[malekedward]

The fiance and I just got a fish tank from one of her coworkers who was going to get rid of it. It is a 60 gal tank and came with 4 fish. What we believe is two cichlids and two bottom feeders. Since this is our first large fish tank I would like to make sure that we set it up properly and also would like to add a couple fish if possible. I was hoping that someone could identify the fish that we have as well as look at our tank and offer any advice or suggestions for making it a better tank so that we can add more fish. Thank you everyone for your help.

The Tank:


Fish 1:


Fish 2:


Fish 3:



Fish 4:
Will get a better picture when he gets out of hiding. We do know he is a bottom feeder though.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP.

 

[Danni]

You have African Cichlids:

Fish 1- Yellow Lab- sometimes called the Electric Yellow Cichlid

Fish2- Featherfin Squeaker- Synodontis eupterus They love meaty foods.

Fish 3- Red Zebra- Metriaclima estherae

Fish 4- Couldn't tell from the pic.

Edited to add- I love my Featherfin Squeakers-- they are awesome fish. I have 2 in two different tanks.


Hope this helps. if you need tank help let me know. I have been keeping Africans for a few years.

 

[pennyls9332]

hmm fish 3 looks more like a yellow lab as well bc he is not bright orange like the red zebras are. for africans you need to test the water and make sure the levels are ok. after you get the levels right then you will need to add more and you will have a VERY active and fun to watch tank

 

[malekedward]

You have African Cichlids:

Fish 1- Yellow Lab- sometimes called the Electric Yellow Cichlid

Fish2- Featherfin Squeaker- Synodontis eupterus They love meaty foods.

Fish 3- Red Zebra- Metriaclima estherae

Fish 4- Couldn't tell from the pic.

Edited to add- I love my Featherfin Squeakers-- they are awesome fish. I have 2 in two different tanks.


Hope this helps. if you need tank help let me know. I have been keeping Africans for a few years.

Danni, thanks for the quick help. I will probably come back with some more questions then to you tomorrow in a message. The Featherfin Squeaker you say likes meaty foods but all that we got were flakes for cichlids and pellets for cichlids. Do we need to get another type of food then for these fish?

Also for a follow up does anyone know what type of fish would go good with these fish that I have as we try to gather more fish. We have a friend whose Albino Peacock just had babies and she said we could have some but I do not know if these fish can coexist together or not.

THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP.

 

[malekedward]

hmm fish 3 looks more like a yellow lab as well bc he is not bright orange like the red zebras are. for africans you need to test the water and make sure the levels are ok. after you get the levels right then you will need to add more and you will have a VERY active and fun to watch tank

Pennyls how do I test the water and is that focusing more on PH, temp or what am I supposed to be paying attention to.

4th Fish is a Plecostomus.

 

[pennyls9332]

for africans pretty much everything needs to be at the higher end in my tank i have the pH at 8.0 and im not 100% sure what gh and kh are at but add some aquarium salt and the levels should be right. you test the water by getting a test kit at any fish store or pet store,liquid tests are more accurate but starting with the strips is fine

oh and the temp needs to be around 80f you can go a little higher or a little lower but thats what i have mine at

 

[Tazman]

Do this fish in Picture 3 have a black line along the dorsal fin? If it does then it would be a Yellow lab, color is wrong for it being a Red Zebra.

If it doesnt have a black line then it could also be a Saulosi, cant tell very easily from the picture.

 

[rsskylight04]

For meaty foods I reccommend frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp, all available at petco/petsmart. My fish all love mysis. Defrost before serving.
For other fish I know african cichlids are usualy kept in densly stocked tanks, just make sure you don't have too many different species. Also, I love loaches- especialy kuhli loaches, just make sure your tank is very well established and stable before adding loaches.

 

[Agent13]

Actually black fin or not it can still be a yellow lab. But for me to say id need a better picture of their faces. You might have 1 red zebra and one yellow lab. Another very likely possibility is they might be a yellow lab red zebra cross breed. Either way what you have are mbuna african cichlids from lake Malawi. At least that much is sure.

Now for higher levels.. That the kh that should be higher giving you hard water and a higher ph. If you dobt have hard water you can put crushed coral in your filter ans or aragonite sand. Or limestone in your tank.

The other fish that can work with them will be almost only other mbuna cichlids. But as luck will have there are lots of these. Very brightly colored too but try to match them to your current cichlids size. Often they will kill a fish thts newly introduced too small.

As much as i do love loaches i cant think of any that would work with mbuna.

 

[keepsmiling]

You need to get a proper stand or a longer table that can hold that weight. That is a lot of pressure on that tank if it is uneven, especially with the edges hanging off that way. The water alone in this tank is approx. 500 Lbs. Good luck & welcome to TFK.

 

[Booboo91]

1-electric yellow labidochromis( males have a slightly blue face but sometimes when mine is stressed it gets what i call a five oclock shadow but females have the blaxk too)
2- african feaher fin
3-red zebra ciclid

 

[Danni]

hmm fish 3 looks more like a yellow lab as well bc he is not bright orange like the red zebras are. for africans you need to test the water and make sure the levels are ok. after you get the levels right then you will need to add more and you will have a VERY active and fun to watch tank

That yellow lab pic wasn't up- the Zebra was 3 when I saw it.

 

[Agent13]

1-electric yellow labidochromis( males have a slightly blue face but sometimes when mine is stressed it gets what i call a five oclock shadow but females have the blaxk too)
2- african feaher fin
3-red zebra ciclid

Black stripes or not is completely irrelevant with yellow labs. Even their colors can be orangeish with some. They are sooo over bred and many of these "rules" just cant apply to them. My first F1 yellow lab was so pale you could hardly see the yellow. Was a proven male and no black. Now my current two f1 yellow labs from the same wild parents are both pale but not as pale and one with the black and both most likely male.

For the possible red zebra i dont want to say for certain till I see its mouth. The metriaclima variety have a much wider set mouth and some nasty teeth as compared to the labidochromis.. But with the fact they can at times have similar colors makes me hesitte a solid answer yet.