new fish

[Emily]

hi
i bought this new fish not too long ago. it is an african, i think a lake malawi but i am not sure, i bought it b/c it seemed peaceful and had interesting color. it is gray with black spots, i have tried to look it up, but it seems that there are very few grey african cichlids. i wish i knew how to work that stupid digital camera righ tabout now...

 

[Cichlid-Man]

hmmmm can you describe it any more?

ummmm heh i don't know what else to say.

Picture would be good if you could get 1.

 

[Emily]

well
its body shape is alot like that of a yellow lab, it is grey with black or darker grey spots on its fins and 4 or five main ones on its middle horizontally, and a line of black below it. i wish i could get you a picture of it but the best digital cam i have is an el cheapo jvc my dad bought

 

[Emily]

ok three spots
sorry

 

[Cichlid-Man]

How big is it?

 

[SoulFish]

hm anything like this? http://www.amateurcichlids.com/pics/p_taeniolatus3.jpg that is a female red empress, if not in what ways is it different

also have you checked out the photogallery at http://www.cichlid-forum.com/

 

[Emily]

it is and inch and a half, probably a juvenile, he was bought from the local wally world so i only know that he is an african, i don't shopfrom the lfs b/c they do 100% mark ups (seriously) on every thing they sell

 

[Emily]

um
i have checked out the photo gallery at cichlid forum and looked at all the lake malawi cichlids so far, it does look alot like the female red empress, however, it lacks the red stripe on the dorsal fin, has three black spots where the fish in the picture has a stripe, and it has alot of black spots on the caudle, dorsal, and anal fin, but lacks them on the others, the body shape is alot like it though. it must be kind of rare b/c i haven't seen a picture yet that looks like it...

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Oh.....Wal-Mart........i NEVER buy fish from them. Usually unhealthy specimens.

LFS might be more pricey but you get your money's worth.

Remember you get what you pay for.

As for your fish until you can get some pics its hard to say what it is. Could be a mix.

 

[SoulFish]

could be a mix coming from walmart, but you probably havent seen it around cause its a female, most sites only show pics of males, look at other protomelas species females, or even other pics of red empress females

 

[Emily]

ok
sorry if i gave anyone a near cardiac arrest experience, but sadly enough most of the time the wal mart has better fish than what the lfs has. Usually i try to watch the fish i want for a couple minutes and try to make sure that it has no disfigureations, signs of ick, tail rot, or just any sign of lethargy, and even when i get them home i have a small (10 gal) hospital tank to quarantine new fish and medicate them if needed. i have had more of my fish die from the lfs than from wal mart, but yes i do agree that, i should try and buy from somewhere less risky, but the best place i have found yet is in kansas city, and i try to go as often as possible, . not to mention i run more of a risk of being ripped of at the lfs, who sold me a jack dempsy as a texas cichlid, and being sold a $8 fish for $30 (also not a joke), i really don't like the owner either, the man is supposed to be a zoologist and sold my mom a pregnant male chinchilla, lol, i don't think the man is too capable, considering he lost about $150 on that exchange for which we could have sold each of the things .

 

[Emily]

ok
sorry if i said anything to offend anyone, i really do appreciate the help though.

 

[Emily]

finally
i am almost 100% sure of what it is....if you go to amateurcichlids.com, and look under lake malawi, it is a Nimbochroimis polystigma, i am very very very sure of it, i'm so happy!!! thank you guys bunches, for helpwith the web sites

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Good glad you found out what it was.

 

[Emily]

me too
i was looking for a while though, not too many spotted afircan cichlids out there....its too bad b/c mine is a real nice one, i wonder if i'll ever find another. lol i guess i will just have to keep an eye on my local wal mart j/k.

 

[SoulFish]

hm polystigmas are a large cichlid (12") youll want to be thinking about a tank larger enough to house it when it gets older, the males get a beautiful irridescent blue/green sheen, polies are fairly common and if you ask the LFS should be able to order you some without a problem

 

[Emily]

yeah
i saw some more pics, and got more info on him last night, i'm kinda hoping it is a male, since everything else i have bought so far seems to lay eggs, and the nice coloration would be a plus, also i think i'll finally have the proof for my mom so i can get the 100gal i've always wanted. hopefully, ill find 3 more of this fish. he and a yellow lab, and a cherry red are in my 20gal for now, until i get the other tank, it shouldn't be too long.

 

[Managuense]

polystigma are great fish! very active, but YES do grow quite large, and will need a much larger tank in the near future.
M

 

[Emily]

i don't mind how big he'll be, if he gets to be that big, it will be something to celebrate for me! plus this is the first african i have tried to keep, but i think it is safe to say that there will be many more purchases in the future.