# What color are wild caught yellow labs?



## lt1bbody (Sep 19, 2013)

I have 4 yellow labs. 2 males and 2 females. I also have 30 fry from them. I did a little research on the color of the one male I have. He has blue cheeks and barring. I read that it is a dominance thing. I also read that this coloring is something that occurs in the wild and that it has been breed out for the more vibrant yellow. Can someone clear this up for me?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I have also read the same thing. Seen pictures of wild caught males with the dark beards. Interested to see other comments on this...


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## Lifetime Journeyman (Sep 26, 2013)

I have a mature male who has silver blue cheeks and very faint bars, not nearly as dark as yours shows. Got him at a LFS.


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## ITALIAN926 (Jul 31, 2012)

I can't find any photos of wc labs that looks like yours. Why do u believe yours are wc?


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## lt1bbody (Sep 19, 2013)

ITALIAN926 said:


> I can't find any photos of wc labs that looks like yours. Why do u believe yours are wc?


I don't know if it was a wild caught one. I just read that they may look similar to mine. Most pictures of the yellow labs I've seen are solid yellow. I'm just curious on why there aren't many like mine.


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

Never seen such markings on the Wildcaughts around here. Have up to F3's from the still existing wildcaughts... nope, no markings there either.


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## loverland (Oct 7, 2013)

I haven't done this in a while (probably a couple years), but Ad Konings used to be very responsive with questions about Lake Malawi fish. I think he can be contacted via Cichlid News Press. Again, USED to be. But, he's confirmed species for me before.

We can speculate all day long on why fish A looks different from fish B, but you won't know for sure until you ask the master.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't believe that this sort of coloration is common in the wild. It's most likely the result of line breeding.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Seems to happen with large overgrown males.


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## Hock (Mar 23, 2012)

TBH, It looks like a hybrid.....


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Here's an old post talking about similar looking L. caeruleus. Some bickering going on but maybe some answers for you:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=239961


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## ITALIAN926 (Jul 31, 2012)

This should not be a debate at all. Yellow labs in the lake look like this, or are pure yellow. Which is it. Where are the malawi fisherman? Do they speak english?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

The question is whether males get that ugly look in nature, or just after many generations tank raised. Or to be honest, one wonders if there was a hybridization many generations ago. It is hard to be certain.

As few have actually seen them living in the Lake it is hard to know. Males are not supposed to be very dominant in nature either, like they can get in an aquarium, which may be a factor.

In captivity small Mbuna seem to get much larger than natural because they are much better fed. These ugly bearded males usually seem to be fat 5-6" monsters. They don't get that big in the Lake. A lot of supersized Malawi cichlids get less attractive as they get older and unnaturally big... maybe that is another factor here.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

There are quite a few wild yellow lab pics over at cichlidae.
Here's a tank full of wild Lion's Cove from the late Stuart Grant's fish room.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

noki said:


> They don't get that big in the Lake.


Not sure we really know that, only that what is typical and average in the wild is smaller then captivity.
Size of fish they collect would really depend where, when and how they collect. Never seen or heard of world records kept for largest mbuna in lake Malawi, so we have nothing to compare to.
That many aquarium fish get larger then average in captivity because of abundance of food and a lack of energy expenditure, is definitely true. That they actually get larger in captivity then they CAN get in the wild, I'm not convinced.
When large specimens are noted.....some food fish, sport fish, ect., fish in captivity never compare to that size, but still get larger then typical or average. For example, I see Parachromis managuense collected at 7-8". Apparently a fairly typical size in the wild. Of course most in captivity will easily exceed this size. The world record is 28", 15 lbs. I doubt they will ever grow one anywhere near that size in captivity, even in large public aquaria :lol: Larger then average, yes, but it definitely does not grow larger then it can in the wild!


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

BC in SK said:


> noki said:
> 
> 
> > They don't get that big in the Lake.
> ...


Really going by what Ad Konings says that the Haplochromines, especially the Malawi cichlids, can get much bigger and fatter in captivity. The pics from nature seem to back that up. Of course, there can be a stray old monster that he didn't see. I've read him say that Socolofi get twice as long in aquariums, 6", while in nature you don't seem them get much bigger than 3".

