Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out my new African cichlids. I recently got three of them and I'm trying to determine their gender and what species they are. I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out with this.

I think the blue one might be a Champsochromis caeruleus, but don't quote me on that - I'm not an expert on Malawi cichlids, I don't own any.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

The top one resembles a peacock cichlid, while the other two seem to be Pseudotropus. The bottom photo, specifically, could be P. Crabro. The top fish appears to be male, and the middle one female - the bottom one's sex is unclear from that photo.

Thanks for the ID help. I've been lucky so far, they seem to be getting along. Do you think they'll keep getting along in the long run? I've got a better pic of them here

They're nice looking fish, the female should be fine with the others. They seem to be getting along so far, so that's a good sign.

Determining the sex of African cichlids can be done by looking at their anal fin. Typically, males have spots or dots on their anal fin, while females have a shorter anal fin without these spots.

Give them plenty of hiding spots with caves, that'll help them feel secure.

angler_1 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 10:13 pm Determining the sex of African cichlids can be done by looking at their anal fin. Typically, males have spots or dots on their anal fin, while females have a shorter anal fin without these spots.

I was considering the fin shape, possibly leaning towards it being male.

You're on the right track with the fin thing. Typically, males have that extended fin with spots, and the females have shorter fins with no spots. If you pay close attention, you'll notice the ones with the most spots on that fin tend to be the alphas in the tank.