# petsmart cichlids???



## vettech909

at petsmart there are 4 little inch cichlids.they said they just came in as assorted african cichlids.can you post some pics so i can see if i can identify them?also,i want to get some so pics would be great!one of the ? fish was white and purple.the others were black,blue,and yellow.


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## shade2dope

There are many cichlids.That be like me saying post last names to see what your is.Well not that bad but you can try your luck Here
The thing is there are, alot of the time hybrids making it hard to tell.


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## Clerk

All of those assorted are mbuna. Most are hybrids, which is one of the reasons they aren't marketed with the other fish.

Don't buy any you can't identify with certainty. You should also not purchase any until you have done a good deal of research, and are sure your tank size is adequate.


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## vettech909

i went to another store and i bought an albino cichlid and what looks like a firemouth.they were the only ones and...i couldnt resist.the albino has egg spots but the firemouth lookin thing doesnt.they are both the same shape and if the firemouth lookin thing is a hybrid,it is a female.what i ment was if it was half firemouth.they are shaped like cobalt cichlids,but different colors.if you have any pictures of that description,that would be great!!!THANKS!!!


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## Guest

i cant stress enough....know what you are buying BEFORE YOU BUY IT. patience can be tough.....but not that tough.

you probably ended up with a albino Metriaclima estherae, aka red zebra. and somthing else, going to need more information about the fish to know what it is... because firemouths are not shaped anything like a pseudotropheus or a metriaclima species.

you might have limited yourself a lot on what kind of fish you can have from this point on by not doing research before buying fish............


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## BV77

Ditto , what MIke said


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## Gourami Swami

Yeah.... Impulse buying is a bad thing. And if you dont know what it is your buying, its a real bad thing.

Im not trying to be mean, but its pretty obvious you dont know a whole lot about these fish. I suggest you do lots of reading, asap.


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## Obsidian

Rather than trying to get the forum to post pics of every cichlid alive, how about you go to www.cichlidforum.com and start looking


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## shade2dope

Obsidain,I gave him that link before in my first post he didnt use it as you can see.I seen a very nice plant today,I wanted it so bad but I had no clue what it was neither did the worker so.....Its just something you have to learn to do.


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## vettech909

i think the albino one is a cobalt cichlid becaues its fins have a blue tint like he was painted without a second coat.they are assorted african cichlids and i haeve 2 500g,4 55g,1 5g,and 7 10g!!!i can move them if they get too big and i feed them cichlid pellets.i think the red one is a female and is a mbuna.there is a pic in one of my books and it said gold zebra hybrid.it looks like it but more red.i think it might be a gold and red zebra hybrid.does the male or female carry the eggs?here mouth is swollen and the male stays close by.there is one huge cave that she stays beside.also,pics in that description would be great!!!THANKS!!!


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## vettech909

check out my profile pic.my cichlid looks like that only whiter and red eyes.


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## Guest

2 500 gallon tanks? whats the foot print of those tanks? glass or acrylic?


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## emc7

500 is nice, you can break a lot of the "don't keep these together" rules in a tank that large.


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## BV77

Geeze...2 - 500 gal tanks...4 - 55 gal tanks...1 - 5 gal , and 7 - 10 gal tanks.
That's a bunch for someone who doesn't know what fish they are getting.


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## Guest

^^ditto^^

Didn't you just have troubles with what to do wtih baby fish?

Can we get pics of these tanks?

How can you have so many tanks, but be having so much trouble with fish? That's ALOT of big tanks.

Do you think you could start writing more like a 17 year old? I"m having trouble with the lack of punctuation.


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## Clerk

I will believe it when I see it. That is an awful lot of money invested in the hobby with relatively little knowledge.


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## emc7

I do believe. This is just a especially fast, severe case of MTS. vettech909 if you are going to be serious about fish (and I think you already are), you don't need to shop at petsmart and pick through "assorted cichlids". Join ACA and learn to appreciate the awesome fish that don't spawn in Florida ponds. Anyway check out fishbookstore.com. An aquarist needs a good library.


