Please help with identifying these malawis

[Rookie]

Hi, please can anyone help me with these malawi babies that were given to me. They mentioned that they are "mottled" but this does not help me. Please see attached pics. Need a proper species name.
Please
Please

[neilh]

Aulonocara is the genus. Exact species is a bit hard to tell when they are so young

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=3

[Rookie]

Thanks - i see this from the "peacock" range. I am wanting to have mbunas, are these compatible?

[Verndog]

Mbuna are a little too agro for peakocks : )

[azurekoi]

Stick to peacocks - mix with other Utaku(open water or sand dwellers)... look at the Genus Copadichromis.... You get some amazing Peacocks by the way.... Mbuna males tend to go Hyperagresive when mature and your poor Peacocks will bear the brunt of this....G'luck!!!

[Rookie]

Hi azurekoi, thanks. I wanted the mbunas as I have scaped my tank for the rocks with the gaps in the middle so that they would have the hiding places. Can the peacocks not also be in that environment? I wasn't planning on having peacocks except that I was given these and they just said that they were "mottled" - not really must help. Any ideas?

[azurekoi]

Hey Rookie... it can be done,but expect to lose a fish or 2 - especialy when they get more mature...1st Question that I would like to ask is: What size is your tank? this plays a large part in wheter the mix will work..
have in the past mixed these guys,often,but they need space... standard 4 foot is only gonna lead to tears later... % foot or bigger and try to entroduce them mostly all at once...
Also,dont think your Peacocks are "mottled" The Breeders in the East has produced someamazing mutations/strains of the wild fish....

[Rookie]

The bugger is that my tank is only a 3 foot.

[azurekoi]

Eish mate -bit small there....mix a species or two of Aulonocara - best possible outcome... + they are in my eye some of the pretiest fish to come out of the Lake.... Google them - you'll see what i mean...

[Rookie]

But are they happy in a rocky environment?

[azurekoi]

With mine I always used to do the tank layout in the form of 2 or 3(in the bigger tanks) " bays" - rock piled up on the back and sides in connected "C" shapes.... They need some rock to sort their little squables out,but like sifting through open sandy areas... Chuck in som Vallisneria towards the back and it looks quite pleasing...that is if they dont dig it up emediately...lol...

[TankMaster]

They are Copadichromis sp Mloto . .I have 4 F1's of these fish

[Rookie]

Wow - thanks TankMaster. I have seen one of the adults and seems to be speckled black/greyish. Does this sound right?

[TankMaster]

Females should look close to or exactly like this

http://www.thatpetplace.com/images/presentation/235038.jpg

and males like this but may have lighter pigmentation on some specimens

http://image24.webshots.com/25/5/68/35/281156835hvIKQs_fs.jpghttp://image24.webshots.com/25/5/68/35/281156835hvIKQs_fs.jpghttp://image24.webshots.com/25/5/68/35/281156835hvIKQs_fs.jpg5287

You get a lot of "Mlotos" but the baby in your first picture looks like a Midnight Blue Mloto.

They are VERY Aggressive and VERY territorial. You need at least a 4 foot tank when keeping more than 3 full grown males.

TM

[fishcrazy]

Am not sure TM the shape of the head is diff between the two......could be an elongatus sp of cynotilapia. .....but still a bit aggro though especm towards other blue fish

[sarf]

Those are not mlotos..i'v bred wild caught ones and am familiar with the shape of the young..you hav a hybrid aulonocara there,referred to as a mottled peacock.

[TankMaster]

Which type of Mlotos do you have? Midnight? Ivory head? Blue?

There's so many different Mlotos . . they may not be the ones you breed.

[Rookie]

Hi Sarf, Thanks - looked last night and the picture is a bit deceiving as it looks quite dark. They are a lot lighter. Do you have a species name so that I can look it up possibly? What environment to they like?

[sarf]

@tm..rookie says that he has babies..the various mloto specimens are silver when young with 2 or 3 dots on the side depending on species n location..Rookie..i cant tel you what species it is as it is a hybrid of two different species of aulonocara.will require the usual malawi care,high ph water,good filtration n good quality diet with spirulina based food.hth

[Rookie]

Hi all, seems that I feel I just keep having to ask questions and as soon as one is answered there seem 10 more questions. Thanks to all that have helped previously.
I was given 18 hybrid peacocks (as identied by others), babies. Have scaped my tank for mbunas and since purchased 2 Labidochromis caeruleus Yellow and 3 Pseudotropheus demason. Would there be a problem keeping some of the peacocks?
Any other advice on which mbunas (smaller breed) that I could also keep?

[Tyron M]

Hey Rookie :-)

Hey Guys, I am the guy that gave the babies to Rookie. Scarf is 100% correct, it is a hybrid of two different species of aulonocara. Hence there is no "specific" species name due to it being a hybrid. I will give the species names of the two parents shortly, just got to make sure, but the male was a red top malawi who bred with a mottle. I have been breeding these fish for awhile now. The males get a little territorial if there is too many and you could end up with the weaker one dying as well as a female being ehausted here and there. The males get a beautiful blue sheen from the red top father. To be absolutely honest, i thort they were from the Mbuna family and not peacocks, peacocks have the longer fins and the Mbunas almost have that more rounder face instead of the sharper face. . .dont they?

[scotty]

Hi all, you do not get "PEACOCKS" in Lake Malawi. Let us start by calling the fish by their correct names. Some of the most recent names have changed once again. Just recently bought the 4th edition of Malalwi cichlids in their natural habitat and there are quite a number of changes.
Let these fish grow a bit so they can color up as this will allow for a more accurate possible identification. You can put the Labidochromis caeruleus or Pseudotropheus Acei with them.