Can you tell me what kind of fish this is?

Question

I've had this fish for about 2 1/2 or 3 yrs now. when i first got him he was about a 1/2 inch long, he is now about 3 inches long.
he is a pale yellowish white with black stripes. i don't remember the name that the guy at the pet store gave me (it was almost 3 years ago) but i think it had peacock in the name somewhere.
he also said that the males are usually more yellowish while the females are more white.
just wondering, because i would like to put more fish in with him. he is alone in a 10gal. tank, and i would like to add at least 2 more fish, but he is very agressive and has killed everything i've put in there so far. just want to know what this fish IS and what types of other fish would be able to hold their own in a tank with this guy..who's name is Killer (for obvious reasons lol).

thanks!
(pics of the fish below)
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243/atheist_lovebug/100_0981.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n243/atheist_lovebug/100_0977.jpg

Answer 1

Good memory! Looks like a peacock cichlid: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/10afcichlid_peacock.htm

The link has info on the fish and compatability with other possible tankmates!

Answer 2

The "peacock" name is more marketing than a species identification.

He's an african cichlid, most likely an mbuna from Lake Malawi, and if I had to venture a guess he's most likely from the pseudotropheus genus with the "OB" morph (orange blotch). They're popular for being extremely varied in color (from red to blue and everything in-between). There are commonly large differences in coloring between the sexes (such as with melanchromis johanni which are bright yellow/orange for females and deep blue/black for males).

I have a bunch and, unless you're ok with losing fish on occasion to aggressive behavior, you might want to leave him by himself. They're extremely territorial. I have 3 tanks and have had to remove individual fish (I call the, the bullies) from time to time to keep them from killing the rest of their tankmates. However, within a couple of weeks, one of the bullied undergoes a growth spurt and becomes the bully themselves. By far the MOST important thing is to have a ton of rocks with crevasses they can hide in and build territories. In a 10 gal tank, you won't be able to have many. The thing is, sometimes "overcrowding" can be a good thing (think schools of mackerel -- makes predatory fish have a harder time getting just one). If you choose to add a tankmate, be sure he's of comparable size and aggression level.

A couple of other side notes. Try to feed him a diet slightly higher in vegetable matter than the typical food. Hikari makes a good pellet. Additionally, african cichlids are unique among freshwater fish in that they prefer a much more basic (high) pH than most others. One good way to do this is to do something that would be considered horrible for most fish -- used crushed coral for the gravel.

Lastly, they're extremely active, intelligent and hardy fish -- which I think makes them a lot of fun, so you might want to consider "upgrading" and adding more real estate so you can pack in a bunch more. Try searching the website below -- it will give you an idea of the wide variety of colors, shapes and markings you can get from these beautiful fish.

Answer 3

OB Peacock(Aulonocara sp. OB). Still a bit small to be 100%, but I think its a male. Males will actually get a nice blueish face, and their dorsal(top) fin is more "pointy" than females. OB peacocks are actually "mutts" so to speak as they are a cross between 2 different peacock types. Unfortunatly a 10g is too small for these types of fish. He should max out around 5". I would strongly suggest NOT adding anymore fish, as like you said "killer" will indeed kill them, or die trying.If you got a larger tank, you could add more Malawian cichlids(Mbuna/Peacocks/Haps).

Answer 4

I believe what you are describing may be part of the Chiclid family, though there are hundreds of species of them including the Piranha I have not seen one yet that looks like your fish. Either way chiclids are highly territorial and very dominating fish, they are also carnivorous and prefer live food. Often hunting for pure fun, they will normally go for the head or the stomach of their prey. A hearty and equally dominate would be another aggressive chiclid or maybe even some types of barbs, like a tiger barb however they themselves are pack hunters and prefer to be in large numbers. Hope this has helped you a little, take care and good luck.

Answer 5

He's a cute little cichlid, a mutt so to speak. He's gonna eat everything you give him with a smile on his face while he does so. Most cichlids are loners and territorial. If you had a bigger tank you might be able to add a few others.

Answer 6

It is a Peacock Cichlid. You should put it in with similarly sized African Rift lake Cichlids. It is not compatible with any other groups of fish.

Answer 7

definitely a cichlid..but i thought it looked a bit like a ram..but i've never seen a peacock cichlid.. i would rearrange the plants & decor just prior to introducing new "friends"...and might i suggest a blue ram or a girlfriend peacock

Answer 8

Not sure on the kind of fish it is, but have you tried putting an africn cichlid in with it? They're fairly aggressive themselves and might add some color to your tank, just make sure that you get one that's close to size with your current fish. I reccomend that or a Jack Dempsey to pair with your current fish.

Answer 9

kind of look like what the local fish stores might call an o.b. peacock. im not sure what the o.b. stands for, but i think its a mut of peacock cichlids. good looking fish though, but that's what the lfs might call it.

Answer 10

nice pictures! definitely a chiclid!