Curious about Cichlids

[craw]

hi all,

I bought some mutts when i started my cichlid tank many months ago now,and have since identified two cobalt blue zebs,and a female lombardoi,but there are another two fish that i've never seen in the shops since

One has a solid light pink body colouring with yellow fin/anal fin and is albino
(its just over 2 inches long and has the same shaped body,and size as the cob zebra noted above.

The other has a grey/light brown body with dark brown patches all over. i've got two ,but neither have grown significantly since purchase and i would hazard a guess that its prob a fish that doesn't grow to any more than 4-5 inches at max?
the body patterns are similar to "patchy" spots on some of the large grouper fish.
(if this helps?)

any ideas???

craw.

 

[cichlidmaster]

The other has a grey/light brown body with dark brown patches all over.

Sounds like one of the Nimbochromis complex species:

N. livingstoni
N. linni
N. polystigma
N. fucotaeinatus

Do a search on the species "Nimbochromis" and I am pretty sure you will see your fish.

If I am correct...you can count on this fish growing to a size of between 8-10" depending on whether it's a female or male.

CM

 

[craw]

CM,

cheers for that. as soon as i posted i found it on another site. its livingstoni.
so much for my ideas on it being a "smaller" fish. had them for 6 months and not grown much. but they're the smallest in the tank so they'll be well down the feeding pecking order!

craw

 

[smb]

CM,

cheers for that. as soon as i posted i found it on another site. its livingstoni.
so much for my ideas on it being a "smaller" fish. had them for 6 months and not grown much. but they're the smallest in the tank so they'll be well down the feeding pecking order!

craw

but they're the smallest in the tank so they'll be well down the feeding pecking order!

Yea, until he's 10" and you see him laying in the gravel trying to blend in and wait for another fish to come along and he springs into action! He'll take out anything that will fit into his mouth, IME. If kept with similar sized fish he'll be ok, but smaller fish will be eaten sooner or later.

I would say that they are almost identical to venustus in temperament and looks and should be treated as such.

 

[craw]

when i purchased them 6 months ago they were 1 inch, they hann't grown since.

 

[juanveldez]

as smb said that makes no difference. a N. livingstonii is a wicked piscovore, and what has won them notirioty is the way in which the hunt. they play dead and wait for other fish to come and pick at the carcass and then POW you are down another fish. I used to have one keyword used, till I figured out that I would not be able to house it comfortably in a tank that was anything less than 90 gallons