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## vettech909

if yall dont belive i dont care cuz i know what i have.im not really 17 im 27.my keyboard is messed up and my lucky number is 3 so,i type my punctiation in 3's.if it will help i will stop!im trying to start a fish hatchery and make new breeds.i have not bred many types and i am getting the hang of it.i have read many books and i know many types of fish when i see them.albinos are my favorite and whenever i see them i snatch them up.my camera is broke and cant get pics.i am not good at identifying cichlids and i am reading bunches of books.


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## Clerk

Make new breeds? You could hybridize, but that is not the same thing. AND is generally frowned upon because it weakens species genetics ESPECIALLY if you plan on selling them.

You could do line breeding for specific traits, but again, not really new breeds.

And this usually takes a long time.


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## emc7

Take an existing strain and try to improve it. New strains start from unusual & unexpected fry. Or incremental improvement, like trying to get from 1/2 black to all black. Don't hybridize cichlids. Although "German red Peac0cks", "Flowerhorns" and "Blood Parrots" are hybrids and must be profitable for somebody, serious cichlid hobbyist hate them and the people who make them. A hybrid strain needs constant inbreeding to keep going and massive culling of deformed fish. In cichlids, they are often extremely aggressive. There are thousands of wonderful cichlids out there that are endangered or possibly even gone from the wild. Irrigation is connecting once isolated bodies of water and fish are disappearing every day. Work on getting longer fins or brighter color on an existing fish, instead.


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## vettech909

i bred a firemouth with an african bolckhead cichlid before.the babys were like red bolckheads!i still have a bunch of 6.there not for sale.im sad cuz someone killed my 2 cichlids!(mom)


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## oliesminis

just like to say wow that you have 2 500g tanks.

i believe you have them but can you try and get some photos as i love seeing enormous tanks.

i would reccomend that you dont breed fish of different species together as there is a high risk of getting deformed fish.

-olie


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## Gourami Swami

my bull**** alarm is going off. Get some pics up to prove me wrong.


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## vettech909

I DONT HAVE A CAMERA!!!my little tanks stay at my house and the others stay at my brothers until i move.anyway,can a cobalt cichlid be kept with a pacu and 2 turtles?they cant fit in ther mouths.


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## emc7

Like I said in 500 gallons, you can break all the rules. If you do put a Mbuna in with a Pacu and turtles, give it a rock pile.


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## Clerk

Gourami Swami said:


> my bull**** alarm is going off. Get some pics up to prove me wrong.


If he can afford 2 500 gallon tanks, why is he shopping at Petsmart?

and not have a camera


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## Clerk

emc7 said:


> Like I said in 500 gallons, you can break all the rules. If you do put a Mbuna in with a Pacu and turtles, give it a rock pile.


I wouldn't say all the rules.. You can keep some species of turtles with some species of fish. Turtles will eat a good deal of fish, and need a large volume of water depending on the species. In addition to this, these _alleged _500 gallon tanks will need a hellva lot of filtration to have pacu or turtles.

A 500 is still small for pacu, as they are a schooling fish. We have some at the zoo. There tank is about 30 ft x 10 ft x 3 ft, there are about 6 in there. (there are other things as well).

However, I will not endorse or encourage you to break any fish 'rules' period.

Large tanks only allow more options, not to throw out the common sense book.


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## emc7

Sorry clerk, my bad. I shouldn't post outside my experience (500 gallon tanks are outside my experience).


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## vettech909

first of all im a girl!!!second,maybe i am more into fish than taking pictures when i can find a way to solve my problems.third,the only petstores i have in my location are petland,petsmart,walmart,and petco.one stop petshop is another thing but i buy fish from there sometimes.i do not belive in ordering fish of the enternet.it stresses them out and they sometimes are dead are die later.i work 3 jobs.i own my own petshop but i only get goldfish,bettas,and pacu in to sell.so think about what you want to say before yall say it.that goes for some of you!!!


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## emc7

> my own petshop but i only get goldfish,bettas,and pacu in to sell


 Join a fish club, put the word out that you will buy locally raised fish and you will soon have better things to sell than pacu and goldfish (IMO neither should be sold to someone with a 10 gallon tank). Happy fish breed, and most of us don't have enough places for all the fry.


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## vettech909

i couldnt get my pacu to breed when i had my female.i always inform people before i sell.


