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hello i would like help to id some fish plz.

http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=143562314/PictureID=2903067645/a=89683185_89683185/t_=89683185

i bought them as asorted cichlids.
then this cichlid was given to me about 1.5-2 yrs ago.he has grown well.but have no idea what it is.male or female.

http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=143539919/PictureID=2902387934/a=89683185_89683185/t_=89683185

the firt pair in pic are breeding constantly so im sure they are male and female unless there crossing with some one else.
sure is nice now that i can post pics
any help or comments would be great thanks

first pic is wrong will try again.
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=143562314/PictureID=2903067664/a=89683185_89683185/t_=89683185

The pick in your second post is some peacock cichlid from lake malawi. I'm guessing a red peacock. How large is it?

The second pic in the first post may be a rusty cichlid. It is a malawi cichlid also.

thanks pookiekiller12

the pair are about 2 inchs the bigger is about 2.5 inchs.i have had them along time and they breed like crazy,but they never seem to display any color other then what you see in pic,wich is not much. here is another pic of the bigger one,i think is male.


http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=143562314/PictureID=2903067668/a=89683185_89683185/t_=89683185

this one is deffinetly female,i have a hand full of fry to prove it.

http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=143539919/PictureID=2902387910/a=89683185_89683185/t_=89683185

hope this helps thanks

If your first Cichlid is indeed Iodotropheus sprengerae, it's a juvenile. Here is a photo of an adult male for comparison with your fish.

The good news from your standpoint, if you are new to Rift Lake Cichlids, is that Iodotropheus sprengerae is the most peaceful of all the Mbuna - it's CERTAINLY a LOT less troublesome than some other fishes such as Melanochromis auratus and the other notorious headbangers! A 55 gallon aquarium will be perfectly adequate for your sprengerae, and indeed in a 55, you'll have space for some other fishes as well as the sprengerae.

As for your Peacocks, if you do indeed have an Aulonocara species, then yes, they are also from Lake Malawi. However, just because they share the same lake doesn't automatically mean that they are compatible with Mbuna. Aulonocaras and the various fishes labelled "Utaka" are open water sand dwellers, and need a good deal of open space in their aquarium. So, if you want to keep the sprengerae with the Aulonocara, you'll need to arrange the aquarium so that the sprengerae have rockwork to occupy, and the Aulonocara have open stretches of sand to patrol.

Usually, experienced Rift Lake keepers advise against mixing Mbuna and Utaka because the Mbuna are more than capable of beating up the Utaka if space is at a premium. These fishes CAN inhabit the same aquarium, but ONLY if care is taken with species selection, aquarium design and choice of aquarium size. Success in such an enterprise is MUCH more likely with an aquarium bigger than a 55 (and ideally, a long, shallow aquarium allowing the rocks to be positioned at one end is the way to go, preferably over 6 feet long) and success is also much more likely if the Mbuna chosen are relatively mellow fishes such as your sprengerae, Yellow Labs and possibly something such as Pseudotropheus minutus or Pseudotropheus socolofi. If you put an Aulonocara species or other Utaka in with serious hardcore berserkers such as Melanochromis auratus, Genyochromis mento, any of the Petrotilapia species, or worst of all, the demon Melanochromis chipokae, then you're courting disaster unless the aquarium is a colossal public aquarium type setup of around 500 gallons or larger, because the Aulonocara will be torn to shreds!

Even with the 'mellow' Mbuna I've listed above (Iodotropheus sprengerae, Labidochromis species and possibly Cynotilapia afra if the aquarium is a decent size such as a 75 or preferably a 90) careful planning is required if an attempt to integrate Utaka with Mbuna is going to be successful. Additionally, you have to take into account that Aulonocara species have a totally different feeding strategem in the wild than Mbuna, and you have to take considerable care to make sure that each gets the correct feeding. Mbuna are aufwuchs grazers upon algal mats in the wild, eating not only the algae but the small invertebrates living within them, whilst Aulonocara are sand sifters that hunt for worms and insect larvae in the sand. The higher proportion of animal protein that is appropriate for an Aulonocara will trigger Malawi Bloat in an Mbuna, so you have to ensure that your Mbuna receive a fair amount of vegetable matter in the diet to prevent the possibility of Malawi Bloat occurring in them. This means that your integrated Mbuna/Utaka setup is going to be a fairly high maintenance setup in a number of ways.

Basically, with an integrated setup, you need to cultivate plenty of algae on the rocks, feed your Mbuna with their food in such a manner that it becomes entangled with the algae (and hence the Mbuna have to eat some of the algae as well) and while the Mbuna are chomping away at that, add foods such as live Bloodworm to the sand for the Utaka to dig up.

Welcome to the wonderfully complicated world of Rift Lake Cichlids!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

hey Calilasseia thanks for reply.

i have been in the hobby off and on,over 30 yrs.started with goldfish i won at the fair.then upgraded from there.i have had plattys,guppies and swords.but most recently(last five yrs) my favorite are cichlids.both african and south amarican.i find they have the colors and personality i like best,so much so that my wife refers to the living room as the fish room..tanks on every wall.

the fish in the pics are in different tanks.
the one that looks like a rusty,i was given by my brother in law over 1.5 yrs ago and was about 3 inchs now is just over 5 inchs.i have him/her in my 90 gal.but iam not sure it is a Iodotropheus sprengerae(rusty).the sites i looked up on says that they only grow 3-4 inches and that male and female get a blue hue on them .mine shows no blue at all.
any other ideas..
the other fish pair i agree are some kind of peacocks.they are in my 72gal.but i think they are both females.since they lack color.
i guess i should do more ivestagating before i recieve or buy fish.
still learnning,thats why i like sites like fp.
any other thoughts or comments.

Whoa - that's a FIVE INCH FISH?

Definitely NOT a sprengerae then!

Now you've got me setting off on a detective hunt for this beast.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

hey calilasseia
i don't want to send you on a wild goose chase.
looking at some of the pics i have of this fish i guess it does have a blueish tinge to it i never really noticed before..so who knows.but she/he really is 5 inchs almost even.lol i was holding up a tape measure when i feed them..
mabe mine is just a very large example of this fish.

If your Aulonocara has red on the male then they can be only 1 of 2 types: Eureka or Red Rubin both of which are 'man-made' strains - they look like the Eureka more.

Your other fish could well be a Labidochromis Hongi female.

there is no red,i think they are both females.i think the smaller female is cross breading with one of my other peacocks.
after reading the replies and more net serching.i am also thinking they are red peacocks.
i asked at lfs where i bought them.they think they may have been firebird peacocks.but i have not found a pic of a female yet to compare.
any thoughts

http://www.bayfish.com.au/category1_1.htm is the only place that comes up on a google.co.uk search for firebird peacocks - I'd not heard of them at all.

As regards your females - ALL Aulonocara (peacock) females will cross breed with any male that takes their fancy.

there also on this site fp under the name Aulonocara hansbaenschi.
or common name firebird cichlid peacock.
but looks nothing like mine.
i think female Aulonocara peacocks maybe to hard to tell apart for me.
i guess thats the trouble when i buy from mixed cichlid tanks.no proper names.
thanks all for help and suggestions.