# WHITE LAB?!



## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

Does anyone know about white labs? I've herd of them but never paid much attention, the only reason I'm asking now is because I am looking for another female lab for my yellow, and wanted a little variety. :wink:


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## jaq855 (May 29, 2007)

Behaviorally, they are the same as yellow labs. Females are white, males have a blue tint. My whites are about half an inch smaller than my yellows when full grown. They can sometimes be hard to find; I got my original group from aquabid.com and I have seen them posted there more often than other places.

Most people prefer yellow labs, but the blue males are impressive and because they are less popular the breeding lines are better; you don't have to worry as much about getting a hybrid or pure quality.

Also, I have stocked both colors together and they seem to pay more attention to their own color. I never saw any cross breeding or even any attempts by the fish to cross breed.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think if you do a search on white labs or nkata bay (right?) you will see lots of references to avoiding the combination due to cross breeding.


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## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

I don't mind crossbreeding, thanks to my clean up crew! 

But, they are a different fish, not just a color pigment variation...right? :?


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## jaq855 (May 29, 2007)

They are the same fish. Like Lion's Cove II labs are the same species they just have a color variation that makes them yellow with a white underbelly.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

sasquatch-exists said:


> I don't mind crossbreeding, thanks to my clean up crew!
> 
> But, they are a different fish, not just a color pigment variation...right? :?


They are considered different geographic races of the same species. In nature the white type is suppossed to be much more widespread. Some areas have Labs that have some yellow and some white. The nice Yellow ones come from the Lions Cove area.

The white Labs are nice aquarium fish, and should be a little more common. The adult males are more of a nice shiny white, maybe a metallic blue tint but calling them blue seems like an exaggeration from what I remember.


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## sasquatch-exists (Feb 25, 2009)

So they are different fish, of the same species? Like red zebras and cobalt zebras?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

sasquatch-exists said:


> So they are different fish, of the same species? Like red zebras and cobalt zebras?


No, Cobalt (Metriaclima callainos) and Red Zebras (Metriaclima estherae) are considered different if similar species.

But Metriaclima callainos has different races, a Cobalt Blue race and a Pearly White race. :?

Yes, it is confusing. And the Red Zebra in nature lives along another Blue zebra type called "Blue Reef" that is yet another species different from the Cobalt and Red Zebra!


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