hi, i took the auratus back, as everyone told me they were too crazy, got these guys instead, are they pseudotropheus zebra? their stripes faded when they were first moved, stress i guess, but they are dark now, i think they are happy. but they tend to go more blue at night, and lighter during the day. i am moving up to a 30 next week, and then a 55 as they grow
flickr.com/photos/30749418@N02/2882185202
is where my photo of them is hosted, have a look and tell me what you think.

How big are these fish and how old are they?

If you just moved them they are not flashing their colors as they are weary of their surroundings. Once they have acclamated they will show their true colors, the can become subdominant and will "fade" their colors infront of another male in order not to get beaten up.
GOod luck

Hate to say it, but they look like 'mutts' to me..

I have a 100g Pseudotropheus display tank where I throw a few of different species that've spawned for me and I have a few fry, released by females in there that managed to survive among the rocks that look similar. Some weeks ago I pulled a P. crabo (the "bumble bee" cichlid) from that tank to allow her to drop her fry in a 30gal holding tank (100+ fry!). There's about 3-4 that just don't have the color color (they're about an inch now),
and their stripes are grey and there's no yellow body color.
I'm sure one of the other species contributed a few sperm to those mating crabo's.

I've had a Labidochromus tank also produce many 'mutts', I won't bother removing any 'holding' females from there anymore.

If you want the 'real McCoy' you need to get your fish from a trusted source. Nearly all breeders and most stores will have good fish. For stores that accept customer's excess, fry, etc, - you need to know what you're getting. You may be getting fish like I described above, crosses.

Also, many Malawi cichlids have similar vertical stripes and the generic name of "Zebra" cichlids is really meaningless. Try searching "Zebra cichlids" under google images and you'll see dozens of species in every color.

Bob K.