Possible <Haplochromine ID> Correction   8/17/06
Hello.  I am contacting you in reference to some of the identifications for African Cichlids on your African Cichlid FAQ.  There is a somewhat
spotted and blurry photo of a cichlid that you identify tentatively as Haplochromis Polystigma.  I have a cichlid that looks nearly identical
to that photo and I am fairly certain that it is a Nimbochromis venustus ("Venustus Cichlid") from Lake Malawi.  That particular photo looks to
possibly be a female as they typically are less colorful and have a more silver background.  Below are some internet references to the Venustus.  
Thanks, and I hope this helps.
<It does... Thank you. Will post your correction, note and send along to our resident Cichlidophile Chuck Rambo for input. Bob Fenner>
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_venustus.php
http://www.gcca.net/fom/Nimbochromis_venustus.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_venust.php
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/haps/malawi_venustus.html
K.
--
Kelly S. Smelser
University of Indianapolis

Cichlids With Different Markings   8/6/06
Hi, I require some professional advice,
Is it possible that wild caught Cichlids of the same species can different colours and markings? If so why? Thank you.
<Many cichlids have geographic variants. These are groups of cichlids that are isolated from one another and develop slightly different patterns. Sometimes collection areas overlap and many different variants are collected at the same time to fill existing fish orders.-Chuck>
 

Identifying Lake Malawi Cichlids  7/14/06
I've had my cichlids for 2 months now, but am not sure what I have. I got them at a small pet shop that said they might be African but no real names where given to me. I have a solid white cichlid and a solid orange one, I have a yellow one with black horizontal strips and 2 purple/blue ones that have dark vertical strips that almost look like triangles. Is it possible to breed any of these types together? Also how do I tell what is male and female? Thank you Cheryl Hippern
<Unfortunately many African cichlids from Lake Malawi are produced in Florida and around the world and are dumped on the pet trade as African cichlids. The white and orange ones are probably color forms of Pseudotropheus zebra. The yellow one with the horizontal strips is in the genus Melanochromis and is probably an auratus or chipokae. the last two sound like Pseudotropheus demasoni. Generally the males get larger with longer fins. The Melanochromis will turn very dark if it is a male. The two zebras may breed with one another. The demasoni may breed with each other. With these fish any cross is a possibility.-Chuck>

Fish ID Needed 07/01/05
My apologies.  I took some better pictures and am attaching 2 of the male (one from each side) and one of the female.  She is harder to photograph, as she hides in her rocks a lot, except at night when they hang out together.  Thanks.
< Your Placidochromis sp. "phenochilus Tanzania", is a recent import from Lake Malawi. The adults were pretty expensive at first and only hard core cichlid keepers were keeping them. Now recent spawnings have brought the prices down and they are becoming more available in the hobby. The interesting thing about this fish is the light blue mottling becomes more intense as the fish gets older.-Chuck>

Finding Info on African Cichlids
Hello, I have been searching the web all day and  I stumbled upon  your website. I bought African cichlids and I am wondering how to tell what kind they are. And once I find what breed they are what gender they are. Thank you if you can point me in the right direction.
Julie
< Go to Fishbase.org or cichlidae.com. You most likely have fish from Lake Malawi so start there first. Most of these fish are sexually dimorphic so sexing them is usually not a problem.-Chuck>

Identifying Cichlids
What I meant in my last email was pics with the name of the different types of cichlids so I can figure out which ones are which. thank you Julie
< With thousands of species and numerous geographic variations you may want to check out some books by Ad Konings. He has lots of photos on his web site at CichlidPress.com.-Chuck>

Identifying Mixed African Cichlids
Hey, I recently purchased a number of fish from a nearby pet store in NJ and the label on the tank said only "Tiny Mixed Africans". I have searched many websites, read tons of forums, but I cannot find any pictures of fish that resemble these. This is my last resort at properly identifying these fish. All fish have identical body shapes and fins, but the colors are all different. I know that they are all cichlids but that's it.  The first 4 are a yellow gold with an off-color yellow spot on their lower fin and a bunch of blue metallic spots on the back fin (picture on left).
The second pair are blue with vertical black stripes starting at the head and running the entire length of the fish (picture on left, far back) there is also another set that are similar to them but their colors faded to a blue green after a week but also had stripes The last pair have 3 horizontal stripes on the top half with a whitish background and a yellow belly (picture on right, far right fish).
I also purchased 2 fish labeled "yellow labido" that have a black stripe running on their top fin and are electric yellow
Any information you can provide me on behavior, breeding, sexing, and their scientific names would be greatly appreciated. Dan 
P.S.  I know the pictures are blurry but they were taken with a camera phone
< All of your fish come from Lake Malawi in Africa. Go to fishbase.org and check out Pseudotropheus, Labeotropheus, Labidochromis and Melanochromis. I think you will find all of them on this website.-Chuck>  

