Need Help Identifying Mixed African Cichlids From Lfs

Hello fish friends. Can you please provide some help with identifying 4 "mixed African cichlids"? So that I will know if any of them need to be returned to the LFS. Thanks in advance!

 

I've been told that most fish in the mixed cichlid tanks are actually hybrids. So you may never know what they actually are. I don't know a lot about them though, so wait for another more informed opinion.

 

I've been told that most fish in the mixed cichlid tanks are actually hybrids. So you may never know what they actually are. I don't know a lot about them though, so wait for another more informed opinion.

Thank you and yes I have read that also, hoping however that I can at least identify origin, MalawI versus Tanganyikan as an example. Right now 3 of them seem to be doing well together, one (yellow) is staying hidden and while he/she comes out to eat it doesn't move as fast as the others. I knew going into this that identification might be hard, but hoped someone here has tons more experience with them and help. Thanks again!

 

Those are all Malawian Mbuna. The second photo is an albino Melanochromis , usually from M. auratus. The other three are different colors of Metriaclima species, the last being an OB morph, which occurs in several species of Mbuna. TBH, they don't look like hybrids at this point, but as noted, most mixed tanks usually are. However, some shops have tanks where they throw young of various inexpensive species, and so long as the fish are young, they may well be pure. If this is true, the orange would be M. estherae, the Red Zebra. The blue one could be another morph of estherae, or more likely M. callainos, the most common Powder Blue Zebra. All of those fish can be much more aggressive as adults than they are as juveniles.

 

Those are all Malawian Mbuna. The second photo is an albino Melanochromis , usually from M. auratus. The other three are different colors of Metriaclima species, the last being an OB morph, which occurs in several species of Mbuna. TBH, they don't look like hybrids at this point, but as noted, most mixed tanks usually are. However, some shops have tanks where they throw young of various inexpensive species, and so long as the fish are young, they may well be pure. If this is true, the orange would be M. estherae, the Red Zebra. The blue one could be another morph of estherae, or more likely M. callainos, the most common Powder Blue Zebra. All of those fish can be much more aggressive as adults than they are as juveniles.

Thank you so much, that was exactly what I was looking for. Appreciate it very much.