Firemouth Cichlid

Question
QUESTION: I have a cichlid who is a "Firemouth Cichlid" but has no red on it.  I bought the fish at Wal-Mart so I am aware that it may have been incorrectly identified.

The fish is a pale greyish tan with darker grey horizontal stripes.  These stripes fade or darken depending on its mood or various other things.  When I purchased it, it didn't have any red on it at all and has never shown any since.  I have seen these fish in other stores and on the internet and my fish does look similar, but after really looking at some a few days ago I am pretty sure my fish is not a Firemouth.

Do you have any idea at all what type this could be?  I know my description is extremely broad.  The fins are the same shape as I have seen on Firemouths elsewhere, but it seems to have a very small "mouth"

ANSWER: Hi Emily,  
 There are hundreds of cichlids that could fit that description.  Can you send me a photo -- that would help a lot.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ron,

Here is a picture I took tonight of the cichlid.  It has recently been this darker shade almost constantly.

<br>http://pet.jsxys.com/Article/UploadFiles/201604/2016042311443321.jpg
<br><br><br>  

Answer
Hi Emily,
  That is a bit of a tough one.  Many Central American cichlids go into the "dark gray" mode when they are a little under the weather or not feeling really comfortable.   (Have you been doing regular weekly water changes?  You should be changing 25% of his water once a week, every week to keep him happy and healthy).  

  Now as for his identity... because many cichlids also do the vertical bar thing, he could be one of several species, but I am pretty sure that he is not a firemouth.   Firemouths tend to do the black horizontal line thing, rather than the vertical bars when they are feeling subordinate. They also tend to have little blue flecks on the face and I see no signs of that. His mouth is also not quite right for a firemouth.  

 My educated guess is that he is either a young midas cichlid, or a young red devil.  (Don't be confused by the names -- most red devils are in fact not red and most midas cichlids are not gold; they are black and white just like your little friend).  He is definitely from Central America.

 The odds of getting a mislabelled fish at WalMart are pretty high.  
The good news is that if he is indeed a midas cichlid or a red devil (they come from Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where I have studied them) then he will be full of personality.  He can easily recognize you as an individual and he will treat different individuals very differently, much like a cat or dog.  He can also live a very long time (well into his teens). The potentially bad news is that he is going to get quite a bit larger...  up to about a foot or so if you treat him right and while he will become very attached to you, he will not play well with other fish (i.e., he will have a tendency to get rid of them).   

 Do not make the mistake that many do of thinking that he is a big fish so he needs big food. Never feed him feeder fish.  He will do perfectly well on cichlid sticks or pellets, which are available at most fish stores, though judging from the snow in the other photos in your album, if they were also taken today, you must live either on the top of a mountain, or in the Arctic, so fish stores may be hard to come by :)  

 If you can catch him when he is not so dark, please send another photo or two and I may be able to be more certain.

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>