African_Fever

The temp for Malawians could even go higher still. When I was diving at Lion's Cove the temp at 86 feet was 86f, so they can live with the higher temp as long as your filtration and water movement keep up (less dissolved O2 at higher water temps).

I had bloat as well with the new fish from the auction, and would definitely attribute it to the cold conditions and stress of the auction. Not too sure why the door was left open, I wore my coat almost the whole time I was inside and never once found it too warm. My bloat was cleared up within a week (after isolation and treating with clout), and things are back to normal (at least they appear to be) with no losses to date. Good luck with the rest of your treatments! I know how stressful it can be!

Good luck with the tea strainer (I assume it's metal?). I never had any luck using anything metal for tumbling my eggs, found that there always minute little edges that ripped them open or some sort of reaction, but they never lasted. I ended up making up my own that works rather well now. Bought the smallest gravel vacuum I could find (6") and used the main part of a tetra billi sponge filter. Cut up an old net, and used the oval attachment at the bottom of the gravel vacuum to hold the net in place for the bottom (also put filter floss in the oval attachemtn b/c there ended up being a fair amount of debris getting sucked up). Put net in the top of the vacuum as well (to stop anything from getting sucked out). Stuck the vacuum into the bottom of the tetra billi (had to use electrical tape to get it to stay due to different diameters) where the billi either angle out to a single sponge or splits in two for a double. I had to cut down part of the sponge filter to fit the height of my tank, and the only problem with this tumbler is that I need a tall tank. Suction is adjusted via output of the airpump with a valve, as well as the height of the sponge filter (extending/compacting it). I've stripped fish at 2 days (they wouldn't hold any longer than 3 consistently after breeding for a year!, and were the reason for making this), and I think only one egg went bad (needs to be removed immediately). It's quite the contraption, but it does work (though I have been considering picking up a more commercial one from Spencer due to ease of use). I don't really believe in stripping fish so early that you need to tumble the eggs, but with the ones I had, every female had bred 4-6 times without lasting longer than 3 days, and it was getting very frustrating. With first-time breeders I let them go; if they're carrying after 2 weeks they'll go into a 10 alone, and I may strip after 3 weeks. I think not carrying the first couple spawns is natural and just part of keeping fish. There is also talk that stripping early can create poor mothers (not sure how it would, but anything's possible). After having my fish that wouldn't last more than 3 days every time, I've come to believe it more and more, and usually strip fish after 3 weeks, not before.

I've used AC's forever. I have one that is probably just about considered an antique, I believe it's the 610, and is still running fine (the media is side by side rather than stacked), though the flow rate is a little less than it used to be. I've never replaced the impeller on this, or any of my AC's. I also have an AC300 that's be in use for over 10 years by myself, and who knows how long before that (bought used). The only problem that I have with AC's, as many have mentioned, is the lack of self-priming. I did know a guy years ago though who swore by the whispers b/c he said they self-primed every single time, never a problem with them. I use AC's on every single tank, and also have Eheim canisters on the larger ones. Using just a sponge as a prefilter I've gone over a year between cleanings on my canisters with little noticeable output decrease, and there are plants in all my tanks (crypts and vals). Without using a prefilter, the cleaning must be much more frequent (~4 months). On almost all my tanks 20 gallons and up I run two filters, and feel that the redundency gives me some piece of mind if something were to ever happen to one of them. I've never had an Eheim that didn't self prime, so my main show/breeding tanks have them, and I know if the power were to go out and come back on at least they'd be running ok. All I use for media in the AC's is the sponges, though I have been trying the new ceramic things on top of the sponges. All the carbon and ammonia remover I find useless; I haven't bought any in years and have never had an issue. Just my two cents.

Congrats Darcy! That's great to hear!

I picked my PFS up straight from Target, but the receptionist said they're usually supposed to sell in larger quantities (at least 10 bags at a time). You could give them a try if there's a couple people maybe looking for some sand, or they could at least point you to whomever sells it in town.

The black 'tips' is Pseudotropheus socolofi.

Congrats buddy! Great to hear!

The barring in your fish is much different than that of a Met. zebra; I'm guessing that the barring in your photos are when the fish are showing 'dominant' coloration, and the Met. zebra you have pictured is in the 'subdominant' coloration. When dominant the bars are very pronounced and almost V shaped, whereas yours appear to be much more linear and in line with that of Met. callainos or true blue male Met. estherae.

