# Need Help IDing Cichlid



## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Hi, I have this fish. All I know is it is an African Cichlid. Came in on a rescue. It killed the other two that were in the bucket with it. Any help would be helpful.

Thanks


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

No idea but it's very pretty!


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## SirSaul (Sep 20, 2011)

looks like a Maylandia lombardoi


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

thanks for the id. I can add to the discription that this fish in not an herbivore as someone told me. He likes feeder fish.


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## tike (Nov 10, 2008)

Well MOST africian cichlids in the mbuna family are opportunist feeders. True they feed mostly on algae in the home range but also in that algae are many many microorganisms, so as you found out it will happily feed on any good easy source of protein.


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Thank you again! I think it is healthy to feed my omnivores live guppies every so often. I got a lot of negatives when I said so in a different forum.

anyway, I want to create a nice environment for this fish.
I can't adopt it to anyone without knowing about its needs.

thanks again!

Pam:fish5:


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## tike (Nov 10, 2008)

It is also VERY aggressive! What do you have it housed with?


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Yes i foun out how aggressive when it arrived with two dead tank mates. It is alone in a 30 gallon tank. It will remain alone until i finish the tank and find a mate. Apparently the fish is a female.


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## tike (Nov 10, 2008)

Yeah you're not too far from me....let me look through the garage for some things you might need.


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Cool! We make a trip to Bremerton at least once a week, daughter & son in law with new baby! A trip to Tacoma is no big deal. A couple weeks ago we drove to Vancouver, Wa to pick up 2 tanks.

Thanks, Pam


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## tommy111 (Aug 10, 2011)

What you have there is a (MBUNA CICHLID) METRIACLIMA LOMBARDOI Alsow called KENYI. Native of lake malawi in the rift valley of Africa. These cichlids are very agressive and should only be kept with other very agressive tipe cichlids. They can and will take over a small aquarium killing of any male opossition if the other fish are not able to defend themself.


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Hi, can you tell me if it is male or female?


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

tommy111 said:


> What you have there is a (MBUNA CICHLID) METRIACLIMA LOMBARDOI Alsow called KENYI. Native of lake malawi in the rift valley of Africa. These cichlids are very agressive and should only be kept with other very agressive tipe cichlids. They can and will take over a small aquarium killing of any male opossition if the other fish are not able to defend themself.


Thank you I know from the last few days not to put this fish with anyone else! I want to now set up the tank for the Malwai habitat. I know what it looks like and how to set it up.

What I need to know is it this fish is a female what the male looks like.

Thanks for your help!

I found this picture of them together:


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## tommy111 (Aug 10, 2011)

All kenyi cichlids are all born with the blue stripes. But the females will turn into a beautifull yellow when reaching adulthood. The problem is that it will take any ware from 5 to 8 month depending on diet and nutricional value.


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

OH, I thought it was the Males that turned yellow!
Well, this one is only about 3.5" long and was very, very hungry when it arrived. Now its tummy is normal and you can see the irrdescense showing up on its head and body. I love this fish! It is so tuff! I would be this fish if I had to be a fish! LOL

I have all the time in the world to wait for this fish to mature. I have a larger tank that is empty and I'm going to set up for it. Much easier.

One good thing, there was 5 gallons of water with the fish when I got them and I tested it as thoroughly as I could. I found that the water for the cichlids is identical in alklinity, ph, and so on as our tap water. We don't drink our tap water or use it in our fresh water tanks. It is well water but smells like eggs. We get well water from a clear, yummy well at our local community center. That is what we drink and use for the freshwater tanks.

So I am slowly aclimating the cichlid to our tap water while testing to make sure everything is as it should be. The fish is triving!

Thanks so much for everyone's help!

Pam:fish10:


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## tommy111 (Aug 10, 2011)

yES IT IS THE MALES THAT TURN ORANGE OR YELLOW! My bad just had them mix up. And i have a 125 long community tank that has 5 kenyis and 32 other cichlids including 1 convict ,2 parrots,2 jewels,peacocks,sharks,corydoras,tetras,rubber nose pleco, So its just finding what you like and having a lot of luck.buy the whey if you need some base rock to buffer and maintain your PH level just let me know.


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## nwfishrescue (Oct 9, 2011)

Base rock?


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