ID these fish please?

[SteelersChris]

Hey guys,
Do these look like a juvenile Texas and convict?

The first picture was sold as a Texas cichlid and when I first got it it had 4 distinct black blotches on either side and one on the tail and had a tiny bit of spangling on it which looked like a juvenile Texas…. But as it’s getting older, the stripes are becoming more prominent and there is no spangling and it’s starting to look more like a convict to me…

The second picture was sold as a convict, but it’s never really looked like a convict to me. It’s stripes are uniform and doesn’t have the V shaped stripe by its head, it’s long and slender compared to the shape of a convict and I just noticed today it’s starting to get a yellow analfin

After searching pictures online the closest thing I can find that looks like the one that was sold to me as a convict, was a cryptoheros cutteri “blue eye cichlid” which that website is siting is “loosely similar to a convict and can be found in Honduras and guatamala.”

 

[GlennO]

Hi, the first one could possibly be a female blue-eye but looks more like a convict or convict hybrid to me. Can you get a brighter, clearer pic? Second pic is a firemouth and some sort of African cichlid, possibly a young peacock of some sort.

 

[SteelersChris]

Yeah, at first the second one next to my firemouth one looked like an African to me too just based off the shape, and they only fish I could find online that is from CA that looks even close is a blue eye and they have a taller body and the anal don shapes slightly different.

I’ll try to get a pic of the first one in the morning, and that one does look like a convict to me.

I think what might have happened was the tank at the local fish store that I bought them at had firemouths, Jack Dempsey, green terror, convicts and Texas cichlids in the tank together. The newer employee at the store didn’t know which was which. I could easily identify the firemouth, GT and JD for him to net and then there were two other species in the tank. We looked at pictures of juvenile convicts and Texas cichlids and the one that now looks like a convict had 5 splotches along the side in the same places a juvenile Texas would at that size so we thought that was the Texas and the other was stripped and must have been the convict being the last species in that tank…. But we probably misidentified what we thought was a Texas that was actually a convict, and then the African cichlids must have gotten in that tank from the tank next to it that usually has juvenile Africans.

Guess I’ll see if the owner will let me bring the African back and have him order me a Texas or the place I go to an hour away had 3-4” Texas for $20 and might be better sized to go with the CA cichlids in this tank that are all 3-4” now.

 

[GlennO]

Sorry I misread, I thought you were asking if the first one was a convict, which it most likely is. The striped one in the second pic is definitely African and it's probably best to return it or swap it.

 

[chromedome52]

Fish in the first photo is definitely a Convict. Striped fish in the second photo is a female or young African Peacock of genus Aulonocara.

 

[SteelersChris]

Thanks guys, the African is going back today when the LFS opens. Now to decide if I still get a Texas or consider something else like a salvini or Oscar for this tank…

Other residents are a Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, 2 firemouth, the convict, 4 silver dollars and 2 pictus catfish…. The plan has always been to move the firemouth and convict to another tank if they couldn’t hang with the big boys and i wanted to shoot for 3-4 larger CA/SA cichlids in this 125g tank.

 

[A201]

I've kept both Texas Cichlids & Salvini.

The Texas Cichlids grew fast and big. Their aggression is very intense. They are a very colorful, but are killers.

My mated pair of Salvini were only territorial when sitting a nest. The females breeding colors are spectacular. The males coloration wasn't bad either. Salvini make better tankmates than the Texas Cichlid

 

[SteelersChris]

Stopped by the LFS and explained what happened and they’re going to buy back the peacock at whatever value it would be if they purchased it at its current size or give me a refund for what I paid, whichever is higher… so if I can catch him I’m looking at $7-$15 lol. And man he is fast. I tried for almost an hour this morning with no luck. I’ll pull the decor next weekend when I have time and should be able to get it then.

They also offered to give me a Texas when I was there for the trouble so I took them up on that since that was the original plan. If it becomes too aggressive for this tank I’m not opposed to getting another tank…. Heck I’ve gone from 3-7 within the last few months, what’s one more.

The Texas is currently about 1/3 the size of the others, but most of them aren’t paying it any attention. The green terror has given chase a couple of times but the Texas darted away and then turned around to confront the GT each time. It doesn’t seem to be scared of the larger fish and is swimming among them and is already eating and exploring the tank.

 

[A201]

A full grown adult male Texas will grow a good set of teeth and will bite, lol. They are really awsome, pretty fish.

Here's a pic of the best one I ever kept.

 

[TClare]

I tried for almost an hour this morning with no luck.

Try the bottle trap method, use a plastic drink bottle with an appropriate sized opening, cut the top off and invert it inside the rest of the bottle to form a funnel, make a hole in the bottle so that it sinks easily, place in the tank with some of his favorite food inside, wait and watch.

 

[SteelersChris]

Beautiful fish! My hope is I get a female who may be a little more mellow, and that the green terror, Jack Dempsey and convict can hold their own. If I have to move the firemouth and silver dollars I won’t be too upset…. But if it’s a murderous monster of a fish I’ll get a used 75 and put him in it…. Possibly a larger tank if I can find a good deal and do larger CA cichlids like a jaguar or Red Devils. In the past I’ve mostly had medium sized community fish and more mild cichlids and now I find myself wanting both ends of the spectrums and setting up nano tanks and want the larger aggressive cichlids as well.

One silver lining during this whole ordeal of catching the African cichlid…. I had to pull all the decor out and drain the tank to 30% to catch him and was able to keep the drift wood down with rocks instead of the gravel bags I was using. Prefer the look now.