That's really too bad. I'd have to agree with RD in that it sounds like a toxin or something. Next time, pick up a 10 gallon for a hospital tank. Having a hospital tank is a much cheaper and easier to treat than your main tank, especially if it's for something like your plecos (what I'd just about consider expendable unless they're some fancier variety). For ich, the most effective treatment that I've ever used is simply raising the temp and adding salt. I'm surprised that your syno's lasted as long as they did, as almost all medication can have very negative effects on scaleless cats like synos.

The only sand I've found anywhere for cheap is light sand, pool filter sand is about the cheapest I've found. If you can find black sand for cheap, let us all know, I know that I'm interested in it but can't justify the $20 for 10 lbs or whatever it is. I called just about every place in the Calgary phonebook looking for it, and all they have is the coal/iron slag stuff (nothing I want my sandsifters sifting through their gills!).

What you're saying is that you bought all the fish pictured in a single bag, labelled Met. callainos at the auction?

It's hard to say what they are. The bars aren't very common in Met. callainos but do appear at times. Where did you get them from? The only other fish that it could be (if it's not a mutt) would be a male Met. estherae (red zebra), as they do show the bars like your fish has much more often that Met. callainos.

Wait until he hits 10-12"!

First thought was dialeptos (the 'dwarf' auratus) due to the short snout and size, and upon looking them up, I'd have to agree with you that they appear to be dialeptos. The snout is too short to be simulans. Nice looking fish. How aggressive do you find them? (since most seem to think that the regular auratus is one of the most aggressive mbuna)

Sammy, the pics 3 and 4 definitely look much better, more along the lines of what I was looking for in colour and shape, and from what you say about thinking he was old, that would make sense as well. From what I saw, the males seem to go from the vibrant, bright red along the sides/tail to the more orangish/yellow as they get old, more like what your last two pics show. I originally thought that it was maybe different locations that had the different colour when I was over there, but since I was there for so long I could see changes in some of the fish I had in show tanks. I would have to say from the photos that I saw that your fish could've been wild.