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## karazy

personaly i wouldt keep a turtle with a pacu in any size because from what i have read pacus are pretty agressive and im pretty sure they could easily rip off the turtles head

but thats just my opinion


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## Clerk

karazy said:


> personaly i wouldt keep a turtle with a pacu in any size because from what i have read pacus are pretty agressive and im pretty sure they could easily rip off the turtles head
> 
> but thats just my opinion


In most home cases this may be the case. At the zoo they house 6 black Pacu with 5 South American Terrapins. This again, is several thousand gallons.


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## karazy

ya, and terrapins are a bit more agrrsive than most turtles if you ask me


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## vettech909

they have been together for 3 years and the turtles have always had the upper hand.the big one named littleguy,is an endangered mississippe map turtle and franklin,is a red eared slider turtle.how big will the mbuna cichlid get?after the other died i did a 20% water change and he is gasping for air all the time.he is a male so is it possible he can be brooding the eggs or something?pacu is not aggressive at all.he will eat dead fish out of my hand.when he was little in a 55g,he would jump to get the fish i was holding!now he is 2 years old and is very peaceful,but yall are right,he does need some friends.can i put an aggressive koi in there with him?the koi,budda,will attack any other koi but does well with jack dempseys.i had to put him in there once he killed one of my other koi.now he is in a 10g until i find a pond to put him in.he is about 1 foot,same as mona(pacu).has anyone bred pacu?can i keep mona(pacu)in a pond?there will be 2 other pacu in there if so.i have got 2 big ones in thursday and they are not easy to sell(telling everybody they need a 120g if they want them.)if they bought one they would get the other free.they will not be 2inch apart!!!


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## Gourami Swami

You need more than a 120g to have a pacu... more like you 500g. I dont see why you cant put the koi and pacu, turtles, etc. together in a 500g tank.

And mississippi map turtles arent endangered.

Based off what you seem to know,Im still a skeptic. Maybe you do have a 500g. What are the dimensions?

Borrow a friends camera


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## Clerk

And if you had an endangered species, you would be arrested, unless you had some very selective permits.

I'll try to give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment.


In this 500, what is the filtration? (are these your sales tanks?)

Um... and Pacu are vegetarians... Feeding them a high protien diet will cause health problems, go with lots of veggies.

Yes, borrow a friends camera and put a sign with your screen name infront of it. Think of how good making me look dumb would make you feel


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## emc7

Male mbuna don't brood eggs (Malawi Mbuna are almost exclusively harem spawning maternal mouthbrooders). If hes gasping for air, look at the gills (are they bright red (bad) or have foreign objects in them (bad)) and look for other disease signs. It could just be stress, but gasping usual does mean trouble breathing. Did the pH/Hardness or Temp. change with the water change? I always tell people to change water to reduce ammonia and nitrite that burn gills, but suddenly different water can hurt fish. I don't know anyone with both koi and Pacu so I can't answer your other question. 

6-8" is typical for a Male "cobalt-blue" zebra. 12" is possible in a large tank or pond.

what is a bolckhead?


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## Guest

How can you own your own pet shop and only be able to get pacu, bettas, and goldfish? I am having a hard time understanding that. 

If you really do have your own petshop ON TOP of working 3 other jobs, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a distributor. Do your self a favor and order fish for your "petshop" off the internet or from a distributor. Fish do fine when shipped, it's not like regular mail that takes days to get to the other person, but often comes next day.

I don't understand how you can work 3 jobs, and afford to open your own petshop, and not have a camera. They aren't that expensive. You can get a pretty good one for less than 500$$ one of my cameras is a Kodak Z612 that I got for christmas. It was less than 200$$. It is a WONDERFUL camera.

Don't put the koi with cichlids. They need colder water than other fish.

Map turtles are very common...

Pacu LOVE zuchini....they take chunks out of it. 

How do you expect to make a profit by selling bettas, goldfish, and pacus? From experience with working at an lfs, you don't make any profit selling feeders. Bettas are still not a big selling fish. And how many of your costumers have 120 gallon tanks? not many I"m sure.

So far, most everything you've said has been used against your cause. I would suggest either posting some pictures, or just telling the truth, because quite frankly, most all of us will believe it when we see it.


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## vettech909

blochhead,sorry.the 500 gallons are glass.they were cheaper than getting that other stuff.i have a license to keep the map turtle.my dad used to patrol the lake in fort benning.im going to build a pond this fall to put my turtles in.budda has found a new homehis spine was deformed and i have a friend who likes that stuff so i gave it away.i always herd that 120 gallons were perfect to keep 2 10inch pacu.my pacu loves shrimp and turkey.


