Unidentified Cichlids • please help id

[mbunamagick]

is this a socolofi? the barring is normally not visable she has a greyish blue color to her and black lines on bottom fins. I picked her up at petsmart from an assorted african cichlid tank when i bought her she was holding at about 3 inches in size she released the fry the other day in my 10g tank i put her in my big tank and she showed some barring when i took the pics

[Fogelhund]

Looks like a hybrid of some sort, certainly not a pure socolofi.

[mbunamagick]

They have them in all the petsmarts I've been to. The males are a very dark blue/purple alot darker than the pics of socolofi I've seen almost electric with the same barring as the female above but black lines like a yellow lab top and bottom fins.

[mbunamagick]

Im very sure its mbuna of some sort she loves the rocks. I was wondering if she was mature enough to spawn at 3ins is there any way to determine about how big she will reach? Maybe that would help to narrow down a most likely species? I have gotten away from buying from assorted tanks, altough i have found some good finds mixed in for a cheaper price. Its going to be a bummer if my first ever batch of fry are a bunch of no named mutts. I guess everyones opionion would be to discard the fry so that not to taint/harm any purebreded fish?

[nmcichlid-aholic]

The fry will most definitely be hybrids since she would have spawned with a male from the mixed tank. The likelihood of her spawning with a male of the same species in one of those tanks is so low that it isn't even really a possibility - add to that the fact that she is most likely not pure and, well...

If you want to raise and keep the fry, then go for it. Just don't sell or trade them as a pure fish. I think a majority of cichlid keepers have at least 1 or 2 hybrids that they have raised in their tanks - which is great as long as they stay in THEIR tanks! We all know how disappointing it can be to get a cool new fish only to discover it is somebody's discarded hybrid...

[Azedenkae]

Aye. Though of course it's something really cool and beautiful then it's still cool and beautiful. XD Just the fact that it's mislabeled makes it... argh.

I'd personally rather buy a hybrid if it's labeled as A HYBRID than if it's mislabeled. Mislabeling just makes it feel wrong to buy it. Labeling correctly as a hybrid makes me go 'oh okay' and then buy it.

[mbunamagick]

She could have breed with the chailosi i got from the same tank and time i got her. He was in very domaint coolers thats why he caught my eye. He stood out the most

[mbunamagick]

She could have breed with the chailosi i got from the same tank and time i got her. He was in very domaint coolers thats why he caught my eye. He stood out the most

[mbunamagick]

She could have breed with the chailosi i got from the same tank and time i got her. He was in very domaint coolers thats why he caught my eye. He stood out the most

[RifterFish]

Yeah, definately NOT a socolofi by any means. Not even close. And your decription of the socolofi at the pet store being dark blue/purple is not accurate either. I would not recommend buying from the assorted tanks like that because I have seen many hybrid fish in them. Its pretty much where the breeder dumps them and labels them to the store as 'assorted'. Unless you are familiar with african cichlid breeds I would recommend purchasing from the tanks that are labeled with an exact species and only have that type of fish in it. Then again, my petsmart sometimes mislabels the fish. I bought Blue Dolphins that were labeled as electric blue. However, I have bought some beautiful fish from petsmart (after a couple weeks of TLC). You just have to know what you are looking for. If you have internet access on your phone, look up the names while at the pet store to make sure you are buying the right fish.

[mbunamagick]

Any ideas of other female species she make look like? Or ideas on what breeds she may have in her? The fry she had are baby blue around the eyes and head pretty color i hope they grow to b that color i will try and get a good pic tonight of them.

[mbunamagick]

Any ideas of other female species she make look like? Or ideas on what breeds she may have in her? The fry she had are baby blue around the eyes and head pretty color i hope they grow to b that color i will try and get a good pic tonight of them.