As for larger fish, it would make sense that aquarium size is a limiting factor at the higher end of size.

Then with some other types of fish they never adapt that well to aquarium life. 99.9% of captive Clown Loaches, Ghost Knives, many types of Catfish never get anywhere near the size of wild adults.


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## Schticky Schnauzer (Aug 2, 2013)

I dont think its ugly at all. Its actually pretty cool IMO. They look like lumberjacks. Lumberjack Labs.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

noki said:


> 99.9% of captive Clown Loaches, Ghost Knives, many types of Catfish never get anywhere near the size of wild adults.


Or it is because they are being compared to the exceptionally large, not typical or average. There are records kept of the largest mbuna? No. Or not that I know of :-? 
Not sure what kind of fishing pressure there is on species of mbuna, but if an exceptionally large one was caught, I would think a fisherman would make a meal out of it, and none of us would ever know!

I can find video in their natural habitat of all kinds of aquarium fish that are smaller then many aquarium specimens, including just about any species of CA cichlid. Because the really large are not that common. Another example, I read of collecting Jack Dempsey.....all 3-4". It is mentioned in the article that it is well known that larger can be caught on rod and reel. Size of fish is really dependant on where, when, how and even who is collecting.


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## loverland (Oct 7, 2013)

Ok. Case closed. Got a response from Ad Konings.

"I have never seen such a coloration in the wild and the blue cheek hints to a hybrid of one sort or another. Almost every color variant that is known from the lake is pictured on cichlidae.com. They range from all white to yellow with black trim, but none has a blue cheek. Also the snout seems a bit short for L. caeruleus. My best guess would be an hybrid, not a line-bred fish.

Enjoy your cichlids!
-Ad"


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## misterted (Sep 12, 2003)

I just saw this post. Pure Yellow Labs look exactly like the image shown in this thread from Stuart Grant's fish room.
You will NEVER find pure Yellow Labs in any LFS unless it is a real speacialty type shop that buys from a reputable source.
There are some excelelnt strains being kept and bred here on the East Coast by private aquarists. Always look for that brilliant color and black trim. Body is always solid with no barring at all.


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## Lushaquatics (Sep 15, 2013)

Labidochromis caeruleus come in many different colour forms in the wild, depending on the location. At Lion's cove they seem to have the most intense yellow. If i stand correct, I believe the name "caeruleus' actually means blue, since the first species collected were the whitish/bluish form.


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## misterted (Sep 12, 2003)

Lushaquatics said:


> Labidochromis caeruleus come in many different colour forms in the wild, depending on the location. At Lion's cove they seem to have the most intense yellow. If i stand correct, I believe the name "caeruleus' actually means blue, since the first species collected were the whitish/bluish form.


They also come in white and in Blue at different locales but the yellow are always the same.


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## CrazyCoolCichlids (May 19, 2013)

I've seen a tank before where there were at least 30+ yellow labs in it, and just about every male in the tank looked like that. I don't think it would have been a dominance thing in that tank, maybe just collection point or line breeding


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## ITALIAN926 (Jul 31, 2012)

30+ yellow lab hybrids ?


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## lt1bbody (Sep 19, 2013)

Thanks for all the good info. I am breeding my fish and don't want to have hybrids. Maybe I should not breed him. He hasn't breed yet luckily. Should I sell him so I don't have him breeding?


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## jphanton00 (Jan 5, 2013)

I posted the same question about my male:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=257041

You can read what the responses were. I rehomed two of the extra males so that he was the only male for 3 females and the black bearding and face markings as well as the blue went away. He still has a fair amount of black on him but he has since the day I got him from the moment he established himself as the dominant male. I also got mine from the LFS. He's my bully of the tank too. BUT everyone that sees my tank say he's their favorite so it goes without saying. I mean if you're going to be a breeder obviously you'd want a pure male for your breeding stock, but if he's just a pet then I wouldn't worry about it. I adore mine; hybrid, bully, or whatever he is.


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## jphanton00 (Jan 5, 2013)

Oh and here's the post I had regarding his black markings when I thought he might be a bumblebee or bumblebee hybrid.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=255530


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