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drjimmy61
11-19-2002, 11:54 AM
I would appreciate any help in figuring out what kind of cichlid I have. It was donated to our school. It can be viewed at:
http://schools.limestone.on.ca/bayri/cichlids.html

Thanks,
Dave
SGypsyMermaid
11-19-2002, 12:23 PM
the genus is melanochromis--maybe m. johanni? it's a male.
drjimmy61
11-19-2002, 01:16 PM
It has only been two months that we've had him... someone said a Blue Acara? He is super aggressive, want to get more cichlids but need to figure out what to do with him first. Would he be happy in his own tank? Alone? If so, I wanted to get others for our large tank that he is in right now.
tom
11-19-2002, 03:18 PM
Hi drjimmy, and welcome.

I think Sgypsy steered you right with <I> Melanochromis johanni. </I>
(M. <I>cyaneorhabdos </I> would be my second guess.)

A Blue Acara it definitely is not.

In my experience, members of the Melanochromis genus (which are endemic to Lake Malawi, Africa, by the way, whereas the Blue Acara is an American species) are among the most aggressive of cichlids. In general, adult specimen--especially males--kept in isolation won't welcome the presence of <I>any</I> fish, regardless of tank size.
jonah
11-19-2002, 04:58 PM
[quote:f648321f84="SGypsyMermaid"]the genus is melanochromis--maybe m. johanni? it's a male.[/quote:f648321f84]

Maybe. It doesn't look quite like any I've seen before. Possibly hybrid.
MalawiGuy
11-19-2002, 05:33 PM
That's definatly a hybrid. the only thing I've seen that it resembles is a Pseudotropheus sp. "deep" Msobo.I once had some Saulosi- Johanni hybryds that turned out EXACTLY like that!
Woot
11-21-2002, 11:58 AM
[quote:58b1a2f3c6="SGypsyMermaid"]the genus is melanochromis--maybe m. johanni? it's a male.[/quote:58b1a2f3c6]

Or electric blue johanni, then it could be male or female. Regular Johanni have orange females though. I have 1m/2f of the normal M.Johanni, can be pretty aggressive. My "Brute" of a M. Lombardoi is quite a bit more aggressive though.
Woot
11-21-2002, 12:06 PM
[quote:79f7ecc938="drjimmy61"]It has only been two months that we've had him... someone said a Blue Acara? He is super aggressive, want to get more cichlids but need to figure out what to do with him first. Would he be happy in his own tank? Alone? If so, I wanted to get others for our large tank that he is in right now.[/quote:79f7ecc938]

How big is the large tank? You might be able to keep him in the big tank and just add tank mates, BUT watch out for adding more males that look like him (If its a male that is). That could lead to some injured fishies.
drjimmy61
11-21-2002, 12:39 PM
Tried a firemouth and convict last week... disasterous results... My tank is either 50 or 70 gallons... I'm a bit of an idiot with this... 4 feet wide by two feet deep by two feet high (roughly)
SGypsyMermaid
11-21-2002, 01:40 PM
firemouth and convict are south american fishes--i personally, don't like to mix american cichlids with african lake cichlids. aside from different dietary needs and water requirements--the social dynamics are very different and wars can start due to "body language" miscommunications.
Woot
11-21-2002, 02:34 PM
[quote:b00661187f="drjimmy61"]Tried a firemouth and convict last week... disasterous results... My tank is either 50 or 70 gallons... I'm a bit of an idiot with this... 4 feet wide by two feet deep by two feet high (roughly)[/quote:b00661187f]

Ditto what SGypsymermaid said, 50-70 gallon tank is pretty good sized for a group of Africans. Here is my Johanni, and some of his tank mates..

They are in a 55 gallon with all kinds of different rocks to make up some hiding spots and territories. The big orange one keeps my Johanni in check, the Johanni doesn't look for fights much really. Hes busy dodging from the Kenyi.

http://www.cichlidgallery.com/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=woot&id=55group5

http://www.cichlidgallery.com/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=woot&id=55group3

With aggressive types like that Melanochomis you have there, you're gonna want to keep some cichlids that will be able to take some aggression. Electric blue johanni are pretty common around here, Look a bit like your one in picture. Maybe see if you can get some more of those. Try and add them in groups of 3 or 4 so that one doesn't get singled out and killed off.
MalawiGuy
11-21-2002, 07:26 PM
With all do respect people THAT FISH IS NOT A JOHANNI! CAN'T YOU SEE THE PSEUDO. FACE AND THE VERTICAL BARRING? :shock:
Please do not to breed this fish with a REAL Johanni as it will only create more hybrids that will only be again mistaken for Johanni and serve to reduce the purity of the species. :wink:
SGypsyMermaid
11-21-2002, 07:36 PM
malawi guy--it is possible that you are right and we are wrong, however it is very rude of you to shout at us in caps. in case you haven't noticed, we don't speak to one another that way on this forum. we do not always agree, but we remain civil.
MalawiGuy
11-21-2002, 07:47 PM
:oops: Excuse me I meant no offense. I'm not really up on propper caps edicate lol.
jonah
11-21-2002, 07:56 PM
I'm casting my vote with MalawiGuy on this one. It looks like a hybrid to me, or some Mel. that I've never seen before.
tom
11-21-2002, 08:05 PM
Malawi Guy and Jonah

Yep, I'm second-guessing now: the caudal peduncle doesn't appear to be that of the johanni/cyaneorhabdos, either.

(The vertical bar effect seems to be owing to the flash, though: I see the horizontal striping charactertistic of the Melanochromines.)
SGypsyMermaid
11-21-2002, 08:24 PM
[quote:c18b9abe57="MalawiGuy"]:oops: Excuse me I meant no offense. I'm not really up on propper caps edicate lol.[/quote:c18b9abe57]

sorry for being a sea hag--i forget that everybody doesn't know that caps mean shouting on line. :wink: you may be right about the fish being a hybrid. i only noticed the melanochromis features, but now that you mention it--the fullness of the body suggests pseudotropheus, whereas the melanochromis species tend to be more elongate. the fish may be a cross between a melanochromis species and a pseudotropheus species.
drjimmy61
11-27-2002, 10:52 AM
I'm envious of all your knowledge... this is quite interesting to read! I'm holding off for a few weeks/month... Keep it coming...Thanks
MalawiGuy
11-27-2002, 05:02 PM
drjimmy
Sorry I think I've given about all I have to offer on this one.IMO that fish is a hybrid and the only way I would recomend keeping it would be in isolation or in an all male tank. I hope this doesn't offend anyone but if it were me I would send him through the porcelain porthole to heaven. IMO he only throws a spoke in the wheel of what you can have in your tanks.
drjimmy61
11-29-2002, 12:28 PM
MalawiGuy, I appreciate all the help you've provided... I have decided to put him in his own tank and start from scratch in the big tank... I'll let you know.
jonah
11-29-2002, 01:13 PM
You'll be way better off that way and it does give you way more options.
drjimmy61
11-29-2002, 01:27 PM
Where about's in Oklahoma are you? My daughters live in Perkins, near Stillwater.
jonah
11-29-2002, 06:16 PM
Mustang, just southwest of Oklahoma City. I'm originally from San Diego though. We moved here almost 8 years ago.