What is This Cichlid?
I bought this African cichlid out of an assortment tank and would like to know what type he is. his over all shape is the regular cichlid shape, his underlining color is a greenish grey color, and he has big black spots that don't over lap. Hope you could help, thanks.
Amber
< Unfortunately many Lake Malawi cichlids have fallen into this category of assorted African cichlid tank. This is really a shame because they are individual species that could be set up and readily spawned. Your cichlid falls into the category of "haps" from Lake Malawi. These are usually open water or sand dwelling cichlids. The females and fry show some of the same markings you describe and only the males get any color on them. Go to fishbase.org and check out the cichlid genera of Copadichromis and Protomelas. These are some of the more common cichlids thrown into the assorted tank.-Chuck> 

What is an Mbuna?
How do you tell the difference between a Mbuna and any other African cichlids?
thanks miles
< In Lake Malawi there are a group of cichlids that eat algae off the rocks. These cichlids are called "Mbuna" by the natives. When I was at the lake a couple of years ago I wore a fish club shirt with numerous illustrations on them and even small native children pointed out the Mbuna on my shirt. These cichlids all have teeth to scrape algae and are very territorial. They are all maternal mouthbrooders. They are a very popular aquarium fish with the members of the American Cichlid Association.-Chuck>

Matagawa cichlid
Hello
I was at an aquarium shop, and I saw this vertically stripped blue and
black cichlid with a yellow tail. He said its called "Yellow tail Matagawa
cichlid". I have not been able to find any information about it. Am I
spelling it right? Does it a scientific name? Where can I read about them?
Any links or ideas where I can find information about it?
Thanks!
< Look for Pseudotropheus elongatus from Mbengi Island in Lake Malawi. Many times shop owners don't have time to look up all the names of fish. Especially trade-ins like the one you are describing. It is basically and Mbuna that feeds on algae it scrapes off the rock. They are usually aggressive and have teeth to back it up. This is probably why it was traded in.-Chuck>

African cichlid system, ID
I have read numerous articles on your site and it's a wealth of information. I am currently running a FO 55 gallon brackish tank. The filter is a Fluval 404, heater set at 79 - 80 degrees, 2 air stones and some hiding faux logs with some faux plants. I used Delaware river stone on the bottom of the tank. I bought a big bag from Lowe's Home Improvement Store and cleaned it up pretty good. I had it in the tank for months before the fish were introduced. All the fish are doing extremely well. I have a nice piece of a drift I found on the beach sitting in a 20 gallon tank. It's being filtered by a Fluval 204 with 50% water changes daily. I figure it will take quite some time to leach and re-waterlog the, uh, log. I am having a difficult time sexing the fish. I believe I have the following -
2 Pseudotropheus socolofi - sometimes dark blue/sometimes light blue; 1 has 2 spots on
tail fin and the other has 4 spots on tail fin; 1 seems to have some black in the top fin
< Ps. socolofi is a blue fish with black fine edging. It is a little more elongated than the orange zebra. The spots are not a reliable sex indicator.>
2 Pseudotropheus estherae - Orange all the time; 1 has 2 spots and the other has 4 or 5 spots
< Sometimes males turn blue as the get older.>
1 male Labidochromis caeruleus
2 Nimbochromis livinstonii - their faces get blue/black; bodies seem to change from orange to green to yellow tinges; bottom fin edges turn a beautiful orangey rainbow
< Only the males turn blue and have an orange tinge on the anal fin. In the wild the males turn blue when breeding. When not in breeding dress they stay a brown white mottled color like the females and fry. In the lake they lie on their side and pretend to be dead so they can attract a smaller fish over. When a fish comes by they pop up and eat it!>
2 Aulonocara baenschi - 2 blue faces, yellow bodies with black stripes;
< Both males , females have no color at all.>
2 others with red bodies that look the same
2 Paralabidochromis
2 leopard spotted cats (silver with black spots)
All are around 2.5 to 3 inches.
I wonder if the socolofi are male estherae as I read the males of this species are blue but the bodies do show very light black lines going top to bottom that only show when they turn pale blue. I'd love to get these fish to breed. I've got the PH around 8.0 and add Seachem Cichlid Lake Salt at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons at water change. I change roughly 20 gallons every 2 to 3 weeks. The river stone actually keeps the PH up pretty well but sometimes I'll add some baking soda to help a bit.
I've also got a 75 gallon FW with about a dozen Neon Tetra, 4 Cardinal Tetra, 4 Black Tetra, 5 Rainbows and a tremendous Pleco. I'll venture into salt in a bout a year or so when we finally move into the new house. I've got an in wall tank planned of at least 200 gallons!
So, comments/suggestions?
< Check out CichlidPress.com for photos of lake Malawi cichlids and see if you can identify your fish and maybe the sex. If you really want to get into cichlids then check out a book by AD Konings "Enjoying Cichlids." In there you will find lots of good reliable info.-Chuck>
Thanks in advance,
Jamie in New York