What Am I?

[Mikaila31]

I couldn't resist this guy at the lfs. He is very tiny, about 2cm. He was is a 80 gal tank and at least half of the fish in there could easily eat him . He was really fast and it took the guy forever to catch him . I'm thinking he is some sort of badis, but he is blue and the shop only sells scarlet badis. Any ideas?

thanks,
Mikaila31

 

[Teelie]

I see these guys all the time at shops but can't think of the name for the life of me.

 

[Ian H]

electric blue johanni??

i almost bought one not long ago, but not community fish

 

[chr15_8]

its some kind of cichlid. probably nesto going to the cichlids forum for a id.

but as said its not a community fish.

chris

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I would think it's a Johanni, although it looks similar to another African Cchlid I too cannot name at the moment. Either way, it will probably become too aggressive for a community tank...

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I believe it is a juvi Pseudotropheus socolofi. I don't know the common name. They get to about 5 in and are too aggressive for a community setup.

Here is a link to its profile.

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...r-Blue-Cichlid/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Cichlids...r-Blue-Cichlid/[/URL]

EDIT: A common name for this fish is powder blue cichlid

 

[Luketendo]

Probably Mbuna.

 

[Teelie]

Johanni is the name I was trying to think of. I think that's it but it would be confirmed by the African Cichlids forum regulars if one of them could be tempted to look.

 

[dthoffsett]

It's definately mbuna. It's not p.socolofi or m.johanni, socolofi are a solid blue with dark fins, johanni have horizontal strips. I'm fairly certain it's metriaclima lombardoi also known as a Kenyi. Juveniles are blue while adult females keep their juvenile coloration, males turn yellow. This is a highly aggressive species, IMO I wouldn't keep them in anything smaller that 75gal and only with other aggressive mbuna. They are a beautiful little fish and are found in most pet stores, unfortunately they're just not suitable for most tanks.

[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=798"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=798[/URL]

 

[Teelie]

I've seen the male adults in shops too no doubt there because their owners found them to be too aggressive.

 

[Mikaila31]

awww . I really liked the little guy and I didn't think he could do any harm at his present size. So far, he has been peaceful(crosses fingers). He is in a 20 gal with 3 swordtails, 1 female betta, 2 corys, bunch of cherry shrimp, and some swordtail fry. I will do some research on him and I will probably hang on to him until he starts causing problems or gets too big. Then I will take him back to the store I got him from, unless anyone in the minneapolis/ st. paul area wants him .

thanks,
Mikaila31