labs tend to work better in slightly larger numbers

 

[elisew]

id add 4 or 5 labs to give you 6 or 7 , labs tend to work better in slightly larger numbers

+1

 

[mark34]

+1

 

[Binge]

okay so
4 more labs
3 more socolofi
4 cynotilapia afra