New to Cichla.. what have I got?

[cjdesmit]

I've been keeping Central American cichlids for many years now but have recently felt the urge to try something a bit different. So... I picked up 5x young cichla the other day. They are all around 3.5" so still very small. They are currently growing out in a 40B, with plans to eventually keep a pair in my 220gal.

Any guesses to what species I may have? They seem too be settling in well, currently eating bloodworms and freeze dried shrimp.

 

[TheWolfman]

Definitely a lukanani

 

[cjdesmit]

Definitely a lukanani

Isn't that just another general name for peacock bass? Perhaps I am not sensing your sarcasm...

 

[TheWolfman]

Isn't that just another general name for peacock bass? Perhaps I am not sensing your sarcasm...

Most lfs label them that and don’t know that there’s different kinds. Your fish is still young and showing juvenile colors. I would wait until it gets a little larger for a positive Id. Your fish looks like it could be ocell but the colors are still too dull to tell. Generally fish sold without a label turn out to be hybrids of mono/ocell. Feed it some meaty foods and transfer to pellets ASAP for the best growth and colors. You can follow the thread pinned at the top of this forum. Keep the water clean with 50% or more water changes each week to prevent health issues. Welcome to C.r.e.a.m.

 

[cjdesmit]

Most lfs label them that and don’t know that there’s different kinds. Your fish is still young and showing juvenile colors. I would wait until it gets a little larger for a positive Id. Your fish looks like it could be ocell but the colors are still too dull to tell. Generally fish sold without a label turn out to be hybrids of mono/ocell. Feed it some meaty foods and transfer to pellets ASAP for the best growth and colors. You can follow the thread pinned at the top of this forum. Keep the water clean with 50% or more water changes each week to prevent health issues. Welcome to C.r.e.a.m.

Understood. I fed them some raw fresh shrimp today and 3/5 ate it. I will definitely be working on getting them to eat pellets soon.

 

[Matteus]

Understood. I fed them some raw fresh shrimp today and 3/5 ate it. I will definitely be working on getting them to eat pellets soon.

Well that’s good news. If 3 eat it they will teach the others more often than not. Check out the sticky from gangster about how to get them on pellets, it took me almost 3 months of trial and error, mostly error, before getting my current bass onto pellets.

 

[cjdesmit]

I've read through the sticky, thanks. They were only being fed feeders less than a week ago when I got them. So, they seem to be progressing quickly considering they took frozen bloodworms on day 1.

 

[Matteus]

That’s exciting congrats.

 

[cjdesmit]

Quick update... So the three largest are ravenously eating fresh shrimp, bloodworms, and freeze dried shrimp. The fourth refuses everything but bloodworms and the fifth, the smallest of the 5, has not eaten anything since I got him to my knowledge. He will mouth bloodworms but ends up spitting them out. He has zero interest in the fresh shrimp. Should I just be patient and hope he comes around?

 

[Matteus]

Quick update... So the three largest are ravenously eating fresh shrimp, bloodworms, and freeze dried shrimp. The fourth refuses everything but bloodworms and the fifth, the smallest of the 5, has not eaten anything since I got him to my knowledge. He will mouth bloodworms but ends up spitting them out. He has zero interest in the fresh shrimp. Should I just be patient and hope he comes around?

Have you tried brine shrimp? When I first got my ocels, that was the only thing they ate outside of live.