Name that Cichlid!!!!!!!!

i just purchased this fish today at Plano Pets by my house and on the tank they were labeled "extreme colored peacock". it kind of doesnt look like a peacock. it just doesnt have the features of one. he looks realy cool though. he is orangeish on his head to hot pink going back and it looks like he has pink lipstick on. my wife picked him out of course. so please let me know what u think[img][/img]

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you are correct. it does not look like a peacock but instead a mbuna. cool looking tho not sure on the species.

go to my photo album it should be in there too. the pic comes up on my computer. let me try something.
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he does have mbuna features. peacocks have more pointed faces and this one has a rounded face. i asked the guy at the fish store how they got them that color and he said "years of selective breeding" do yall think he was worth 12 dollars????? do u think they could have dyed him that color like they do some fish?????

red zebra mbuna. not a peacock!

so not worth the $12 i spent or my wife made me spend??????

i have 2 red zebras one red and one albino. do yall think maybe hybrid???

Im gonna say this guy was full of shit. He was just trying to get you to spend the 12 bucks... This is why i hate fish stores. That deff looks like a Mbuna. If it has any peacock in it its like slim to non. Its only $12 ... You live you learn

I bought two of those fish back when I knew nothing about cichlids. The guy actually sold me two of them...for 19.99 a piece... just thinkin about it makes my blood boil again. He called them "blood red cichlids"... said they were "super dominant red zebras"... I brought them home thinking I scored a good deal.. that's until the dye wore off...and now I have one normal red zebra and one very pale lookin red zebra that has a hint of blue... probably hybrids that they decided to dye. i think you got ripped off... but look at it this way... at least you didn't buy it for 20 bucks...and you didn't buy two. :(

This guy needs to be punched in the face. I have never ben to his store...What else is this guy doing?

hey, i like my red zebras. i remember way back when that guy jay from that other site was offering frontosas, peacock pairs, just about anything he had to get ahold of my zebras. I didnt pay much for them, but passing up on jays offers was kind of like spending money. if you like it... its hard to put a price tag on it. so, sure you can get them for less, but they may not look exactly like that one, and if you were okay spending that to begin with, then you did the right thing. that's my 2 cents.

h0ngkn0t2 wrote:

I bought two of those fish back when I knew nothing about cichlids. The guy actually sold me two of them...for 19.99 a piece... just thinkin about it makes my blood boil again. He called them "blood red cichlids"... said they were "super dominant red zebras"... I brought them home thinking I scored a good deal.. that's until the dye wore off...and now I have one normal red zebra and one very pale lookin red zebra that has a hint of blue... probably hybrids that they decided to dye. i think you got ripped off... but look at it this way... at least you didn't buy it for 20 bucks...and you didn't buy two. :(

wow, that is one seriously red zebra. is that a picture you took?

Thats the pic of the two I bought in my tank. It's an old picture.. they looked like that for about two weeks then faded... IF they stayed that color.. I would have been happy spending 20 bucks on that fish... being lied to about the type of fish and flat out lying knowing fully well that it was a dyed specimen is something different... and not good for business...

definitely not good for business.

That really looks like a cherry red zebra to me. Just as future reference I always look fish up before I buy them just in case something like this happens, I know fish are usually an impulse buy, but you could save time and money just by going home and researching the fish first. You can use color enhancing flakes to keep some of the color, but it won't always stay that intense. I always ask which breeder the fish come from as well. This is my first post and hope this helps.

like i said, i got it because my wife liked it and i am trying to do what ever it takes to get to join in the hobby if u know what i mean. plano pets has a pretty good selection but i dont really think they know a whole lot about what they got. they had some real nice calvus for like 5 bucks. i really like to go there to get stuff out of there mixed cichlid tanks cause they dont know what they really have and what it is really worth. they had venustus in there for 4 dollars and they looked really good. they also had some peacock bass for 5 bucks. most of the time i can come out with a steal, it is just that this one my wife wanted.

MIKEJ0226 wrote:

That really looks like a cherry red zebra to me. Just as future reference I always look fish up before I buy them just in case something like this happens, I know fish are usually an impulse buy, but you could save time and money just by going home and researching the fish first. You can use color enhancing flakes to keep some of the color, but it won't always stay that intense. I always ask which breeder the fish come from as well. This is my first post and hope this helps.

the guy says he usually tries to get stuff from local breeders. this is just a mom and pops owned joint.

Just do a brief search for reviews of Plano Pets and you will see fast they have a reputation for misleading customers and selling animals that are NOT what they seem.

I 2nd that. I lived in Plano and I also herd the same.

It's amazing what a little color enhanced hormone food can do. They also inject color into the fish to make sure the consumer likes the color. Did you or anybody else have any luck. This is why I refuse to buy from pet stores. Just like in the real world: sex sells, in the aquarium world: color sells!

Some may call it a red /orange zebra. With zebras, it is not common for them not to be a hybrid. But still a nice fish to keep until another species hits you in the face!!! In this hobby, its not hard to get carried away or when the warden(your spouse) tells you that enough is enough!!! Did I listen? Got the wife intreasted in the hobby and now she gives it to me when I choose to get rid of some fish to obtain new ones!!! Now this is a change of events!!!! Happy fish keeping!!!!