cichlid type   5/4/10 Hi, Can you please help me identify the fish in the photo below (center, big fish)? I've got 6 books on cichlids and I've been researching on the internet, but I cannot find this particular species (at least, I'm not sure). I thought perhaps it was an orange chromide (though it's bigger than what I've read on orange chromides), or perhaps a red devil before it develops its "hump," but I would like an expert opinion! The fish measures about 5 inches long and stays in the open swimming areas in the tank. I've had him for about 6 months now, and he was a juvenile when I bought him. Thanks in advance for any help you may provide. Best, Laura <It's a hybrid Aulonocara of some sort. Will get to about 15 cm long, boisterous, needs swimming space and rocks, typically Malawian cichlid in terms of water chemistry and water quality. Cheers, Neale.>  Re: cichlid type Thank you so much! Laura <Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.>

Please help me identify this cichlid! (It's not a cichlid, it's a brackish water snapper... oops!) -- 09/08/09 I have some problems recognizing this cichlid.... <Isn't a cichlid.> I have tried searching its name but with no success. It would be a great help if you would help me identify this. <It is a fish called a Mangrove Jack, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, a brackish water to marine snapper found across the Indo-West Pacific from the Red Sea to Australia. The species spawns in estuaries and the juveniles are commonly found in freshwater rivers close to the sea. Adults will sometimes swim into freshwater rivers, but they don't live permanently in freshwater. Basic care similar to other brackish water fish; you'll need around SG 1.005 for juveniles up to about 6 inches/15 cm, but after that, half-strength to full-strength seawater is required, SG 1.010 to 1.025 at 25 degrees C. The main problem is its size: adults can reach 100 cm/39 inches in length and weight 15 kg/33 lb, but most are somewhat smaller. Still, expect a fish some 50 cm/20 inches in length within a couple of years.> I bought two of these cichlids named as "African cichlids" but when I saw them closely in my tank, I saw sharp teeth like Piranhas. <They are snappers. They snap!> They are two of them around 3" placed with a Green Terror and Blood Parrot Cichlid. <Both of these fish will, eventually, become food.> And sorry for the bad picture quality (Its added as an attachment) <Good enough! These are really a food fish, with little/no value as aquarium fish. Hope you have a big, and I mean BIG aquarium for them! These are super-aggressive, extremely predator fish that need lots of robust seafood (squid, cockles, lancefish) to do well, though they should also take quality pellets such as Cichlid Gold. Very likely will eventually need to be kept alone. Hardy, can become very tame. Overall, similar to other large snappers, such as Lutjanus sebae. Cheers, Neale.>

