I don't know what it is. It's a fish,it swims,it eats,but I cant ID him

[EWsGhost]

A friend of mine recently moved and gave me his fish.
All he knew is that its a cichlid. I can't seem to find one like him though.

Could someone take a look for me and see if you know what it is?

Thanks

[EWsGhost]

Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
original post :-)

http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html

"EWsGhost" > wrote in message
...
> A friend of mine recently moved and gave me his fish.
> All he knew is that its a cichlid. I can't seem to find one like him
though.
>
> Could someone take a look for me and see if you know what it is?
>
> Thanks
>
>

[KEITH JENNINGS]

I'm not sure of species, but it looks like a male African rift lake cichlid.

Wish I could be more help;
Keith J.

"EWsGhost" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> original post :-)
>
> http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
<snip>

[NetMax]

"KEITH JENNINGS" > wrote in message
...
> I'm not sure of species, but it looks like a male African rift lake
cichlid.
>
> Wish I could be more help;
> Keith J.
>
> "EWsGhost" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> > original post :-)
> >
> > http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
> <snip>

Because of the egg-spots, I'd also lean towards an African cichlid,
Malawian perhaps. I'd also guess that she is quite old. The squared off
bottom seems built for carrying eggs (or perhaps just the long intestines
of a herbivore?). I don't know if the bulge under the gills is natural.
She seems to be starting a hump, which, unless she is a male, she would
be a very old female.

I was just telling someone this morning, that in nature, African mbuna
don't die of old age because they don't get the opportunity (environment
is too hostile to grow old in).

Doing a ray count might help identify the fish (count the number of hard
and then soft fin rays in the dorsal and then the anal fin, then the
pectorals and do a scale count (counting them along the lateral line).
Then do a similar ray count on the fish which you think most closely
matches yours (ie: Pseudotropheus & Petrotilapia families). Ray counts
do not change with age. Ray counts used to be much more popular for fish
identification, but they were never 100% precise as there was some
variability (and all the old-world Rift lake discoveries probably further
messed up their system ;~).

NetMax

[EWsGhost]

Would it be a good idea to put some cichlid lake salt in the aquarium?
This fish was given to me. I have no idea if the previous owner used the
lake salt or not.
Any advice on proper care for this cichlid would be great.
"NetMax" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> "KEITH JENNINGS" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'm not sure of species, but it looks like a male African rift lake
> cichlid.
> >
> > Wish I could be more help;
> > Keith J.
> >
> > "EWsGhost" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> > > original post :-)
> > >
> > > http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
> > <snip>
>
> Because of the egg-spots, I'd also lean towards an African cichlid,
> Malawian perhaps. I'd also guess that she is quite old. The squared off
> bottom seems built for carrying eggs (or perhaps just the long intestines
> of a herbivore?). I don't know if the bulge under the gills is natural.
> She seems to be starting a hump, which, unless she is a male, she would
> be a very old female.
>
> I was just telling someone this morning, that in nature, African mbuna
> don't die of old age because they don't get the opportunity (environment
> is too hostile to grow old in).
>
> Doing a ray count might help identify the fish (count the number of hard
> and then soft fin rays in the dorsal and then the anal fin, then the
> pectorals and do a scale count (counting them along the lateral line).
> Then do a similar ray count on the fish which you think most closely
> matches yours (ie: Pseudotropheus & Petrotilapia families). Ray counts
> do not change with age. Ray counts used to be much more popular for fish
> identification, but they were never 100% precise as there was some
> variability (and all the old-world Rift lake discoveries probably further
> messed up their system ;~).
>
> NetMax
>
>

[NetMax]

"EWsGhost" > wrote in message
...
> Would it be a good idea to put some cichlid lake salt in the aquarium?
> This fish was given to me. I have no idea if the previous owner used
the
> lake salt or not.
> Any advice on proper care for this cichlid would be great.
<snip>

Adding anything to the water would depend on identifying the fish, what
is in your water now, and what was is the water where this fish was
raised. Lake Africans do better in high general hardness (mostly
calcium, not salt). Adding a piece of coral into the tank would not be
harmful, regardless if it is a hard or neutral water fish. Adding a
small amount of aquarium salt would not hurt him, use marine salt if your
hardness was very low. Ideally, don't make any big or sudden changes
though.

On feeding, without proper identification, avoid giving too much of any
one thing. Too much bloodworms would for example be bad. Vary the diet
including lots of Spirulina pellets (which I don't think would be harmful
to anything other than the most specialized carnivore, and yours is
either an omnivore or a herbivore). He (she) might like a slice of
zucchini sometime. Peel the rind off and weigh it down. Remove anything
left over after 2 days.

