I would guess those are Lake Malawi cichlids, if the strips run down around the body of the blue one and not the lenth of her body. Without seeing them, I can't say for sure, but they are more common in pet stores. And Yes you can keep those, they are a little more aggressive then the Rams, but like I said all you need is lots of hiding places, to keep them happy. Also remember they like their water around 78

Does the yellow one look anything like this one?


If so, they really like hidding places. Mine lives in a hole in a pice of wood. If not and it's more, almost electric sprakle yellow like, then they just need to have a hiding place to go to, unlike my guy here, who lives in her hole most of the day.

There's also this kind that is also yellow, even though she's orange in the picture. They are a little easier to care for, then the other guy. You can tell the difference by their shape and size.


If the ones you are looking at have more of this type shape, they will get bigger then the other yellow guy, about 5"'s or so. (sorry the pic bad)

Their are just so many types of cichlids, it's hard to say, but rule of thumb is the more they cost the harder they are to care for. If that helps any.

But with your water and the higher Ph, you shouldn't have to much problems. We too have the same high Ph water and it has made it perfect for us to raise cichlids. Less work!