Rusty cichlids, Af. ID  -- 2/21/09 I was wondering if there are more species of "rusty" cichlids than one? I purchased a pair of "rusty cichlids after seeing pictures of them online, the ones I saw online were rusty red on their back and purplish on their belly. The parents of the ones I purchased didn't seem to have any colour but red on them. Does surroundings have to do with it or temperature? Will my "rusty's" have purple or stay red? Thanks a ton. Like always, Lena <Hi Lena. There's only a single Iodotropheus in the aquarium trade, Iodotropheus sprengerae. But like most cichlids, colouration will vary, though oddly enough both sexes have the same colours. To start with, the quality of the livestock makes a big difference. While hybridisation isn't an issue in this particular case given only a single species in the genus is traded, Iodotropheus sprengerae does breed at a notoriously small size, only about one-half their normal adult size. Why does this matter? Because careless aquarists can end up with breeding between specimens that don't ever develop their proper colours. If you choose only full-grown adults for breeding, you can select for good colours. If you let any old thing happen in a community system, you don't have that control. End result: a lot of the "cheap" African cichlids are from chance rather than carefully controlled breeding events. While aquarists don't always have much of a choice, it really does pay to be selective about African cichlids. Next up, there's mood. Iodotropheus sprengerae are very peaceful by Mbuna standards, and if kept with aggressive things like Pseudotropheus and Melanochromis, they are likely to get hammered. Under such conditions, they will never develop their proper colours. Another issue with behaviour is that these are non-territorial, somewhat gregarious, fish. They don't form "pairs" and won't settle down as such. (Since males and females are almost identical, chances are you don't have a pair anyway, but simply two fish, though males do get a trifle larger and should have more egg spots on the anal fin.) Iodotropheus sprengerae is normally kept in groups of 6-8 specimens. I'd encourage you to keep them thus. Next we have diet. Like almost all Malawian cichlids, Iodotropheus sprengerae are herbivorous, and the more green foods they receive, the healthier they'll be. Crustaceans are also useful. Together, it seems algae and crustacean foods are particularly important for fish to develop their full colours. Surroundings are a factor, and in general fish show their best colours in dark tanks. White sand, coloured gravel and so on actually make fish lose their colours. Often, the fish fade their colours to try and blend in. Adding floating or plastic plants can make a huge difference by creating shade; alternatively, use lots of dark rocks and dim lighting to get the same sort of effect. Temperature and indeed water chemistry may be factors, but assuming these are within the preferred zone for Malawian cichlids, this shouldn't be a problem. One last thing: Iodotropheus sprengerae is a variable species, and their colour in life may not necessarily be the same as how they look in photos. Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: rusty cichlids (Iodotropheus sprengerae; colour, maintenance) -- 2/21/09 Thanks so much for your help! I don't know these fish by their scientific names but it looks as though we might have problems in our tank when they are grown. You said that the "rusty" cichlids are not aggressive, but they are kept with a pair of black cichlids with vertical blue stripes and I've heard that these are highly aggressive. Is that true? Will it result in us having to choose to get rid of one pair? In that case the "rustys" will have to go, the black ones are my favourite! Thanks again, you are always so helpful, Lena. P.S. Could you be so helpful as to let me know the most common cichlids and how aggressive they all are? We also have a pair of peach coloured ones and a single bluish grey one with orange, red, and green in it's side. Thanks! <Greetings. The problem with cichlids is there's around 2000 species, and lots (and I mean LOTS) look very similar, so while common names might seem a good idea, it's actually really important to get the scientific ("Latin") name from the retailer. If he/she doesn't have a scientific name, my advice is don't buy them. You can end up with some wildly inappropriate fish in your aquarium. Now, I'm not sure what your black cichlids with vertical blue stripes might be. Possibly Convict Cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata)? These are very common in the trade, but amongst the worst fish possible for less experienced keepers. Yes, they are extremely aggressive, way above their size, and are normally kept in communities with larger cichlids able to repay any aggression. That tends to work out well, assuming the tank is reasonably big. Your poor Iodotropheus sprengerae are likely very unhappy if they're being kept with Convicts. As for which common cichlids are aggressive, I can't even begin to answer this. There are just too many! It's well to assume all cichlids are aggressive unless you know otherwise. This will hold you in good stead with the Malawian, Central American, and West African cichlids, and errs on the side of caution so far as Tanganyikans and South Americans go. If you go to the FW section of the site, and peruse the Livestock index, about halfway down you'll see a tonne of articles on cichlids. Start reading over some of the general accounts on Central American and Malawi cichlids. Funnily enough, I recently wrote a couple of primers on both groups, and you'd find those relevant I'm sure. They are linked to other articles that explore various issues in more depth. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlvstkind2.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_2/malawian_cichlids.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/central.htm Once you've identified your fish, and if you have specific questions on them, feel free to write back. Identifying cichlids from word descriptions is next to impossible, so if you need help from us, be sure and send a photograph up to around 500 KB in size. No larger! Good luck, Neale.>