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## trashion

...
I thought Pacus were vegetarian, and high protein diets were harmful.

A ten-inch Pacu is a baby.


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## Guest

just because they love something doesn't mean that it's good for them.

People love dessert, but is it good for them, no.

pacus get HUGE...much larger than 10 inches.

Did you not just read that you don't need a liscense to keep map turtles? Just because your dad patrols a lake, doesn't give you permission to keep them. You need to go through the state and sometimes federal agencies and what not...it's not easy to do.

What is blochhead? I've still never heard of it.


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## vettech909

a blockhead is some african cichlid.i rescued my current map turtle from a gars mouth!it is on the list weae it will be endangered if the destruction keeps up.i keep many other wildlife so i do need a license.my pacu is a pirrahna pacu hybrid.that is why it needs 25% meat and 75% veggies.i feed him broccolli once a week.


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## Guest

a hybrid....yeah...sure...pacu and a piranah, mating....Is that even possible? What other kind of wildlife? How do you know it's a hybrid? Can we get pictures? I, along with many others, have already listed suggestions to your not having a camera. 

Your story just keeps getting worse and worse for you. Anyone who keeps wildlife is going to be the kind of person that would want to post pictures of their animals to solve problems.


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## Clerk

Yeah, I have noticed these stories keep twisting and changing. Its been interesting since all these basic questions popped up in january. And now she is a master of tons of tanks, breeding all sorts of hybrids, and all these large tanks.


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## Eraserhead

Sorry, but I just have to say that I think she's full of crap. About everything. Pacus and Pirahnas cannot breed. That would be like a horse and a cow breeding. Give it a rest. Pictures will help your case a lot. And don't say you don't have a camera. Everybody has a camera. If you have 2 500g and tons of other aquariums like you say, then you have probably invested over $15k-$20k on your hobby. You have a camera. Cichlids that you see at Petco, etc. are ridiculously easy to identify. They only carry a few standard species. 

You're also not 27 years old. ....and buy a new keyboard. 10 bucks at Wal-Mart.


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## Guest

wow, this just stepped up to a whole new level... 

again...what are the dimensions of your 500 gallon tanks? what company made them (theres not many that do). Whats the name of your pet store? how do you know your pacu is part piranha? 75% 25%...wtf? dude...seriously..

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1353

btw there is the blockhead, more commonly known as a Buffalo head cichlid. easy to get.


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## vettech909

i bought him(MONA)at one stop petshop.they said he was a pirrahna pacu hybrid and needed a 25% meat diet.i know this store and they are right.he looks xactly like a pacu but has bigger teeth.i have a pet bobcat and a mountain lion.thats the wildlife i have.i didnt join this form to be criticized so stick that up *********


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## sarahbellum

You have a pet mountain lion? Wow... Do you keep him in one of your 500 gallon tanks?


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## karazy

ok, 1. why wouldt u just either let the gar have his meal, or save the turtle, heal it, then release it?
2. a bobcat and a mountain lion? now thats either the biggest lie i have ever heard or your just plain nuts. and not to mention cruel


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## Guest

LMFAO!

Oh man, this is the funniest thread I've read in a long while....

I know you're BSing everyone. Everyone knows you're BSing everyone...

Let's start with this hybrid pacu...
Pacus and Pirahnas are not in the same genus. This means that the chances of a pacu and some species of pirahna ever breeding are INCREDIBLY slim. It would have to be an interfamilial hybrid which very VERY rarely occurs in ANY animal. There have been absolutely no documentation of pacu and pirahna crossbreeding, most likely because it has not and will not happen (at least not until we can find a way for the two to even coexist well in the same tank).

No regarding your mysterious endagered wildlife pets. If it was even remotely true that you had a bobcat, cougar, and whatever else you can make up, you'd be completely breaking the law unless you (a 17 year old) was somehow given a permit to keep them, not to mention the housing you'd need for them.

Why the hell am I even going through this? We know you're making crap up anyway. :roll:


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## Osiris

*******Your author will return in 48hrs. Now back to your regular broadcasting network ******


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## jones57742

Scuba Kid said:


> LMFAO!
> Oh man, this is the funniest thread I've read in a long while....


