Pls help me identifying this cichlid

[kawrthik]

Hi All,

This is my first post. Require your help identifying the cichlid. LFS guy didnt know the name. I bought this since it has different coloration and pattern. Initially I thought it is a JD. but still I cannot figure out what fish is this. This cichlid is very aggressive with big appetite, always active. Eats and poops a lot ?. He(or she) is now in 60 gal with convicts and chromides( pearl spots) . its size is about 4 inches. Sorry for the bad picture quality.

 

[duanes]

Looks like one of the Tilapines to me.
Between a number of Tilapine genera (such as Sarotherodon, Coptodon, Oreochromis to name a few) there are hundreds of species, and many look very similar.
Could be Oreochromis mossambiculus I haven't kept since the 60s, but,..... here are a few kept after I got a camera.
Coptodon zilliii

Oreochromis tanganylae

Sarotherodon linnellii

There are so many, they range from southern Africa into the mid east.
And are now feral from South America to Florida.
The video below is a Cenote in Mexico. the Tilaines appear just after the 4 minute mark
Aktun Ha

 

[kawrthik]

Thanks duanes. Do i have to change water parameters . He is in South american tank setup now.

 

[duanes]

Tilapines are some of the most adaptive cichlids out there, so trying to fool with water parameters is not needed.
Although you may find that 60 gal is a a bit small for it quickly.
Below is a shot from early 2014, at about 1", when I picked acquired zillii fry

One year later, they were pushing a foot long.

At about a year, I moved the zillii to a 1,000 gal kiddy pool in the yard in summer


Below a shot of a Tilapine in a 500 gal tank, where it is almost 2 ft long, and nearly as tall and quite thick.

a shot of one raised by a aquaponics company in Milwaukee sold to grocery stores

it ended up .......