unidentified chiclid
Cichlid ID Attempt, But No Picture  8/30/08
Hi, I have three cichlids (given to me by a friend) in a tank with an albino tiger Oscar and a Plecostomus. They all get along well- as a matter of fact, the Pleco is the rambunctious one of the bunch! The three cichlids in question have been in my tank for about 1 1/2 years now and none measures longer than 4 inches. They hang around at the bottom of the tank and are shy like convicts. They are social with one another, though. They are a base color of a blue- grey- pale purple- slightly green/ brown (they are quite oddly colored, almost slightly muddy) with vertical stripes of a darker grey, suggestive of black. Only one of the fishes has the purple tendency, and I'm thinking that this is sex- related. The stripes are not distinct like those of a convict, though, and have spots at the horizontal midline (when the fish is in profile) and one at the beginning of the tail. The edges of the stripes are slightly fuzzy. They have very prominent lips which are grey- black. Also, at the horizontal midline, the fish becomes paler toward the belly. Their fin structure is similar to that of a Jack Dempsey, and the fins ( except for the ones at the sides of the fish, the ones they swim with- sorry, the terminology escapes me right now) are all very elegant and wispy. I am not sure of the source of the fishes but I suspect they are maybe Texan in origin. I was wondering if this description would be good enough to jog your brains into letting me know what I have in my tank. They are adorable little buggers, and they do eventually succumb to my attention! Thanks in advance for your answer!
< Sorry. Can't come up with an ID based on your description. Get us a picture and can probably come up with an ID.-Chuck.>

BW Chromide Species  1/25/07 Hello WWM Crew, <Hi Adam, Pufferpunk here> I want to buy an orange Chromide (E. maculatus) for my brackish tank. My LFS has a dozen or so but none are the bright orange colour you see in pictures. Most are like a pale olive-green colour with neon blue lines around the head and darker patches on their flanks while the rest are a silvery colour with a faint smudge on the side. Are the pale ones just immature orange ones or will they to develop the natural colouring? The shop owner said that all their colours would become more vibrant in brackish water but are they both the same colour morph? The natural form is very nice, I would just prefer the orange one. <The Orange Chromide is an artificial improvement on the wild Etroplus maculatus from India, which is pale colored with black stripes and spots (the only known Asian Cichlid).  My guess is the ones you see at the store are wild-caught.> Adam Wild Cichlid ID  8/8/06 I was looking at the freshwater FAQ's and I saw this: Cichlids With Different Markings   8/6/06 Hi, I require some professional advice, Is it possible that wild caught Cichlids of the same species can different colours and markings? If so why? It made me think. I did what one of you told me not to and I went fishing again, but I caught a baby pleco which I'm very excited about. But I also caught 2 of these fish that look like convict cichlids but the pattern us slightly different. Their stripes aren't as dark but I'm sure they were darker in the canal (the fish that I catch, their colors fade very fast) I also noticed that the pictures of convicts I saw online go all the way down to their belly and sometimes they are crooked, these are like lines and they don't go to the belly. They also have a spot at the end of their top fin. The last thing is that they have that cichlid Mohawk, I call it, (you know how cichlids have a unique TopFin shape). Is this a convict or another cichlid? < There are a few cichlids with the patterns you describe. If the Plecos are living there then convicts could too. But more likely it is a tilapia species with the distinctive tilapia spot at the top end of the dorsal fin. These fish are found all over and are very adaptive to many temperatures and water conditions. When these guys grow up you can identify them. Very hard to ID them when they are small.-Chuck>

Mystery Cichlid ID  - 06/20/2006 Hope you can help me figure out what I've got. Since October if last year some time I've been the proud owner of a... something, that I inherited from my brother, who in turn inherited it from "mystery friend" who lost interest. All I have to offer is my best description, as I have no digital camera to help. It looks dwarf cichlid-ish, to start. Mostly dark grey, almost black, with lighter vertical bands. Bands run all the way around the body, have a faint bluish tint. Dorsal fin has bright green iridescent spots in between rays, runs almost full length of body, ends in 1/2"-1" worth of trail/streamer. Body has reddish iridescent scales on lower half, hard to see if not looking for them. Size is about 4"-4.5", and possibly growing. Temperament is, odd. Either hiding, or trying to kill everything in sight. Massive appetite, strikes like a bass. Right now I have it in a 5 gal. hex and it is becoming apparent that this will be too small to keep my whatever-it-is in for much longer. Any help with an I.D. is most appreciated. I need to know what to plan for. I send this after about 4 hours on both wetweb and fishbase and coming up dry. < Very difficult to tell based on your description. But we might get close. With vertical bands it could be in the genus Pseudotropheus from Lake Malawi. With close to 1500 species, different geographic variants, and hybrids it could be anything. Start by doing a google search on this genus and see if the body shapes match up.-Chuck>

