Fish Identification

[mwatson1430]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to MFK but have enjoyed learning by reading silently in the background. My girlfriend anddaughter recently brought home a fish and introduced it to our tank but I am not completely certain what it is and I was hoping someone could help me identify it. Thank you all for your help in advance!

 

[Gourami Swami]

That's a red Jewel cichlid, it is actually African and not American. What kind of tank do you have him in?

 

[mwatson1430]

He is currently in a 75 gallon grow out tank with two oscars less than three inches, a 4 inch pleco, a 5 inch rainbow shark, a 4 inch Bichir, and a 5 inch blue gourami. The new fish you identified as a red jewel cichlid is about 2.5 - 3 inches right now but terrorizes the poor gourami whose permanent home is the grow out tank.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Yeah, I'd say the blue gourami is definitely a bit too peaceful for that mix of fish. Red Jewels can be pretty aggressive, even more so than the Oscars (though the Oscars get much larger). If the bullying continues I would think about moving or re-homing one or the other

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

I've had bad luck in the past mixing gourami with cichlids. Red Jewels can be extremely aggressive like already stated. There are always exceptions to the rule though. I had one with a bunch of Mbuna and Peacocks and it never bothered anyone ever but I believe that is because it was so obviously dominant that it never even bothered with fish smaller than it.

On the plus side they only get ~4 - 5 inches so if your daughter and wife are super attached to it you could set up a 30 gallon for it possibly?

 

[mwatson1430]

Will the African Jewell Cichlid have any long term issues living with other CA/SA Cichlids like the Oscars previously mentioned, Firemouths, and/or Convicts?

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

Speaking solely in terms of pH, your Oscars are actually the oddballs out. That being said unless it's a wild caught Oscar I'm pretty sure it will be able to adapt to a slightly higher pH.

What is your pH in your tank?

 

[mwatson1430]

I've had bad luck in the past mixing gourami with cichlids. Red Jewels can be extremely aggressive like already stated. There are always exceptions to the rule though. I had one with a bunch of Mbuna and Peacocks and it never bothered anyone ever but I believe that is because it was so obviously dominant that it never even bothered with fish smaller than it.

On the plus side they only get ~4 - 5 inches so if your daughter and wife are super attached to it you could set up a 30 gallon for it possibly?

Yeah it's strange, while the Gourami is clearly the most peaceful he is the largest fish in the tank and until the Jewell was added he was left alone. The jewell leaves a similar sized Oscar and a 1.5 inch Oscar alone. Also is never seen bothering the Albino Rainbow Shark or Bichir....This is my first Bichir and I normally don't like "eel" looking fish but my son wanted it so I got it and I have fallen in love with it. He has such a good personality, gets along with everything, responds like an Oscar when I'm in the room or at feeding time and has a voracious appetite. I'll definitely be getting another Bichir if they are all like this one.

 

[mwatson1430]

Speaking solely in terms of pH, your Oscars are actually the oddballs out. That being said unless it's a wild caught Oscar I'm pretty sure it will be able to adapt to a slightly higher pH.

What is your pH in your tank?

PH runs pretty steady from 7.0-7.3 without any sort of treatment so I tend to leave it "as is". I prefer to treat my aquarium water as little as possible. I use well water and it gets tested bi-weekly with every other water change. Definitely not wild caught Oscars here in Maine....poor guys wouldn't be able to survive our winters!

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

lol I know but you can order wild caught fish. I have a wild caught Mesoheros Festae. I wouldn't worry too much about water quality long term them since your pH is rather neutral.

Do you feed your bichir tilapia? That along with pellets seems to be the staple of their diet, I've personally never owned one but have been doing some research lately.

Oh, and the Jewel is probably attacking the Gourami because it is the largest fish in the tank. And it's ignoring the Oscars because they present no threat to him. Oscars can be aggressive but I seriously treat them as if they're peaceful fish. I've housed them with Angels in the past.