Help on id

[Fishman Dave]

I accepted eight of the below fish, three males (now 5-6”) and five smaller plain brown females (4-5” although often darker brown stripes appear, depending how they feel) from someone “getting rid”.
I Have no real proper id on them but assumed them to be peacocks of sort (Aulonocara) but then changed my mind to Labodochromis?
A positive id would be good
I put the eight in a highly rock scaped spare 390l corner tank and now appear to have at least 40 in there six months later ranging from fry, to various different juvenile generations (2-4”). When they do breed most young don’t survive and hence probably why numbers are not higher. They appear to be mouth brooders.
Not a fish I try to keep and wanting to get rid at some point unless I can gain an interest in them, maybe setting it up to suit them better.
Apologies for the poorly lit pictures.

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

Big ol' mutts. Hybrids.

But mbuna hybrids, not peacock.

 

[A201]

+1 ^ agree, mutts. Looks like maybe a Kenyi mix.

 

[DJRansome]

Because they are hybrids, you can't really get rid of them...at least not by selling them or giving them away. I would stop saving fry, the adults should eat the babies when they are spit. If the adults are not eating all the babies then consider getting 5 Synodontis multipunctatus to at least stop the increase in your population.

What are the dimensions of the corner tank? We don't need the measurement across the front, but rather the back or back sides...corner tanks may not provide the length mbuna need and 40 is a lot for a ~ 100G tank even if it is long enough.

They live about 8 years. Your adults look fairly mature, but you also have fry so you need to consider whether you want to devote that tank to these fish for their natural life span.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Tbh, that’s the reasoning for finding out the id. Mutts I wouldn’t look to get rid of so my choices are:
3x3x2 corner tank (about 80 ukg) for life, which could be a forever inbreeding programme!
Move them to a spare 6x2x2 for life doing the same forever inbreeding programme.
Or mover them to the 1200ukg pond and let them take their chances living a run the gauntlet existence with other fish.

 

[A201]

The pond sounds like a good move to me. I'm in the same situation with a 65 gallon stocked with unwanted mutt Mbuna. Fortunately all fry are being consumed by tankmates.

 

[DJRansome]

Five Synodontis multipunctatus will take care of any new fry. Then you just have these 40 to house for 8 years. 6x2x2 would be least abusive assuming they can have the tank to themselves.

 

[Fishman Dave]

So, turns out that they were supposed to be maylandia greshakei (formerly pseudotropheus) red top ice blue zebra but even though the previous owner bought them from a reputable dealer, he was never convinced of their heritage.
Anyway, I have moved them into the six foot and they are starting to show their colour better.

Turns out there were 38 of them, and I forgot that I had already added a birth control, found 2 very happy looking wood cats (Trachelyopterus galeatus) in with them. I will see how they go in this tank as currently they are acting much more naturally and no longer diving for cover as I approach.

 

[A201]

Wow, what a difference between the first group of pics and the second group. Doesn't really look like the same fish.
He does look like a M. Greshakei. I once kept one. Lol.