[Cupcakevirgo]

I picked up some random cichlid juviniles from the store earlier in the week and I was trying to ID them. I went back to the store today and talked to their most experienced cichlid person (been raising them his whole life). I showed him the pictures of the ones I got the other day and he told me what a lot of them are I forget most of it but they were mostly mbunas (which is what i was going for but im not great at IDing them yet). He told me to watch out for one of the other fish, it's an eyebiter. I think he said this one...

He helped me pick a few others that would likely be good tankmates for the ones I already had (different color patterns from what i picked before but nothing known for being super agressive) and showed me what they would look like when they get bigger and color up.
He said the eyebiter would be ok for a little while because he is small but I will most likely have to rehome him in the future.

 

[noki]

OB hybrid with Compressiceps mixed in. I doubt it will grow huge and start swallowing Mbuna, so I wouldn't worry too much. May actually struggle some with Mbuna. See how it does.

 

[Cupcakevirgo]

Thanks. I didnt get an alert that i had a reply, so im so happy to see one!

I am noticing he/she is kind of a loner. Never really hangs out with the other fish. Looks healthy, acts normal. Maybe just different from the other guys.

I've seen the rest chase each other around some (nothing too agressive) but mostly they hang around each other. They all like this one spot in the tank, so I think they are going to fight for that sometime when they get bigger.

If I post pictures of my other fish sometime would someone help me id them better? I can't remember everything I was told at the store....

Also, is there a way to sex cichlids without venting? There are some Im pretty sure are males but I can't tell if I have all males or if I have some females. I have room for a few more fish in a few weeks but i don't want to make the gender ratio worse (I know either all male tank or lots of females with less males). So if I have some females already I want more females (of the same species of the males) so that there are less chance of hybrids, and less relentless pursuit of just a few females.... but if I have all males I would hate to add just a few females!

 

[DJRansome]

If you have a 75G and are going mixed gender, you would want 4 species or less.

It sounded like you were going all male since in another post you mentioned the LFS helped you pick fish that look nothing alike.

So I would avoid adding females and remove any that you find.

In a 75G for all male I would stock about 12 fish. All male mbuna is a difficult tank since the mbuna are more aggressive than the haps and peacocks. Also a lot of mbuna are solid blue or orange/yellow, or blue barred so it is hard to get 12 fish that look nothing alike...especially if you avoid the most aggressive ones like auratus.

If they hang around together in one spot, it could be that they like it, BUT it also could be that there is a fish in the other half of the tank that is claiming that whole area...leaving only the other half for the majority of the fish.

 

[Cupcakevirgo]

Hmm that's a good point. The rest of the fish swim around freely but when relaxing seem to all like to go over to that spot. I haven't seen the eyebiter chasing anyone and so far he is the smallest in the tank... but I will watch him more closely now that I know what he is. I'm thinking maybe I should return him to the store before he becomes a problem.
It isn't that they are all completely different, I think I have a few that might be the same. I know it isn't all mbuna (now that i talked to the second more knowledgeable guy at the store). Let me get pictures together and go from there.
I kind of figured I would need to gift a few back to the store as I see what they end up acting like and then fill out the tank more specifically after that. First up is Mr eyebiter I think.

 

[Cupcakevirgo]

This is what I mean about sticking in the one area. I wake up and they are all hanging around over here. They are all out and about swimming around now, no one seems scared to come out. But, the eyebiter was out in the top of the tank when the rest of these guys were hanging out.
There are several caves/territories in the tank (more to come when my slate arrives) and he hasn't claimed a spot.

Also don't pay any attention to the ammo alert in the picture. The color has been stuck since I was cycling the tank, I test daily with a liquid test kit and it's fine I just haven't removed the faulty ammo alert.

 

[noki]

The half Compressiceps OB Peacock hybrid "Eyebiter" (they don't really attack eyes of larger fish in aquariums) will be kind of scared of the Mbuna, the only problem would be if it grows much faster than the Mbuna and gets much bigger. But will be intimidated by rougher fish, it will not claim a territory unless it is a dominant male, and even then it is an open water fish that doesn't like the rocks very much. I would expect the OB Compressiceps to be meek as a juvenile, and avoid the other fish.

 

[Cupcakevirgo]

And another pic of Mr. Eyebiter