New To Africans.

[kniesh]

Thx for ur help. That pic actually isn't an albino, you can see it in other pics, it's more of a peach colour and has purple splashes. The 8th pic on the left is the silver one with the black stripe. Thx again. Also in the 8th pic is that peach one with purple splashings, its the blurry one turning on the right at the front.

 

[Ferris]

Sorry Kniesh - gonna need some much clearer pics.

 

[kniesh]

Thought so, tryin to upload some now

The silver one in the 8th pic is pretty clear tho, no idea on that one ?

I will be about 5-10mins I think.

 

[kniesh]

Ok this one actually has both in I need. The silver one on the bottom right, and the 2 peach ones in the middle.

The yellow one in the background is what I thought was a Red Zebra, not too sure now, any idea?

Very bottom right is that silver one again

Just one of the left hand side of tank, I need a lot more rock yet.

Not sure if this is a better one of the silver youngster.

Nice pic of my Jahonni/Johanni lol

Better pic of the Bumblebee/Chameleon

Hopefully thes will help a little more m8

 

[Ferris]

The silver one is not an Mbuna and is almost certainly a Hap - Any chance of a close up of that one?

I think the yellow one is an Estherae - may be from a poor strain or may just colour up as it grows.

 

[kniesh]

Sorry the best close up pic of the silver one is the one in the 5th pic. This was the fish I was talkin about that he didnt know the name. You think I will hav to get rid if it is a Hap or do I have a chance with them? I will keep trying to get a better pic for you. I think ur right about the Zbra, it just seems to go a lot paler at times which is what is throwing me off. Any ideas on those peach ones with purple in, I thought they were zebras as well at first.

 

[Ferris]

The peach/purple ones sound like some sort of OB (orange blotch) variety. Labeotropheus Fuelleborni or Trewavasae often come with this colouration. Try this link and seee if anything matches:

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/results.php?genus=104

The unknown Hap very much depends what it is as to whether it will be OK or not unfortunately.

 

[Ferris]

OK here's a couple of possibilities for the Hap:

Dimidiochromis Kiwinge - http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1064

Protomelas Marginatus - http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1227

 

[kniesh]

Man, you really are dedicated. I was planning on scrolling through all those Haps today in the profile section of that site. (wasn't looking forward to it either). It does look very much like that 1st link which at 13.5" and being a frenzied eater and scavanger I am presuming may be able to hold its own in there. Food wise, I am thinking Haps like some meat in their diet an Mbuna dont, is this right? I was thinking if I could keep these as my only Haps and then feed the tank a flake fodd regulary, along with the frozen African Veg based food I have bought. Then maybe feed bloodworms or prawn once a week at most, this shouldnt have a massive effect on the Mbuna should it? If so I suppose once every 2 weeks is definately not going to cause bloat is it?

Btw I dont think any of those OB's are the peach ones I have although they do seem to be a similar look. I am gonna scrll through all the mbuna today to see if they are there, then try haps incase I have messed up again. What are ur thoughts on the other ones working if they are those Dimidiochromis kiwinge?

 

[Ferris]

Man, you really are dedicated

- more like bored at work but thanks anyway.

The Kiwinge, as with all Haps, are Carnivores so feeding will be a problem. Bloodworm in any quantity is a definate no-no with Mbuna in the tank - they simply can't digest it, which can prove fatal. They will eat anything you put in the tank, whether it's good for them or not.

Brineshrimp in small amounts is not so bad for Mbuna though so it may be possible. Your tank size is fine for such a large fish but bearing in mind it's a large open-water predator, things could get interesting when it reaches adulthood. Again - possible but there are certainly elements of risk.

If the peach/purple fish are Labeotropheus, you can tell by the distinctive overhanging top jaw - completely different to all other Mbuna species if you look closely.

 

[kniesh]

Yeah they definately have that top jaw. Not sure how I missed that as it's very distinctive. Tbh I was begining to think that these will probably just really develop once older and the colours will probably show a lot more so it would be easier to photograph and identify. They look like they will be very nice fish though. I will scroll through the Labeotropheus now, thx.

 

[kniesh]

The top right pic of thse are the two fish I have definately.

http/users.pandora.be/cichlidae/Malawi_g..._trewavasae.htm

Do thse colour up like the rest of the OBs pics or will thay stay this colour? One down, u must be sick of me by now. The problem is as well, around here I dont think any shop really labels the Malawis properly so I could be woking on trial and error with a few of the ones I hope to stock seen as they are all gonna be Juveniles and hard to identify.

 

[Ferris]

They will stay that colour - they are a slightly different strain to the OB.

You're right about the labelling of Mbuna - it's pretty awful, even at good LFS. The best advice i can give you is - if you're unsure whilst at the LFS - go straight and do some research to ID any fish you are interested in before you buy. Buying from tanks labelled "mixed African cichlids" is risky unless you know exactly what you are getting - you can end up with hybrids and all sorts.

 

[dthoffsett]

Hey, just thought I'd bump this up and ask how your fish are doing kniesh. Have you added anything new lately?

 

[kniesh]

Sorry offsett didnt notice your bump. I have added quite a few fish now. Still haven't sorted the stand or completed the rock but goin to pier aquatics in wigan tomorrow to have a look. My current list looks like this;

2x Red Zebras
2x Rusty Cichlids
5x Yellow Labs
2x Labeotropheus fuelleborni (o) This is the peach one I couldn't identify at first
1x Labeotropheus fuelleborni (chidunga)
2x Metriaclima gresakei--Ice Blue
1x Bumble bee/Hornet Pseudotropheus crabro
1x Electric Blue Johanni--- Melonochromis johanni
1x Blue Dolphin---Cytocara moorii (sorry ferris, I know you said not to but I couldn't resist an I think it will be ok with the prawns an brine shrimp)
2x Dimidiochromis kiwinge (the silver ones I couldn't identify)
3x Featherfin Synodontis

There are 2 others in there but I cant remember their name. They are fine though and I done all the checks before buying as one of the shps near me has started stocking Malawis.

I am close to full now, didn't even notice it getting there so not gonna add anything unless I find really nice ones. Sorry about the late reply I didn't see it being bumped sorry. There are photos in a thread on here on the first page if u wanna look. Thx for the interest and help from everyone, especially ferris.