African cichlids
- Thread starter gomezladdams
- Start date
It's not a melanochromis, it's more preudotropheus like but I bet it's a cross / hybrid. It appears to be a male, it's anal fin is elongated and has egg spotts.
Good possible canidates for additional tank mates would be auratus, chipokae, other zebras (red, blue, albino, cobalt, etc.) Venustus, polystigma, livingstoni, fus****einatus, trewavasae, fullaborni, tropheops, elongatus, demasoni, and many more. You got tons of choices and colors to choose from. I would suggest to get fish only from lake Malawi. Don't get peacocks (alunacara species) as they are kind of wimpy compaired to mbuna.
The shells would be fine, will not hurt anything at all.
Joel
Good possible canidates for additional tank mates would be auratus, chipokae, other zebras (red, blue, albino, cobalt, etc.) Venustus, polystigma, livingstoni, fus****einatus, trewavasae, fullaborni, tropheops, elongatus, demasoni, and many more. You got tons of choices and colors to choose from. I would suggest to get fish only from lake Malawi. Don't get peacocks (alunacara species) as they are kind of wimpy compaired to mbuna.
The shells would be fine, will not hurt anything at all.
Joel
Cool Ive been wanting to use those shells to decorate.Is that how you sex these species the egg spots on the anal fin?
No, its not - consider that a 'cichlid myth' 
. Especially not with mbuna. True, usually males will have more spots than females will, but not necessarily. In most mbuna species, both females and males will get egg spots, so its a very useless way of trying to sex the fish. Venting is really the only sure way, unless its a species where females are a different colour than males when full grown.
. Especially not with mbuna. True, usually males will have more spots than females will, but not necessarily. In most mbuna species, both females and males will get egg spots, so its a very useless way of trying to sex the fish. Venting is really the only sure way, unless its a species where females are a different colour than males when full grown.The anal fin on males will be more elongated and come to a point where females will be shorter and rounded.
Females are not supposed to have egg spots on thier anal fin but any more with all the in breeding and cross breeding, many time females do.
The reason for the egg spots is for egg fertilization when they spawn. These are mouth brooders where the female carries the eggs and fry in her mouth. When they spawn the female "lays" the eggs, the male fertilizes them and then she picks them up in her mouth. The egg spots on the males anal fin are supposed to be "dummie" eggs and the female will nip at these "dummie" eggs. THe purpose of this is to even more so increase the odds that the eggs in her mouth get fertilized. She's nipping at the fake eggs, he's doing his fertilizing thing, you get the picture....
Females are not supposed to have egg spots on thier anal fin but any more with all the in breeding and cross breeding, many time females do.
The reason for the egg spots is for egg fertilization when they spawn. These are mouth brooders where the female carries the eggs and fry in her mouth. When they spawn the female "lays" the eggs, the male fertilizes them and then she picks them up in her mouth. The egg spots on the males anal fin are supposed to be "dummie" eggs and the female will nip at these "dummie" eggs. THe purpose of this is to even more so increase the odds that the eggs in her mouth get fertilized. She's nipping at the fake eggs, he's doing his fertilizing thing, you get the picture....
Actually, there's no factual, proven reason as to they they have eggspots, and females naturally do have them, its not because of crossbreeding - I've seen plenty of wildcaught and F1 fish females with them too 
The pointed fin thing isn't a definite, sure way of sexing a fish, either
The pointed fin thing isn't a definite, sure way of sexing a fish, either SinisterKisses said:
each and everyone of my mbuna's has eggspots. Some of my females which i can tell apart now because ive had a few hold for me, have several eggspots. I used to think that eggspots would determine the sex, but it really is a misconception that most people have.
SinisterKisses said:This is exactly what I'm saying
I know, but I was just reinforcing what you said
