Cichlid Species

Question
Hi,

Do you have any idea what kind of cichlid this is? I believe it is male because of it's lips and the small size of it's vent. I have seen some at the pet store that are called "Jack Dempseys" that look like him, but online the pictures look totally different. I'm not even sure which region my cichy is from because I got him about 3 months ago- she SAID he was south african-- the accuracy oft hat is not factual information.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg127/3babesandadad/cichlid3.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg127/3babesandadad/cichlid1.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg127/3babesandadad/cichlid2.jpg

Any info you can offer would be helpful!

Also- do you know anything about freshwater Angelfish care or breeding brine shrimp?
Thanks,
Christina

Answer
Hi Christina,
  That fish is not a Jack Dempsey; it is what is called a flowerhorn cichlids.  Flowerhorn cichlids are manmade fish developed in southeast Asia over the last decade.  The closest natural cichlid to a flowerhorn is a fish called the trimaculatus, Cichlasoma trimaculatus, which comes from southern Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas area).   

  Angelfish are relatively simple to take care of.  What would you like to know?

  Breeding brine shrimp is a bit peculiar.  People often "hatch" brine shrimp "eggs"  (they are actually cysts, not eggs) to feed the newly hatched brine shrimp to baby fish.  Is that what you want to do?  Usually such people buy the brine shrimp eggs.  Breeding your own brine shrimp would be extremely challenging.  They actually have a really complex life cycle.  

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