Help me Identify

[newfishkeeper]

[attachment=38:attachment][attachment=37:attachment][attachment=36:attachment]I just purchased 3

adult males in a 75G tank (been there 2 years). Can someone take a look at pics and tell me their

names? I've had them 3 days and they have yet to chill out! The big bully will not let

the smaller 2 rest AT ALL. Each time they stop in a hole, Bully shoots out to ram them away. Will

this eventually stop, or should I be conerned for the welfare of the smaller guys? BlakNBlue has

what looks to be a small injury on side (scale or 2 gone) and Red shakes when Bully nips at him.



Thanks for help!!

[Lisachromis]

Are these the only fish

in the tank? If so, I doubt the situation will change in the slightest except for the chased fish

getting stressed and most likely dying. African rift lake cichlids tend to be on the aggressive

side and you've got a couple of nasty characters in your tank. Adding more fish tends to spread

out the aggression so that one fish is not always picked on.

[newfishkeeper]

Thanks Lisa. Yes,

only three in tank (besides to Plecos...). These 3 have been living together for 2 years.

[Lisachromis]

First fish with red in

the doral is a Tropheus. Blotchy one is a Pseudotropheus species. Third one is a Melanochromis

species (maybe johannii or cyanheorhabdos).

[24Tropheus]

Tropheus is

probably about No. 7.5 a sp "Red" similar to if not exactly "Chipimbi"
The

red dorsal ones (rare in the wild are more common in the hobby, well at least here in the UK they

are).

Nice fish. 3 very male very dominant looking fish you probably know that folk

usually keep a lot more of these together (at least 12) so to spread the agro but all three of

these fish are more at home in 5 foot tanks or bigger.
Good luck. Sorry if thats not what you

wanted to hear.

[Tim]

<!--quoteo(post=1350:date=Jun

15 2006, 11:23 AM:name=newfishkeeper)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(newfishkeeper @ Jun

15 2006, 11:23 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1350"><{POST_SNAPBACK}

></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Thanks Lisa. Yes, only three in tank (besides to

Plecos...). These 3 have been living together for 2 years.</div>

Not to throw stones or anything, but....... the length of time fish have been happily

together is a shield I've seen used numerous times in forums and chat rooms when people want to

argue that a certain mix of fish will work, eventhough experienced hobbyists recommend against

them. For fish that can ten to twenty years, happily cohabbitating in a tank for that length of

time would be an indicator of success. Two years, seems to be a common timeframe for when bad mixes

fall apart.
What size tank are the fish currently in? Do you have any other tanks

available? As 24Tropheus said, Tropheus can be tricky to keep even in good situations. The Tropheus

may be a T. moorii from "Kambwimba" or T. moorii from "Nkamba Bay" as these are

common collection points for fish that match your picture, but again as 24Tropheus suggested, it

also resembles a number of the Tropheus sp "red" variants, (Chisange, Cape Kachese,

Chilanga) to name a few.
The Psuedotropheus and Melanochromis species are from Lake

Malawi, an entirely different lake, but with some similar water conditions. The Psuedo if I had to

guess would be either a Metriaclima zebra "OB" (meaning Orange Blotched) or a Metriaclima

fainzilberi "OB". Both are not uncommon in the hobby. For the Psuedo and Melanochromis

(probablly johanni as Lisachromis suggested), I'd recommend a 75 gallon tank with a dozen more

Mbuna (algae grazers) from Lake Malawi as tankmates.
Tim

[samuel horwitz]

middle picture i

believe is Labeotropheus fuelleborni "OB". As to the last picture I would tend to agree

that it is Melanochromis johanni.

[joea]

<!--quoteo(post=4129:date=Mar

8 2007, 02:23 AM:name=samuel horwitz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samuel horwitz @ Mar

8 2007, 02:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> (index.php?act=findpost&pid=4129)</div><div

class='quotemain'>middle picture i believe is Labeotropheus fuelleborni

"OB". As to the last picture I would tend to agree that it is Melanochromis johanni.<!-

-QuoteEnd--></div>


Agreed, the middle picture is a Labeotropheus

fuelleborni.

[Tim]

<!--quoteo(post=4129:date=Mar 8

2007, 02:23 AM:name=samuel horwitz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samuel horwitz @ Mar 8

2007, 02:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> (index.php?act=findpost&pid=4129)</div><div

class='quotemain'>middle picture i believe is Labeotropheus fuelleborni

"OB".</div>


Although the picture is fuzzy

and could be a Labeotropheus fuelleborni "OB", I believe the upper lip would be more

pronounced if this were the case. In all the Labeotropheus pictures in "Malawi Cichlids in

their natural habitat" and with the couple I've kept, even when young, the mouth was

partially under slung with a pronounced upper lip. I don't see that in the picture.
Tim

[Lisachromis]

<!--quoteo

(post=4157:date=Mar 10 2007, 11:06 AM:name=Tim)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tim @ Mar

10 2007, 11:06 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=4157"><{POST_SNAPBACK}

></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Although the picture is fuzzy and could be a

Labeotropheus fuelleborni "OB", I believe the upper lip would be more pronounced if this

were the case. In all the Labeotropheus pictures in "Malawi Cichlids in their natural

habitat" and with the couple I've kept, even when young, the mouth was partially under

slung with a pronounced upper lip. I don't see that in the picture.
Tim<!--QuoteEnd--

></div>

That's why I went with Pseudo. Maybe the original poster can

post another pic of this fish showing it's face side-on a bit better.