No Picture Cichlid Identification

[QuotheRaven]

I went to a pet shop they had about 6 tanks set up after just moving and they had about 20 assorted gourami's and while staring at the tank I found swimming around a cichlid now I thought it was a convict cichlid due to it's black and blue colourings however it's body shape was far more african as it has that kind of shell dweller look but bigger. I cannot get a good pic of it yet as it's late at night and it's hiding behind a filter but a brief description... a larger dorsal fin that scales from the top of the head to the start of the tail...the anal fin is very angular and straight lined to a triangle...the mouth is very much like a triangle aswell not like the convict with the more rounded mouth...it has very large eyes and it's head is black with the blue stripes throughout the body....

hopefully someone can work it out...I also bought a Gold betta and a divider for my mums ten gallon betta tank for christmas...she loved it...I hadn't seen gold betta's before except pics of them so I saw three of them and I jumped
'

 

[Ferris]

Probably going to need a pic on this one.

Are the stripes vertical or horizontal?
Is it torpedo shaped or more full-bodied?

 

[QuotheRaven]

Vertical and torpedo shaped...I can get a very rough picture if it will help

 

[Ferris]

Anything like the fish in my avatar?

 

[QuotheRaven]

I have gotten some pics I moved my lighting fixture to get a pic so take into account it became a wee bit stressed from the light aswell

Unknown Cichlid

 

[Ferris]

Difficult from that pic - Best guess would be an Aulonocara (Peacock)

Can't see any blue but as you say that could be stress - looks more like a female Aul as they tend to be Brown wheras the males have vivid colours.

Check out the link below and go through the various Aulonocara species to see if any match your fish:

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/results.php?genus=17

 

[QuotheRaven]

the blue is those stripes best colour description for the stripes but I guess mauve or grey might work...I saw peacocks on another website and thought it might be those....I spent an hour searching 70 syno pages to identify my syno...another long search ahead Lol.....

Oh as I was typing this I may of found the species

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1383

it looks very very similiar...until I looked at other pics and it doesn't look like it at all..but that first pic does hmmm

 

[denis coghlan]

I agree with Ferris, I does look very peacock "esque". They are relatively slow growers in terms of African lake fish so it will take some time before will be be able to identify what species is it.

Here is a pic of one of my juvenil peacocks, apart from the high level of barring on the fish in your photo they do look very similar.

 

[QuotheRaven]

yes as I can see the fish up close I have to say it definately is a peacock...to be honest I do not know alot about them but it was in a tank of 20 gourami's and about 1 other peacock and they gave it to me cheap (8.99) and I knew it looked like a african cichlid and as I am going to do a african tank soon I bought it...as it is in non african water at both the pet shop and my tank would it perhaps be born in freshwater?? and would peacocks go with any other fish that aren't african?

 

[Ferris]

If it is a Jacobfreibergi, its more likely to be this one as they are one of the most readily available species:

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1377

Aulonocara are nowhere near as aggressive as Mbuna but it is often difficult to find suitable tankmates - they tend to struggle with the aggression in Mbuna tanks but are too aggressive themselves for the general community.

They usually work well with the mildest of Mbuna species like Yellow labs, P.Acei and Rusties. You can also try a mixed Aulonocara tank, which can be visually stunning but has similar problems to a mixed Mbuna community in that males may fight with each other (and females for that matter).

 

[QuotheRaven]

Thanks alot Ferris and Tanks Alot for the help at the moment he is amazingly active and zipping about "happily" in the 32 gal temporary Quarantine tank. This may be a difficult one...As the fish was in non-african water at the pet shop I would generally assume where it came from may not be african water so therefore could this Peacock be kept in neutral water with fish that would never be in it's natural environment... Not saying I will but could it be possible to move it to my 75 gallon and be kept there if there are no outward aggressive or unhealthy signs as in being bullied, being a bully or faded colour and signs of unhappiness? I was wondering this as it appears Kribensis have gone that transition of african to neutral in LFS...however im no expert lol!

 

[Ferris]

It is unlikely to be wild-caught and has therefore probably been born and raised in tanks with a near-neutral Ph. If this is the case, it will most likely be fine in a Ph around 7, although i certainly wouldn't risk anything lower.

 

[QuotheRaven]

Ok gotcha thanks again Ferris