SK:

Ron is very disappointed here.

From our chatting I believed that you had a much greater appreciation for Science Fantasy than exhibited in the above quote!

TR


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## Guest

wow.... my BS meter broke with that last comment vettech..... thanks


gonna answer any of my questions from my previous comment? or just keep avoiding it and adding more to your story


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## Gourami Swami

Just want to say, I called it from the first page


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## trashion

Yeah, Gourami Swami wins.

Now I'm just kind of weirded out by all this bullsh!t. People who lie excessively are scary.


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## Obsidian

I'm waiting for her to come back and swear all of this was her imaginary younger sister again.


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## Guest

me too!!!!


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## Clerk

So hillarious


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## Guest

lol...I read the bobcat and the wildlife and I just about died laughing.....


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## Eraserhead

_i didnt join this form to be criticized so stick that up ********* "_


Then stop being a moron.

The bobcat thing had me rolling on the floor! Never heard such a load of crap in my entire life


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## Guest

jones57742 said:


> SK:
> 
> Ron is very disappointed here.
> 
> From our chatting I believed that you had a much greater appreciation for Science Fantasy than exhibited in the above quote!
> 
> TR


Jones....IMO, this is about the FUNNIEST thing you've ever said.....I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!


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## TheOldSalt

I used to have a pet bobcat, thank you very much.
Also possums, skunks, squirrels, rabbits, and a few other things I'd better not mention.


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## trashion

Interested in what happened to your bobcat, TOS...


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## TheOldSalt

It died.
It was one of 3 kits I got when the mother got squooshed by a car. The squoosher brought it into the petshop I was working in at the time, and I wound up with them. The other 2 didn't last a week, but this one lasted over a year. Then it got a nasty infection that I hate to admit I didn't notice until it was too late. I took it to the vet, but he just euthanized it. This was about 22 years ago.
It wasn't a very good pet, by the way. I wouldn't recommend keeping one to anyone.

Hmmm.. it just occurred to me that vvtech might have something to do with a local animal shelter. That would explain pretty much everything, actually, if you think about it.


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## trashion

Even the piranha/pacu hybrid?


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## Guest

TheOldSalt said:


> Hmmm.. it just occurred to me that vvtech might have something to do with a local animal shelter. That would explain pretty much everything, actually, if you think about it.



dont give him a way to explain it LMAO


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## karazy

i think his mountain lion ate him/her cuz he/she hasnt been on this threa for a while


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## Guest

karazy said:


> i think his mountain lion ate him/her cuz he/she hasnt been on this threa for a while


They've been given a 48 hour ban.


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## karazy

ooo. for lying?


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## Guest

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

now THAT was a priceless comment. 

dang, if fishforums banned people around here for lying.....very few members would be left


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## TheOldSalt

I'm kind of wondering myself why vettech got a 48hr ban. Many of you deserved one more than she did for your actions in this thread. Oh well, time's about up, anyway.

As for the animal shelter thing, well, that does explain quite a lot, really. What kinds of fish are the only ones she can get? The very ones that tend to get dumped off at shelters. What would allow her to have critters she shouldn't normally have? Again, working in a shelter makes it happen. Heck, the name "Vet tech" itself gives us a clue. I've seen much bigger tanks than 500gallon units at state wildlife rehab facilities and private shelters, too. You should see the truck-towable units they bring to my local county fair each year for display.

I'm just sayin'.

The pacu/pirahna hybrid thing? Well, if somebody told her that's what it was, then how was she to know otherwise? She's new at this stuff, after all. Most of you probably still haven't learned an astounding number of things yourselves.


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## Guest

that does explain alot of things, but she said that she own's that stuff. if it's at a shelter, she doesn't own it. And, she bought the pacu from a pet shop. She also owns a petshop....supposidly.

Even tho your reasons really make a point TOS, I still think it's a load of crap.


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## Guest

TheOldSalt said:


> I'm kind of wondering myself why vettech got a 48hr ban. Many of you deserved one more than she did for your actions in this thread. Oh well, time's about up, anyway.


you are funny...

no one else in this thread told other members to stick anything up their anything...... thus the 48 hour ban.... but apparently you missed that part huh.


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