# Yellow lab fry??



## lilyicu (Jan 27, 2007)

I have not breed cichlids before and was not trying to make an attempt. I thought that I had an all male tank and I seem to have missed a female yellow lab. She released 8 fry that I have removed from the main tank. How do I know who the "baby daddy is"? Most of my tank is all peacocks. I do have 4 yellow labs. Will they cross-breed? I am not planning on selling them. I will keep them for myself. Right now they are so small I can't tell who they look like. They are all a pale yellow with no spots or marks on them. Thank you. :fish:


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

The father is probably one of the _L. caeruleus_. Are there any other mbuna in this tank?


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## lilyicu (Jan 27, 2007)

I have 1 Pseudotropheus crabro that is large enough to eat her if he wanted to and a 3 inch cynotilapia afra. All of the rest are either labs or peacocks.


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

Hybrids with any of the other fish would be pretty obvious, I think you're pretty safe to assume they're pure _L. caeruleus_. Let them get to an inch or so before you distribute any if you plan on it. They should look like ordinary _L. caeruleus_ by then.

Don't count out any of the remaining three of being female. _L. caeruleus_ are near impossible to accurately sex without venting, you may still have one or two.


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## lilyicu (Jan 27, 2007)

Thank you. I don't plan on distributing any of them. I plan on keeping them. Thanks


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## Matts_Cichlids (Jul 29, 2007)

Bloody cross breeding! My yellow lab gets knocked up every second time by my johanni but I just cant get rid of him as he was the first fish I ever owned.


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## lilyicu (Jan 27, 2007)

Right now they are still a pale yellow color. I'm hoping they all end up looking their mom. :thumb:


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## Dizzcat (Aug 26, 2008)

They will be a pale yellow, maybe even a pinkish until they get bigger. Mine are a month and 2 weeks (about 3/4") and they are still very pale, and starting to show their black markings. I have 2 living in the main tank that are very yellow, but all the ones in the fry tank are pale. I am thinking because the two in the main tank don't have to spar with all the rest and my bulb is a different spectrum lighting that the two in the main tank are so bright. The ones in the fry tank also show a lot of barring when they eat. I KNOW the father is my beautiful male lab because I watched the spawn. The mama is a white belly morph, so the big batch may stay pale. There is also a batch in the fry tank from a deep yellow mama, some are pale still and some are turning a deep yellow (they are 3 weeks now).

Here is the "kids" in the fry tank. 









And this guy is in the main tank, see how bright he is? 









I also took some smaller river rocks and made piles in each corner for the fry. The adults can't fit in the piles. I do have a mama holding again, but she will have to spit in the main tank because the fry tank is full.

The right corner is the small rock pile:


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## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

Great idea about the little rock piles. I dont have a fry tank (or fry yet either for that matter!) but I'll probably try that first! Thanks!


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## lilyicu (Jan 27, 2007)

Thank you for the idea about the rocks. When I put them in their own tank I will do that. I still have them in the main tank in a hard plastic breeder container with lots of plants for hiding spots. I was worried about doing a water switch with them being so small. I was going to let them get just a little bigger and them put them into a 10g tank on their own.


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