The following is a list from a supplier in the US, the Denver cichlidarium, that I recently had sent to me. All the fish are wild, except those near the bottom as listed as F1. These prices are very comparable to the CRLCA, and a good reference point when someone sees wild fish. If you do see fish cheaper, you have to ask yourself how long the person selling them had them already, and how much the fish bred for that person. I know that Old World Exotic imports a huge number of Malawians from Stuart, but he also directly supplies many of the other 'importers' of cichlids in the US (I actually had Stuart approach Armke's as I had heard quite a bit of good about them, but they were already getting their Wild Caughts from Old World and were happy with this arrangement). The fish on this list appear to be directly imported from Stuart (the photo ref K3 refers to the 3rd ed. of Ad's book and the page number, almost identical to Stuart's lists). So you're getting them about as direct as possible, not second or third hand (with everyone having to make some money on them). Just something to think about when seeing some of the unbelievably cheap prices for wild fish. I was looking for Tanganyikan's, and the list unfortunately only has one species that I'm after. Remember these prices are in US dollars. Enjoy the list. FISH TYPE GENUS SPECIES AND SIZE **Photo-ref PRICE PEACOCKS 3rd Ed. Ad Konings Aulonocara cobwe (moz) K3 - 196(11) $27.00 Aulonocara chilumba K3 - 196 (2) $25.00 Aulonocara baenschi, Benga yellow K3 - 200 (1) $27.00 Aulonocara hansbaenschi (red shoulder) K3 - 197 (7) $25.00 Aulonocara hueseri K3 - 200 (4) $25.00 Aulonocara korneliae K3 - 200 (3) $25.00 Aulonocara maisoni $33.25 Aulonocara maleri/chipoke(Sunshine yellow) K3 - 200 (7) $25.00 Aulonocara maulana (bicolor) K3 - 196 (3) $31.25 Aulonocara maylandi K3 - 204 (2) $25.00 Aulonocara mbenji, (Koningsi) K3 - 200 (5) $25.00 Aulonocara mdoka/ngara, (Flame Tail) K3 - 196 (1) $35.00 Aulonocara moz. "blue neon" K3 - 197(6)sim $28.00 Aulonocara sanga $28.00 Aulonocara usisya $28.00 HAPLOCHROMINE Copadichromis borleyi mbenji K3 - 313(4) $28.00 Copadichromis borleyi Kawanga $25.00 Copadichromis MIDNIGHT MLOTO!!!!!!! $35.00 Copadichromis trewavasae mloto, likoma K3 - 317 $24.25 Copadichromis trewavasae, Chisamulu!!!! $30.00 Copadichromis virginalis geertsi gome K3 - 321 (10) CALL Dimidiochromis dimidiatus K3 - 269 (7) $54.00 Dimidiochromis compressiceps, lrg and med K3 - 240 (5) CALL Mylochromis lateristriga K3 - 233 (8) $23.25 Nimbochromis livingstonii LRG SHOW MALES K3 - 237(2,5) $60.00 Placidochromis electra Londo!!! $28.00 Placidochromis electra likoma K3 - 252(5) $26.25 Placidochromis sp. jaro K3 - 189 $36.00 Protomelas taeniolatus, east border K3 - 113 $40.00 Protomelas taeniolatus, Taiwan Reef!!!!! $42.00 Protomelas steveni tiger (taeniolatus) K3 - 113 $25.00 Protomelas taeniolatus, "red empress" !!!!!! K3 - 48 $30.00 Tramitochromis liturus, mdoka K3 - 288 (1) $37.50 Tyrannochromis maculiceps, lrg $40.00 Tyrannochromis nigreventer K3 - 148 $28.00 Otopharynx auromarginatus, lrg $30.00 MBUNA Cynotilapia afra, cobue!!!!!!! K3 - 108 (6) $18.75 Cynotilapia afra, chewere K3 - 109 (1) $15.00 Cynotilapia afra, Jalo reef K3 - 109 (5) $15.00 Cynotilapia afra, lions cove K3 - 168 (1) $15.00 Cynotilapia afra, mara rocks K3 - 109 (3) $17.50 Cynotilapia afra, Nkhata bay "edwardi type" K3 109 (4) $15.00 Cynotilapia afra, red top Likoma $15.00 Cynotilapia afra, yellowhead Mbamba K3 - 112 (2) $15.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, chinyankwazi K3 - 28 (12) $35.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, katale $30.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, ob females, various $22.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, OB male mbenji CALL Labeotropheus fuelleborni, OB female mbenji $19.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, red top cobalt $22.00 Labeotropheus fuelleborni, red top makanjira $20.00 Labeotropheus trewavasae, lions cove, male K3 - 136 (3) $25.00 Labeotropheus trewavasae, Higga Reef, Xtra lrg $36.00 Labeotropheus trewavasae, lions cove, ob female $25.00 Melanochromis vermivorus $15.00 Melanochromis maingano K3 - 105 (1) $21.25 Metriaclima estherae, RED ZEBRA w/ Blue Males!!!!!!! $48.00/pr Metriaclima zebra long pelvic mdoka K3 - 164(10) $16.00 Metriaclima zebra ob nkhata bay, females $19.00 Metriaclima zebra ob nkhata bay, males CALL Metriaclima zebra, long pelvic fin, Chechese K3 - 164(10) $14.00 Metriaclima zebra, red top cobalt mbenji K3 - 52(4) $25.00 Metriaclima zebra, red top, Lundu Island!!!!! $25.00 Metriaclima zebra red top classic K3 - 49(5) $12.00 Metriaclima zebra, ob female mbenji $22.00 Metriaclima aurora, Higga Reef!!!!!, xtra lrg $33.00 Metriaclima aurora K156 T363(7) $12.50 Petrotilapia tridentiger, Chitimba K3 - 33 (7) $20.00 Pseudotropheus elongatus , Likuchi Island!!!!!!! $30.00 Pseudotropheus Chirwa elongatus "bee" $15.00 Pseudotropheus M'phanga elongatus K3 - 65(7) $12.00 Pseudotropheus elongatus ornatus, likoma $12.00 Pseudotropheus socolofi, Moz.!!!!!!! $15.00 Pseudotropheus lanisticola shell dweller likoma $15.00 Pseudotropheus kingsizei Likoma $20.00 Tropheops chilumba K3 - 84(6) $15.00 Tropheops red fin usisya $16.00 Tropheops Higga Reef, Xtra Lrg $32.00 LAKE TANGANYIKA Steatocranis casuarius, wild adults 2.5" - 3" $11.00 Tropheus duboisi, Maswa, BREEDING COLONY Call F1 FRY FROM OUR WILD CAUGHT FISHES PEACOCK Aulonocara Sanga , 1" $3.50 Aulonocara maylandi 1 3/4" K3 - 204 (2) $5.00 HAPLOCHROMINE Protomelas taeniolatus, Steveni tiger 1" K3 - 117 (5) $7.50 Copadichromis trewavasae 1" K3 - 317 $6.00 Nimbochromis venustus 1" K3 - 272 (5,11) $4.50 Nimbochromis linni 1" K3 - 115 $7.00 Placidochromis electra Cobue 1" K3 - 252 (5) $6.00 Placidochromis milomo 1" K3 - 145 $7.50 Stigmatiochromis pleurospilus 1" K3 - 269 (10) $10.00 MBUNA Metriaclima zebra red top - little over 1" K3 - 49 $5.00 Metriaclima zebra, red x red 1½"+ $5.00 Metriaclima estherae blue(m) red (f) 1"-2" K3 - 57 (1,6) $4 -$6 Metriaclima red OB albino - 1 1/2-2"-sexable $7.50 Melanochromis auratus - little over 1" K3 - 104 (7) $4.00 Pseudotropheus elongatus Mphanga 1"+ $5.00 Pseudotropheus demasoni 2.5" - 3" K3 - 39 (2) $13.00 Metriaclima zebra red top cobalt/ OB females Mbenji, 2" $6.50 Cynotilapia afra Nkhata edwardi type, 1"+ $4.00 Tropheops chilumba K3 - 84 (6) $7.00 Lake Tanganyika Callochromis raspberry head 1"+ $8.00 Callochromis pleurospilus 1" $7.00 Julidochromis dickfeldi 1" $9.00 Julidochromis regani burundi type 1" $9.00 Lamprologus caudopunctatus 1" $9.00 Lepidolamprologus nkambe 1" $12.00 Neolamprologus tretocephalus 2" $11.50 Victoria Astotilapia lasfasciatus 1½" NICE!!!!! $8.00 F1 FRY AVAILABLE WITHIN 30-45 DAYS HAPLOCHROMINE Placidochromis mbenji thick lips 1" $8.00 MBUNA Labeotropheus fuelleborni OB x OB 1" (unsexed) $8.00 Metriaclima zebra mbenji OB x OB 1"(unsexed) $6.50 COMING SOON HAPLOCHROMINE Dimidiochromis compressiceps MBUNA Labeotropheus Ochre Male/White female Labeotropheus fuelleborni katale

