need help identifying cichlid

[jonah h2o]

So o found this guy who I was going to buy a wolf fish from but he sold it, He then wrote me an email saying he had some cichlids he was going too sell also. I looked at some pictures and he told me they where "very rare" I'm not a cichlid expert but I know many of you are so I thought you could help me so I don't get ripped of or stuck with something super agro because I would want to put them with some other fish such as knife fish etc. heres some pictures and thanks for the help!!

 

[jonah h2o]

a couple of the names he told me to look up where "cichlasoma atromaculatus" and "Rio atrato" if that helps

 

[duanes]

Looks like Mesoheros atromaculatum to me, they are endemic to northern S America (Columbia, Southern Panama, and a close relative of "festae". Rio Atrato would the location where it is found.
A very desirable cichlid to keep.
The genus name (Cichlasoma) is an old, outdated term, it has now been reclassified in genus Mesoheros, as are festae, ornatum, and gephyrum.

 

[jonah h2o]

ok thanks, aggressive or non aggressive? it seems like (Cichlasoma) is still used a lot in books at least the ones I read

 

[duanes]

In a big enough tank, aggression should not be an issue, but I'd consider it about similar to its close cousin festae. If it were me, as an adult, I would consider a 100 gal tank minimum size for a pair or trio, with some dithers, and maybe, a few other geographically correct cichlids.
And Cichlasoma is kind of a catch-all genus for the tribe of Heroini cichlids from the new world, although Sven Kullander restricted it to just a few S American species years ago, and atromaculatum is not one of those.
I think many LFSs use Cichlasoma because they can't or won't keep up with the ever changing updating of modern science.
And as far a books go, few have been published since the advent of current DNA sequencing technology, which narrows down what (or if) a certain fish actually fits into a certain genus.

 

[jonah h2o]

Looks like Mesoheros atromaculatum to me, they are endemic to northern S America (Columbia, Southern Panama, and a close relative of "festae". Rio Atrato would the location where it is found.
A very desirable cichlid to keep.
The genus name (Cichlasoma) is an old, outdated term, it has now been reclassified in genus Mesoheros, as are festae, ornatum, and gephyrum.

how rare are they? just if I had to sell them for some reason thanks for you're help

 

[duanes]

Rarity is all relative,
Some atromaculatus juvies showed up at one on my LFSs a few years back, and were for sale under $20 each. Probably one of the local cichlid club members spawned them and had too many. But they haven't been seen since. Its all about whether there is actually a market. When I had spawning haitiensus I had a hard time giving the juvies away, and a few years later, same thing happened with beani. If you can ship, you may have buyers, but I always figure if there are 2 buyers in any major city for a large Central or S American, that's saying a lot.
Last time I saw festae for sale at a local Chicago cichlid club event, they were $3 each.