NetMax

[Amateur]

"EWsGhost" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> original post :-)
>
> http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
>

Check out www.cichlid-forum.com You can post picture in the section of the forum
for ID'ing cichlids. They have thousands of members, many of which who've been
breeding, importing and raising cichlids for more than 20 years. If it were my
guess, I'd say it was some type of hybrid considering the color and the hump. As
far as I know, there are no Malawi species, solid yellow with the front of the
head that flat. Exception would be Tropheops species, but the hump doesn't fit
and Tropheops also have an underslung mouth. It is possible it's some type of
hybrid, as the shape looks a bit like C. moorii. Also looks a bit like a young
Midas Cichlid, but the mouth doesn't seem to project enough and the egg spots
throw me off on that.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Amateur

[T]

Looks like some sort of Pseudotropheus family member. Much like an ill
formed Zebra, or an ill formed male Kenyi.. Perhaps some hybreed fish.. It
does seem to have quite the girth.. Odd... I will mark this thread, I want
to hear what others may have to say about this fish...

Tim


"Amateur" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "EWsGhost" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> > original post :-)
> >
> > http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
> >
>
> Check out www.cichlid-forum.com You can post picture in the section of the
forum
> for ID'ing cichlids. They have thousands of members, many of which who've
been
> breeding, importing and raising cichlids for more than 20 years. If it
were my
> guess, I'd say it was some type of hybrid considering the color and the
hump. As
> far as I know, there are no Malawi species, solid yellow with the front of
the
> head that flat. Exception would be Tropheops species, but the hump doesn't
fit
> and Tropheops also have an underslung mouth. It is possible it's some type
of
> hybrid, as the shape looks a bit like C. moorii. Also looks a bit like a
young
> Midas Cichlid, but the mouth doesn't seem to project enough and the egg
spots
> throw me off on that.
> Sorry I couldn't be more help.
> Amateur
>
>

[EWsGhost]

I would like to say thank you to all the responders. You have been a great
help.

I bought a young african cichlid today at Wal Mart, about 2 inches long. He
is solid orange and has all the same markings minus the hump on the head and
the bulb under the gills. The anal fin has the same yellow spots.

LOL .... I had to do some rearanging in the aquarium to give the little
bugger a place to hide where the big guy, nearly 6 inches long and an inch
thick, couldn't get to him.

"T" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Looks like some sort of Pseudotropheus family member. Much like an ill
> formed Zebra, or an ill formed male Kenyi.. Perhaps some hybreed fish..
It
> does seem to have quite the girth.. Odd... I will mark this thread, I want
> to hear what others may have to say about this fish...
>
> Tim
>
>
> "Amateur" > wrote in message
> m...
> >
> > "EWsGhost" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> > > original post :-)
> > >
> > > http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
> > >
> >
> > Check out www.cichlid-forum.com You can post picture in the section of
the
> forum
> > for ID'ing cichlids. They have thousands of members, many of which
who've
> been
> > breeding, importing and raising cichlids for more than 20 years. If it
> were my
> > guess, I'd say it was some type of hybrid considering the color and the
> hump. As
> > far as I know, there are no Malawi species, solid yellow with the front
of
> the
> > head that flat. Exception would be Tropheops species, but the hump
doesn't
> fit
> > and Tropheops also have an underslung mouth. It is possible it's some
type
> of
> > hybrid, as the shape looks a bit like C. moorii. Also looks a bit like a
> young
> > Midas Cichlid, but the mouth doesn't seem to project enough and the egg
> spots
> > throw me off on that.
> > Sorry I couldn't be more help.
> > Amateur
> >
> >
>
>

[duane]

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 00:08:03 -0600, "EWsGhost" > wrote:

>Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
>original post :-)
>
>http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html
>
>"EWsGhost" > wrote in message
...
>> A friend of mine recently moved and gave me his fish.
>> All he knew is that its a cichlid. I can't seem to find one like him
>though.
>>
>> Could someone take a look for me and see if you know what it is?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>

I keep seeing a moori trying to breed my electric yellow and I would
imagine that's what the fry would look like.
my guess is that's it's a hybrid.
although I have a light orange kenya in my tank that looks a lot like
yours but the head bump isn't that strong... sorry but I forgot the actual name
of that fish.

[Cichlidiot]

EWsGhost > wrote:
> Sorry, Here is the webpage that has pict of him I forgot it in the
> original post :-)

> http://showcase.netins.net/web/metrodome/fishy.html


Many people seem to be leaning towards the hybrid idea because of the
deformities and I have to admit the thought crossed my mind as well. But
another thought after looking closely at the 4th picture on the page which
shows an underside shot (and the 1st picture also to some extent), I'm
wondering if this fish has tumors. On that underside shot, it really does
look like the lump under the gills has distinct margains, which suggests
to me a tumor. If it is a tumor and it is system-wide, this could explain
some of the other physical deformities as well.

How long did your friend have the fish? Did the friend say if it always
had these lumps or if they've developed over time? If the fish didn't used
to have the lumps, then it probably is diseased (may or may not be
contagious to the other fish depending on the nature of the disease) and
don't be suprised if it doesn't make it too long.

On the other hand, if the friend had the fish since it was small and it
always looked that way, it probably is gross morphological abnormalities
caused by either hybridization or some really poor culling process of fry.
Although I am really leaning towards disease as the cause of that lump
under the gills.