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My friend just got a cichlid from a tank labeled "assorted cichlids" and was wondering exactly what kind it was. It is very aggressive so it is alone for the moment. It is a long cichlid with yellow on the bottom and striped yellow and whiteish yellowish on the top.

It sounds like an auratus. Does it have any black on it?

Here is a pic and profile so you can see for your self.http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/auratus.xml

Last edited by openwater at 11-Feb-2005 17:09

yea i agree openwater i see auratus always in "assorted" tank.

The cichlid is definitley an aurastus! Can you give me some more info about them? Tank size? personality? Difference between male and females? etc.. thanks so much for all your help!

Melanochromis Auratus:

Males are Blk w/ white lines, Females are yellow with black lines.

VERY Aggressive, 1m:5-8f, 75g, min.

These fish are exceedingly agressive. I got the cute little yellow one from the assorted tank just like your friend did. He turned out to be male...black bottom and stripe, purple stripe/top/head. Everyone says they are silver, but mine is purple, its weird.

Anyway, if it turns out to be male, be forwarned. He will probably kill everything in your tank as soon as he's big enough...thats what mine did.

Personality: 110% great. These fish are very attentive. Mine chases a laser pen light on the rocks. They also dig and make piles of rocks around the tank. My fish also tries to eat my 6 month old kitten thru the glass when she's by the tank.

In my OWN opinion, unless your are looking for a super aggressive fish and these guys are probably one of the most aggressive africans I would be very careful of choosing tankmates. The juvenile, if it is still juv, will act different then a sexual mature auratus. Either a species tank or some of the other super aggressive mbunas might work. These fish will not hesitate to attack larger fish. I had one that like to do guerilla style ambush attacks on other fish.