Name these cichlids

[Hevydevy]

Hi guys,

Need a bit of help.

Just added two new cichlids to complete my tank.

I picked them on the advice of the aquarium dude but forgot to check the exact species name - so I'm going to describe them to you!!

The first is a light gold colour with a tinge of green when the light catches him. He has light, large spots on him sort of like a cow has in shape I guess. I saw a mature one in the shop that no longer had spots and had some yellow tinges.

The other has a funny sort of shape.

His head is a dark blue and he has some lighter blue vertical stipes down his body (but none on his head).

Thoughts?

[NorthernBoy]

Thwy could be a lot of different species. Try to post a picture and we can help more. I assume this is a fresh water tank as well.

[Lady Hobbs]

You should go back to the store so you know what you have. You can't add anything with these until you find out.

[William]

lets hope it is a freshwater tank when he's adding cichlids.

Like they say it is ahrd to say from your describtion. sounds like it could be some type of Malawi cichlids but there are other possibilities as well. A picture would as say help us a lot.

[Fishguy2727]

Since it's in the Malawi section I'm assuming you got 'assorted africans'. Without pics it is impossible to tell, and with pics it's only conceivable to tell. What is most important is what type of Lake Malawi cichlid they are, not necessarily what species. So you need to figure out whether they are mbunas, peacocks, or utakas (open water haps). None of the three should be mixed. Mbunas and peacocks both have unique face shapes, the haps may be a little harder to differentiate (hence, I think I have a hap in my 150). If you find a bunch of good pics online (or better yet, a nice personal book collection) you should be able to start to see the differences in face shape.

[jeffs99dime]

you could run a search on google images. just type malawi cichlids in the search bar and click images. you should be able to find the pictures of the cichlids that you have. from there you will be able to find the information (common name, scientific name, etc.) that you need.--jeff

[Fishguy2727]

Keep in mind that far from all african cichlid are pure bred, so it is very possible that you have a hybrid.

[Hevydevy]

lets hope it is a freshwater tank when he's adding cichlids.

Like they say it is ahrd to say from your describtion. sounds like it could be some type of Malawi cichlids but there are other possibilities as well. A picture would as say help us a lot.

Of course it's a freshwater tank - I'm not just throwing random fish into a bucket of sea water here.

Anyway, I'm quit certain that the blue one is from the Pseudotropheus family but nailing down the exact species is proving difficult.

As for how they were chosen, it was on the advice of the aquarium people after I had informed them of exactly what I had in there.