# New Cichlid ID



## DudeGuy65

Hi Guys,

So I just finished a successful cycle and since Im aiming for a Lake Malawi Mbuna African Cichlid tank, I picked up a few Africans to start the new tank population. I picked a few from different mixed tanks (the LFS has a huge selection of Africans). The owner named off what I was picking, but unfortunately I did not write down the names which I regret (I think he was wrong anyway though). Im trying to ID each fish for sure, of which I only have 3 types. Pics below:

I think this yellow guy is a male Kenyi:



Hes already dominating the tank it seems, he has harassed the other similarly sized Cichlid below to the point that it hides behind the heater in the corner most of the time.

And that brings us to this peach-colored guy (more peach in color than this pic would suggest) which Im not sure what he is (LFS owner gave him for free).



This guy is dominated by the yellow guy, he only gets to swim in the open for a few moments at a time before yellow is on his case

Next we have two tiny dudes of the same species (only about an inch or so each) that look like this:





I believe these guys are one of two species, either a Pseudotropheus Demasoni or a juvenile Kenyi (they came from a different tank at the LFS than the two above). Both species look remarkably similar and Im too newbie-ish to tell the difference. In the tank these guys are basically invisible, even to the super aggressive Kenyi above. They are able to go about their business for the most part.

So what I want to do is figure out exactly what I have, and how to go from here. Im afraid the yellow guy might be too aggressive for what I envision for my tank. But I do plan on stocking many more Mbuna (slowly to build up bio-capacity) and Im wondering if the other fish will be fine once he has more than one other fish to harass? Or if I should just bring him back and trade for a more well-mannered species. Also, I dont yet have a whole lot of hiding spaces and I do plan on building that up. Im also afraid that those little guys will also be terrors once they grow up, but they are very docile for the time being, so maybe I could try selling them or even donating them if they become nuisances later on. Also, recommend some species to look for a moderate size crowd of Mbuna (working with a 55G tank).


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## Crazy

Well although I am not sure what you have, a good way to taper him off of the aggression is when he seems comfortable enough to harass the new fish then move around everything in the tank and set up a few new hiding places so that they have a few different territories to choose from. It makes them have to pick a new place to guard and they will have their own places.


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## DudeGuy65

CrazyMFFM said:


> Well although I am not sure what you have, a good way to taper him off of the aggression is when he seems comfortable enough to harass the new fish then move around everything in the tank and set up a few new hiding places so that they have a few different territories to choose from. It makes them have to pick a new place to guard and they will have their own places.


Thats what I would figure id do when introducing new Cichlids, right now these 4 guys were all introduced at the same time, but the yellow striped guy seems to have decided he owns the tank already. I may shuffle things around anyway later today to see if I can get the peach guy to find a better hiding spot than behind the heater.


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## Crazy

I am no buff on african cichlids, but I know that most cichlids in general have a bit of a pecking order, and once established the aggression tends to taper off. In some cases an overly aggressive fish will continue to fight until they are removed but hopefully your tank is just establishing it's order. Like I said, the more territories the better!


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## graybot

The yellow cichlid with vertical stripes is a male kenyi. A very aggressive cichlid. Dominant males will take on the yellow coloring, changing from the blue coloring they have as a juvenile. He's still small, the aggression will only get worse as he grows. He will likely eventually kill the smaller yellow cichlid (who appears to be a juvenile red zebra). The zebra looks very stressed, notice how the gills are red and the color is poor. Healthy zebras are usually quite vibrant. I would avoid keeping any other yellow or orange cichlids with this kenyi unless they are considerably larger or of an equally fierce species.

The striped blue cichlids appear to be demanosi but I have only seen photos of that variety online, so I'm not totally sure. Not likely to be juvenile or female kenyi... kenyi stripes tend to be less even and taper near the belly, and there will be reflective turquoise scales near the face.


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## RonB

You need to overstock you're tank to keep down agression/ Also it's best to have 1 M to 3 or 4 F. Also do a search for cichlid recipies and it will give you a good ideal of what ones get along best. They are rock fish from you're photo it dosent look like you have a lot. You should stack up lots of racks to make caves so they can hide and claim their own territory.


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## DudeGuy65

RonB said:


> You need to overstock you're tank to keep down agression/ Also it's best to have 1 M to 3 or 4 F. Also do a search for cichlid recipies and it will give you a good ideal of what ones get along best. They are rock fish from you're photo it dosent look like you have a lot. You should stack up lots of racks to make caves so they can hide and claim their own territory.


Yeah I plan on stocking alot I just don't want to do it all at once so I dont overstress the filter, so I plan on adding a few at a time. I traded the Kenyi back to the LFS for a peacock Cichlid and a couple others im now also not completely sure what they are. The peacock is fine but the other two new ones I got are smaller and now the peach guy has gone from being terrorized to chasing the other two smaller Cichlids. Ill post pics soon for an ID attempt on the new guys.


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## RonB

Peacocks are not really a good mix with Lake Malawi species.


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## DudeGuy65

RonB said:


> Peacocks are not really a good mix with Lake Malawi species.


Really? So far he gets along very well with the others, nobody bothers him and he doesnt bother anyone else. The other Malwis are mainly aggressive to each other.


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## DudeGuy65

Here are the new guys I got for trade:

Im thinking maybe this guy is a male zebra?



some sort of peacock perhaps?



totally unsure what this guy is:



so far they all get along really well. The guys above are about 2" in length


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