help newbie to cichlids with "africans" -- what do i have?

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new2natives

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 1, 2007
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ohio
so i commited SIN #1 ... and bought fish without having a clue.
i have been a card-carrying member of the cichlid bashing club ... but i guess i finally broke down and got some. i think i knew all along it would happen, but i held out almost 2 years in the fish keeping hobby ...


so the short version of the story is that i got the fish for super cheap, but now i am wondering about compatibility, and water parameters. i think all 3 fish are pretty standard in the hobby, but i know very little about cichlids, so help would be appreciated.

i got 2 BRIGHT yellow fish, about 3/4" long, i believe they are "labs". one has a black stripe in its top fin, one doesnt. regluar price was $7 each, i got 2 for $3.50

i also got 2 white fish, very very similar to the yellow fish, except for color. they are 3/4" too, so hard to tell, but it almost looks like they have white on white stripes. and they have red eyes. also $7 orignally, and $3.50 for 2.

when i went to my regular LFS (which was no help today) i showed him, and he said "Oh, africans!" and thats about it.

then i got 2 others, which i have NO info about. i have seen them before, but thats not helping me.
they are a little bigger, maybe 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" and they are medium blue, with dark blue stripes, and some yellow spots near the fins. they were regularly in the $9 range, but again, i got 2 for $3.50 today ... the guy at the store said these were "Rams" ... but i have no idea if he was right or not


***All 3 fish were in the same tank at Pet Supply Plus (i know... my first mistake) so i was under the assumption that they could be kept together, and that no crazy water parameters were required...***

and my camera is too crappy to get good photos of such small fish ... but like i say they should be pretty common fish, so hopefully someone can identify them for me??
 
Since you don't have a good digi cam, the most common ones that match your descriptions, are yellow labs, albino p. socolofi (the white on white ones, although it could also be an m. greshakei, chances are you have a socolofi, because albino greshakeis are pinker when juvies and show pink/orange/red on their dorsal fin) and a p. lombardoi "kenyi" (the blue with darker blue stripes). Google them or look them up here and see if they match your fish:
http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2
 
i think you got some yellow labs, and if there really similar maybe white labs, what size tank do you have them in?? Water params, these guys need a high ph, etc, Tankmates??
 
ok, i agree that they are labs
white ones, i am 95% sure they are albino Pseudotropheus socolofi (based on recognizing the name, and looking at pics on here)

still working on the blue ones

tank is a 55, regular tropical parameters, lots of hiding spots that the white and yellow ones like, and a few tropical tankmates that they are getting along with fine so far, cuz they are smaller (large comets, a few cardinal tetras, 4 syndo. cats, rummynose tetras, some cherry barbs, and a tiger barb)

the yellow and white are doing fine, the blue are kind of sitting on the bottom breathing a little hard, but they swim around about 30% of the time, and they don't look too bad, just a little stressed. what should my pH be for the labs and socolofi ?

that tank has just been a comunity tank that my girlfriend liked, and since it was in the living room, it was nice and active... if i change it over to just cichlids, could i keep the syndo cats? i do like them, and i think they would be good for movement along the bottom ... i will have to figure out exactly what kind they are. i think 2 are syndo. eupeterus (spelling?) and im not sure about the other 2. they are 4" or so
 
and i think that the blue one is a p. lombardoi "kenyi"

so ibr3ak went 3for3 on the quiz !!! thanks for the help

now comes the next question, can all 3 go together? and what water parameters?

if they get along, can i leave them in my tropical tank until my other tank is setup, or should i raise the pH and move the tropicals?
what about the cats?
 
Although Mbuna tend to prefer a higher PH, around 7.4 - 8.2, the big issue is to maintain a consistent environment for them. If you keep the water parameters at a constant level, they should adapt to the water fairly easy.
They should all be fine for a little while. Eventually the mbuna are going to get too aggressive for the other tropicals that you have in the tank. The Kenyi will also get a lot more aggressive that the labs and the socolofi.

They key here is to watch for aggression in the tank and take ction to alleviate it as soon as possible.
 
euruptus are probably gunna be a problam mine is grumy and very aggresive and they grow big mine is at 5" and thats not fully grown.
labidichromis caeralius are probably the most peaceful african u can get iv seen them in with community fish like half the size and the lab was just completely ignoring them so there compatible.
not 100% sure about the others though sorry cant help there mate
 
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