What is this????

[sxyatsxty1]

This is one of new fish in my top tank and I have no idea what he is. Can someone tell me?

EC

[armthehomeless]

Re: What is this????

Some sort of Malawi cichlid would be my guess. Does it have a tinge of yellow  when you look at it? It lookes almost white from the picture. Where did you get it from?

[CichlidFan]

Re: What is this????

I would guess some king of shell dweller too perhaps?

Can't help you with this one.

CF

[sxyatsxty1]

Re: What is this????

He's the most beautiful irridesent blue with just a hint of pinkish-purple around his head. VERY outgoing, friendly and personalable. Got him at Petco.

EC

[armthehomeless]

Re: What is this????

Did you get him out of the infamous "mixed cichlid" tank at Petco?

[umop3pisdn]

Re: What is this????

Looks like it might be a Albino Kribensis. I found that while looking for some other chiclids got with the purchase of a used setup.

[armthehomeless]

Re: What is this????

I thought albinos had red eyes?

[Fire_chair]

Re: What is this????

Looks like it may be a Tang or a Vic.

[fishlady]

Re: What is this????

well i think it's beautiful....cute face....yep i like him very much.....what's his/her name?.....oops....maybe your not like me ..i name all my fishies....hehehe....i know...i'm corny....so live with it.....lol....

he reminds me of "MR Limpit".....

[sxyatsxty1]

Re: What is this????

Hey....fishlady....I named my Harley so I'm just as silly as you think you are, which I don't.

I think since he/she is the smallest and I've taken a real shine to it, I think Ill name it PEANUT!
Yea, that's it.....Peanut.

And, yea, I got him out of the infamous tank at Petco......so what's the story there?

EC

[aquashelle]

Re: What is this????

I believe it's some sort of cobalt, or socolofi, maybe a younger paler version, but "Peanut" is adorable!


Hey half my cichlids are from the mixed tank aswell lol

[szidlon]

Re: What is this????

Funny, my smallest cat is named Peanut, she likes fish too   .  Pretty little fish, whatever it may be.

[armthehomeless]

Re: What is this????

There are many wonder and horror stories from "mixed cichlid tanks." Petco gets there mixed cichlids like that from a supplier. Honestly, there is no way to say for certain what type of fish he/she is. A good number of them are hybrids. This does not mean that he/she won't end up being a beautiful fish. Here is one such account:

"Mixed African Cichlids"  

by Robin Lovell  

Whenever I look into a tank of "Mixed African Cichlids" and get the urge -- that rapidly escalates to an absolute obsession to buy a fish that I think looks a little like a fish I'm pretty sure will work in my tank -- I suddenly see Clint Eastwood's face and he's giving me stink eye. It's that scene where he's just laid out for the bad guy the impossible odds he faces if he draws on Clint, and then he says to the bad guy, and to me:

". . . so, you gotta ask yourself: are you feeling lucky?"

Okay, maybe the odds at the mixed tank aren't quite that bad. But buying a fish that is incompatible with the fish you already have can lead to one or more of your fish ending up like that bad guy. With African Cichlids you not only need to know what species of fish you already have, but also what species can go with them. It can get very complicated and the mixed tank further complicates things because you don't know what you're looking at —- especially if the fish are juveniles. The safest thing would be to stay away from those tanks entirely. But, there's often some really nice fish in them; fish that would be perfect for your tank, and for a lot less money too. So should you? Should you buy one of these fish?

Maybe. You need to ask a few questions, all aimed at identifying your prospective fish, and the first thing you should find out is where or how your LFS (Local Fish Store) gets their Mixed Cichlids.

A tank of mixed cichlids can contain just about any kind of cichlid you can think of and most LFS get these mixes in one of two ways. The first is for the store to put the mix together themselves using leftover single species that didn't sell. It's just a matter of needing the tank space for a new shipment of fish.

So at your LFS you might be looking at a mixed tank containing a Kenyi, a yellow lab, a brichardi and a couple of convicts. Not the combination you would choose for your tank, but if you or a knowledgeable employee can positively identify one of these fish, (and it's a fish that's on your list), then you should be safe buying it. (Just keep in mind though that just because an employee can say Labeotropheus fulleborni, doesn't make the fish a Labeotropheus fulleborni. Part of what you're doing here is trying to determine if you can trust what your LFS is telling you. Often they don't know that they don't know.)

The other way your LFS gets their mix is from their supplier. This is the mixed tank you want to stay away from. There is a strong possibility that many of these fish are in fact hybrids.

You may feel that the issues surrounding hybrids don't concern you, and for the most part that's probably true. You're not going to sell any fry and you don't care if your hybrid doesn't develop good color. But where it affects you directly is that a hybrid can seriously mess up your well thought out plan for a compatible tank. You just don't know what you're getting. How big does it get? Will it outgrow your tank? How does it behave? What fishes does it get along with? Who will the hybrid mate with, and will they want to mate with him? Or is it a her? How do you know your hybrid's grandmother wasn't a Melanochromis auratus and will someday seek to kill every other fish in your tank? You don’t.

There are just too many questions that can't be answered and questions without answers require luck, and of course then you gotta ask yourself: Do I feel lucky? "

[szidlon]

Re: What is this????

 That is probably the best description of a mixed cichlid tank I've ever read.   Do I feel lucky, well, since I'm about a million dollars in the red on lottery tickets, I guess not  

[fishlady]

Re: What is this????

ohhhhhhhhhh....that's soooooo cool......well tell "peanut" i said hello and welcome to the world of love and being taken care of for a change.....
good luck in there....and update us on peanut's success in the tank there....
and don't feel alone....i buy out of the "mixed cichlid tank "....if they look like they need someone to love them ....then we have connected as kindred souls i think.....so i'll be a takin em home that's for sure.....so what if he/she's not full blooded something or other....
i'm 3/4 cherokee indian....but we all need love and affection so put me in the mixed tank if you must....but nontheless.....oh shut up Loretta....lol....
anywho.....
"peanut" is a great fish....and those aren't everyday fishies.....
i have an amazing turtle, fishies,  a parott, and a cat who's just one of a kind......soon to have another pet too.....so .....there ya go.....