help with a rescue fish

[helptoall]

Hi, im about to rescue hi from a very neglected tank, i wanted to make sure that he is the fish i think he is..

Would appreciate your help in identification, thank you!

p.s. i know he looks very bad.. im thinking to wait and let him be a few days in proper condition befor trying any meds, but if you have other treatment reccomendations ill be happy to hear

 

[Colin_T]

The fish is an African Rift Lake cichlid and looks like a Pseudotropheus lombardoi. They grow to about 5 inches and the female is blue and the male is yellow. All Pseudotropheus cichlids are very aggressive so be careful about what fish you put in with it.

They need hard alkaline water (pH above 8.0, GH above 300ppm).

Don't use medications unless it has a disease. It is probably skinny from lack of food and poor water quality. Make sure the tank has a good established filter to keep ammonia and nitrite levels at 0. Feed the fish a varied diet with a bit of plant matter and it should come good in a month or so.

 

[Retired Viking]

Years ago I rescued 8 African Cichlids and put them in my 55 gallon tanks. A short time later they took over my tank and I had to move my other fish. They are nice looking fish but very aggressive. They then multiplied and in a year I had over 50 of them. I had to take almost everything out of the tank to get them to stop having babies. Hope you have better luck.