Another attempt at ID...

[Marius]

Looks like Ocellaris to me.

 

[CichlaRyan]

its a mono i will tell you know and agian and agian.. i think i know what im talking about. Ocells generlly have reder eyes and some spangling and darker red lower fins..

 

[silverdragon]

Sigh... it's the same every time: Mono, no occel, no mono, no occel!

What size will they have to be before I can get a definite ID?

dude thats the type of response your gonna get when you try to I.D cichla at this size...
youll get a definate answer around the 6-8" mark, just enjoy raising them

 

[channarox]

8"...

 

[Conner]

its a mono i will tell you know and agian and agian.. i think i know what im talking about. Ocells generlly have reder eyes and some spangling and darker red lower fins..

These don't have any red in the eyes that I can see, but the tail, anal and pelvic fins are all very red. It just doesn't show up in the pics.

I guess I'll just have to post pics again once they get up around 8 inches or so. Thanks for trying everyone!

 

[Open Water Predator]

Where did they come from? That may be the only hope of narrowing it down until they get a little larger.

"In six species juveniles possess three dark blotches on the side and a dark band connecting the posterior blotch
to the dark blotch at the caudal-fin base: Cichla ocellaris is known from the Guianas, including the Marowijne, Suriname, Corantijn, Demerara, and Essequibo river drainages, and also the upper Rio Branco in Brazil."*

*from the 2006 review of the genus Cichla, with descriptions of nine new species, by Sven O. Kullander and Efrem J. G. Ferreira.

farmed hybrid.

If it was purchased from an lfs, the chances are pretty good that this is the case. Most juvenile cichla sold as osellaris are actually monoculus or a hybridization of the two.