Need Some Help With What I Have Here

[OKCIS]

I bought these guys at a chain store about a week ago for my 6 year olds birthday. Hes been wanting fish so bad its almost scary. They were in a tank with basically 2 of each of what i bought i basically just bought 1 of each color. The guy at the chain store told me that would be my best bet to keep them from fighting. (I dunno thats what he told me but from what ive read in a way i ignored him) The problem with them was they didnt really even have like a name on the front they just said African cichlid - Blue and African Cichlid - yellow. Obviously i have 4 different types here but according to the tag i only have 2.........

Ive dug all through the Genus Galleries on the internet and i will look and think ok this is the one i have but then i see another that looks almost just like it and then im not sure. Here are the pictures

My best guess with this one is its a Melanochromis cyanerhabdos but i look at the Melanochromis chipokae and im not sure...

This one im think is a Melanochromis chipokae but it might be an Melanochromis auratus???

This one i have no clue the closest thing i recognize to it is the Pseudotropheus elongatus. It is blue with light to medium black/gray stripes on it.

This one im about positive is a Labidochromis caeruleus

If you need any better pictures let me know and ill grab some and post em up.
Also depending on what they are do i need to separate any of these or should they do fine together? So far about 10 days together plus however long in the fish store and no fights.

I bought the tank about 3 weeks ago and let it cycle then picked up the fish. In the last 3 weeks this has turned into a ridiculous obsession for me. His tank is a 30 gallon. Since his tank i have purchased a 75 gallon for my bedroom and a 250 gallon for our living room. The big 2 aren't going yet but the 75 is about to be because these guys are going in it and his tank is going to turn into a community tank full of nice fish as he calls them. Im looking at design ideas before i get them fully setup. His has more of kids styling to it im looking at more of stacking alot of slate rock with black sand for myself.

Thanks for your help!

 

[waterdrop]

Welcome OKCIS!

Nice looking tank! I'm sure there will be plenty of members along soon to help you identify your cichlids in the great pictures!

Since this is your first post it is hard to tell what your experience is with fishkeeping. Is this something you've done for years or completely new? When you say you cycled your tank, was that based on instructions from the fish store or have you read the cycling articles here on TFF?

If this is all new, I recommend you consider getting a good liquid-reagent based freshwater master test kit. Many here use the API master kit, including me. There are a couple of other good ones too. Test strips are generally useless. Again, if new, begin reading about the nitrogen cycle (there is a good chart on wikipedia, and then the fishless cycling article at the top of this forum is important baseline reading.) Begin learning about best practice for water changes, they are a key to good fishkeeping for beginners I think.

Sorry if I'm off base about your experience but just wanted to head you in the right direction because if your tank is not truly cycled, those cichlids will have you seeking emergency help pretty rapidly!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OKCIS]

Im 100% new this whole thing is a new world for me. My spare time is mainly spent racing Sportbikes and working on my cars. My son loves fish and I thought it would be a good non-motorized activity to spend time with him on. Since i bought the first tank (its actually been a month now) its become like an obsession for me. I read all the articles about fishless cycling and went that route. I have live plants in the tank and did the cycle that route. I test everday with the API kit and watched it go through its whole cycle. Since i added the fish i had a nitrate spike one time and did a 50% water swap and that seemed to fix it. My pH stays around 7.4 -7.8, ammonia - 0, Nitrites 0 - .25, nitrates 0. I still test it everyday im not sure if thats necessary but i still do it. Ive done 2 water changes since i put the fish in one was only about a 5 gallon change the other was a 15 gallon change. Im about 99.9% sure it cycled though now im just watching it making sure nothing goes crazy and i can keep it stable enough i dont have one of those big emergencies.

So far im loving it ive wanted an aquarium my whole life but just never got into it. Id love to get into a salt water tank but i figured i would spend a couple of years working with freshwater until I messed with a saltwater. Plus the cichlids are so cool looking to me that im plenty happy with them. I've basically spent the last month just reading forums non-stop. The biggest obstacle for me is what fish can go with what and identifying them on top of that. Ive noticed that there is alot of people that say you can do this and then someone else says no your cant mix those...... So basically thats the part im trying to learn now. His 30 gallon these fish in doesnt look like its going to be enough room for these guys for much longer so im going to start this weekend getting the 75 setup and the fishless cycle going on it so i can get them ready to move tanks. Being a 75 gallon though i know i can add at least 10 more fish so im trying to figure out what ive got so i can figure out what i can buy for the new tank.

Ill check out the wikipedia article also thanks for the advice any other reading you suggest? (ive read the fishless cycling article probably 10 times lol!) Im so obsessed right now i come how and just read about fish. I havent touched the current car build im working on in a month (this is leading to a mad other half however shes mad that there is a turbo sitting on her kitchen table lol)

 

[waterdrop]

Sounds like you are set! Only thing I can think of at this point is that water changes are a good habit, regardless of readings! If you get way off in the threads you'll find there is controversy about the true scientific need for it in all cases but my current take from the practical side is that water changes remove not only nitrates but also trace metals and other problem materials that would build up if the water were only topped up. Deciding how much and when to do water changes is a variable that be adjusted based on what your tap water readings are and whether pH is drifting, things like that.

Have you checked out the tank pics in the competitions at the Aquatic Gardeners Assoc? Just in case you were wondering if there are any technical challenges somewhere between freshwater and saltwater skills...

~~waterdrop~~