They look pretty good, but honestly I'm not 100% sure they're wild. The colour isn't as good as it should be for wild caught fish, and the body and head looka little heavy, almost fat. http://members.shaw.ca/AfricanRiftValleyCi...ages/ngara1.jpg This is a pic of my dominant male WC ngara. I've also got a pic of a tank full of about 20 males in my presentation that I'll look at getting uploaded for you to compare.

Without seeing more pics of your male, I can't say for sure either way. What did you pay for them if you don't mind my asking?

Well, he's a well fed fish, that's for sure. Could probably let up on the feeding or you'll have a 7" peacock on your hands. He is showing some colour, and with the quality of the pics I see no reason to think that it's a cross at all.

I have no idea what they are then. At 4" the male should be showing full colour, and in your pics he doesn't look to have too much more colour than a female. That's too bad. Peacocks are a very difficult fish to buy anywhere. They hybridize amongst the variants/species so easily, that's it's often impossible to tell exactly what you have. It's too bad, b/c there are a lot of people who get into African's with peacocks (I know I did), and then sell the 'unknown' fry as blue peacocks, leaving the next person trying to ID them as well. Personally, I'd never buy any peacocks that weren't coloured without seeing the parents first unless I was buying them from a dependable source.

At the size they're at, they should just about have all the black they'll ever have in at least the dorsal fin. I've got 3/4" yellows right now that have jet black dorsals at times. The face of the second yellow is also wrong, definitely looks to me like it's crossed with a Pseudo of some type, probably saulosi. Honestly, I'm not even 100% sure about the demasoni. All the ones that I've seen as juvies look like miniature adults, whereas in your pics they appear to be much lighter (plus the faint black horizontal mark doesn't look right either). Just my thoughts, I could be wrong.

How large are they? Most of the yellow peacocks that I've seen have FULL colour by the time they're 3" (often at 2"), and those don't appear to have any yellow to me. I also have to agree with apollo, the pics that I've got of both baenshi's and maleri's don't have any black in the dorsal like yours does.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the yellows are hybrids. The others look good though, have any more pics of the peacocks?

Did you get them from Garrett? Pretty sure they're not F1 if you did. Hybrids of some kind. There's no way a true blue male estherae would turn yellow; sounds like they're maybe crossed with Met. lombardoi.