Re: Cichlid Is A Sunfish   4/26/06 Thanks for responding, I am curious, however, how do you know  that it is a sunfish, and not a cichlid? < I too have found these fish mixed in with goldfish and have ID them in the Baensch Aquarium Atlas Photo Index 1-5.-Chuck>

Cichlid Coloration  9/26/05 I have a cichlid. I've been told he's an African and a Texas. <Hmm, that just does not work out geographically.> Anyway, he appears very healthy; eats and plays well.  I have him alone in a 40 gallon tank.  Problem is his color is fading.  He doesn't seem sick.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks <First thing I would do is try to figure what type of fish it actually is. There are many varieties of African Cichlid; there is also a Texas Cichlid which is North American.  Try a Google image search on both African Cichlid and Texas Cichlid.  You can also use fishbase.org to help ID the fish.  Color change is pretty normal throughout the life of a fish, you might try varying the diet a or some color enhancing food, I like New Life Spectrum personally.  Best Regards, Gage>

Asian Cichlid Problems 8/6/05 I have what I think is a Green Chromide. < Go to fishbase.org and check out Etroplus for an ID.> She changes colors from Orange/Yellow to a brown then a grey tiger stripe. < Sounds like an orange Chromide, Etroplus maculatus. Stays small, around 3 inches.> I found her with a eye that appears to be protruding out of the socket as if it was swollen and very cloudy.  I think she can see a little out of it.  On the other side of her body, her fin has a white speck that looks like ick on a gold fish.  She likes to tear up everything in her tank and has recently dug up her bubbler.  She is slow and does not respond vigorously like she used to.  She is the only fish in ever in the tank.  Can you help? Melissa < If this is a fresh water fish then these answers will apply. If it is a saltwater fish then you will need to get more info for the crew on what you have. There are three species of cichlids from Asia that all go by the name Chromide. They are brackish and require some salt to the water. I would do a 30% water change, clean the filter and vacuum the gravel. Add a tablespoon of rock salt per 10 gallons of water. Treat with Metronidazole, or clout or a double dose of Metronidazole.-Chuck> Nomenclature question Hello - For many decades, I have always kept Red Devil's and was familiar with the scientific names. In fact, back in the mid to early 80's, I had several questions answered by Aquarium Fish Magazine regarding the possibility of breeding my large male. In each of these correspondences, the scientific name was always printed with the response, in fact one of the questions I posed dealt with a particular name change which occurred back then. When I first started rearing Red Devils, the scientific name was Heros labius or Heros labiatus. Several years later, they started changing the name from Heros to Cichlidae labius and/or Cichlasoma labiatus. Today, I have noted that they are also using the name Amphilophus labiatus.  I remember that the original name change from Heros to Cichlidae was an effort to properly show the familial relations as well as reduce the number of animals that had multiple names as a result of different scientist describing the same species. Thus, what is the current/proper name of the Red Devil? Furthermore, what have all of the different versions been and why are they constantly revising the name? Thanks. Art <<Hello Art, The name Amphilophus is current and should be final. The genus Cichlasoma was an umbrella for all cichlids from Central America until things got sorted out. Today it has been split into a whole bunch of new genera according to morphological characteristics, so the fish eaters for example are Parapetenia (i.e. friedrichstahli), the rheophile cichlids are Tomocichla (i.e. tuba), the group around the red devil are now Amphilophus. There are still some fish that have not been placed in any of the groups including the salvini and the Jack Dempsey (C. octofasciatum). The genus Heros is now reserved for the fish we know as the severum (now Heros severus), and includes around a half dozen species. To check on current names you can go to http://www.fishbase.org - this site is pretty current with what is happening in nomenclature. Hope this helps, Oliver >>

