# Mbuna Mixed Cichlids?



## Pandapop

I was at Petco the other day, and saw some absolutely adorable little half-inch cichlids for sale. They were labeled under "African Mixed Cichlids". I bought four. I'll be taking pictures of them later tonight to get an idea of exactly WHAT type of cichlid they are (I know they're hybrids, but I want to get an idea of what crosses they may be).

One is a solid yellow, second is a yellow with dark brown/black horizontal stripes along it's body, third is a soft powder blue with gray/light blue vertical stripes, and the last is also a powder blue with black vertical stripes.

Also, how can I sex these guys? I'm not finding very helpful information on sexing these types of cichlids.

Right now they're in a 10g by themselves, but I plan to move them into a 20g to grow out more. They are TINY. 

Until I can get some pics, I'll post images that look very similar if not exactly like my fish.

#1









#2









#3









#4











Moving to larger tanks as they age is NOT a problem for me. I've done my research a little, but I need better information, and the right place to look for these guys. I want to give them the best that I can.


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## emc7

I can ID the fish you posted, but not your fish, lol. Look at cichlid-forum.com profiles. 

Metroclima or Maylandia lombardoi with a common name of Kenyi the fry and females have purple vertical stripes on white and males are yellow. The yellow males look a lot like "yellow labs", labidochromis caereleus and P. Salousi and a few other fish, but the females are distinctive. I have a group of "Kenyii" in a 55 and would recommend an even bigger tank and "overfiltration"

Mixed Mbuna with horizontal black stripe are usually a member of the genus Melanochromis. You'll have to look at pics to pic out which one. Aureus is the most common and they have a reputation as really mean.


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## Pandapop

I searched 'Melanochromis' on the cichlid profiles from the link you suggested, but I couldn't find even a single fish that resembled the one I have. All these fish are either black or dark blue, with lighter blue or yellow stripes. 

A very close resemblance to this fish was the 'Labidochromis caeruleus (Lion's Cove I & II). The only thing missing is the 2-3 black/brown horizontal stripes. Maybe this fish is some sort of hybrid of a yellow lab?


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## Pandapop

Okay, so it's settled -- Maylandia lombardoi, as you mentioned, are what 3 out of 4 of my cichlids are. Seems as though I have two females to one male. They look EXACTLY like the pictures given in Google! 

Now to figure out the last one... still can't find out what it is. I'll be taking a pic of him/her tonight.


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## emc7

Look up crabbo or bumblebee cichlid. Thats another yellow fish with brown.

You do find hybrids in "mixed cichlid" tanks. There's a yellow lab/red zebra cross out there.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2


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## Pandapop

'Pseudotropheus crabro' would be perfect, if only the vertical stripes were instead just horizontal. 

But who knows, since it's only half an inch in size, the little bugger might start to develope these other markings as it ages. Right now though, its markings look pretty solid... maybe once I get a better look at it later, I can compare the species better.


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## Superfly724

Is it not a Melanochromis Auratus?


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## emc7

The pic he posted is, but that not his fish.


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## Pandapop

Hahaha, I'm a she. C:

Here's my little cichlid I was talking about... I tried to get a better picture, but he/she doesn't like to stay still -- so it's a little blurry. He is also TINY! 

I'd say it looks a lot like #2 I posted up at the top.


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## emc7

Yep, thats a melanochromis. Likely auratus, but not necessarily. Look at the juvenile. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=750

Sorry about the he. You fooled me with "pop". So you burst pandas rather than father them?


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## Pandapop

So my little cichlid is a female then, I suppose?

And it's okay, it's an easy mistake to make. 

But LOL!! No, I don't go popping pandas. I got the name from bubblegum and pandas... Panda Pop! Lame, but it was made up a good few years ago, when I was younger. Sometimes people mistake 'pop' for 'poop', and interesting conversations come up...


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## emc7

Juvies look like females. If it turns black, its a male. If it stays gold, its a female. The zoo sells panda poop for fertilizer. lol.


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## Pandapop

Ohhh, okay, gotcha. I hope it's a female. I already have one male cichlid... I'm assuming they'd fight, since it would cross-breed with the female Maylandia lombardoi... right? Ahh, well, they'll be getting more space once they're older. I shouldn't have to worry too much about quarreling. 

...and ew, lol


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## kay-bee

Pandapop said:


> I shouldn't have to worry too much about quarreling.


Kenyi and auratus are among the most aggressive mbuna species around. Quarreling is pretty much inevitable (even in a larger tank).

To counter-balance aggression you'll need to increase the quantity of mbuna's you have, especially if the auratus turns out to be a male.


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## emc7

If I were you, I'd trade the auratus for another female kenyii. You can keep 4 kenyii, you need at least 6 auratus, and 12 is better. Also a lot of kenyii will change later, so some of your females won't be females. The auratus is among the nastier ones. kenyii are about the same a red zebras, meaner than labidochromis, but not too bad if the tank is large enough. They are get meaner as they get bigger.


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