Black Belt Cichlid A friend of mine is thinking about giving me their complete stand and all 50 gallon tank that contains what they called a "Black Belt Fish" Other than that I don't know what it is. It's obviously very aggressive as it destroyed a fairly large Oscar. They described it as being mostly silver/blue until a black stripe. Do you also think this is a cichlid? Are these fish usually this aggressive? I feel very sorry for it as the wife no longer wants it to the point where she's trying to starve it to death. Fortunately, the husband and daughter are feeding it with out her knowing. Any info on this type of fish would be appreciated. I got a feeling I'm going to end up rescuing it just like I did my Pacu, the previous owners were trying to starve it too. Thanks! <May well be a Cichlasoma trimaculatum... please see: http://wetwebmedia.com/, fishbase.org, Google images re... Is an aggressive species... If unwanted, trade it in at a local fish store... Bob Fenner>

Black Belt Cichlid ID OK, thanks a bunch, I don't plan on trading it in, its coming with its own tank hopefully. Sounds like the poor thing has been through enough as it is. <Your Cichlasoma (theraps) maculicada comes from Central America and gets about 12 inches long. The interesting fact about this fish that is often found in pure saltwater with true marine species. It prefers water temps between 75-82 degrees F. It love plants so be sure to include some plant matter, vegetable pellets and flakes in its diet.-Chuck>  

Re: Black Belt Cichlid Thanks to Pacu, we have plenty of that. Sounds like its not that hard to take care of. Still, I'm sure its not a Red Devil, yet it killed that Oscar, this has me puzzled. The Oscar they had was 7 inches or bigger. The last couple years they've had the cichlid in the tank by itself as it ate everything.  <This tank is indeed too small to house anything but this fish. BobF> 

Thank you Sabrina, and Cichlid Questions Hello again, Gurus of Aquaria! Thanks so much for your Red Clawed crab-help Sabrina. We finally found someone/place that knows what they are talking about! We were wondering if we could please have some help with our cichlid tank now. There are a couple questions: Firstly, we are having some problems ID-ing our cichlids. We've been through both www.fishbase.org and www.aquariacentral.com. We're having no luck There are three pairs of fish: The first pair are (were... more on that later) a brilliant purple/blue with ice-blue eyes. From the gill slit to the tail there are six vertical black stripes. I believe that they were called dwarf blue Kenyi Cichlids. < Look at photos of Pseudotropheus lombardoi from Lake Malawi.> The second pair are of the same body shape and size. Those are a solid yellow orange. They look like little swimming peach or mango slices (yum!). On of the two seems to have a darker pigmentation - its insides make a darkened spot on its belly, and there are a few small black spots on it. There are yellow/orange circular markings on their anal fins. These seem to be the friendliest (or hungriest) in the tank and will swim to the glass to say 'hello' (or feed me, heh). < Look for photos of Red Zebras under the name Pseudotropheus zebra from minos reef or Metraclima zebra.> The third pair are Jack Dempseys. However after looking at photos of the Jacks on Fishbase.org, I don't think that they truly are. To me, they look more like Green Terrors, but with red/orange bands on the ends of their dorsal and tail fins. Are there different varieties of Jacks? < There are Jack Dempsey's with reddish to pinkish bellies but that's about it.> Now, back to the first pair. When we brought the larger of the two home, it was the most vibrant. Very dark blue/purple with prominent black stripes. Its colors have since faded away. Its pale now, with hints of purple and the same yellow/orange as the second pair. It's stripes are quite faded as well. It seems to be perfectly healthy and is the most dominant one in the tank. Is this normal? < Males turn a yellow orange color while the females and young stay the blue color.-Chuck> We've put photos on our website ( http://www.focusonme.com/fish/cichlids.htm), as I'm sure the pix will be more helpful than my descriptions. Thanks again for your help! Have a Happy Halloween! - Ian and Kristin