# blue mbuna?



## jbob (Jan 1, 2009)

can someone help me identify this fish? please and thankyou. iunno if i posted the images correctly.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

Looks like Melanochromis joanjohnsonae male just finishing the change to adult colors. But the vertical barring is throwing me off, might be a hybrid. Did it used to be silver with orange and blue stripes horizontally?


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## jbob (Jan 1, 2009)

etcbrown said:


> Looks like Melanochromis joanjohnsonae male just finishing the change to adult colors. But the vertical barring is throwing me off, might be a hybrid. Did it used to be silver with orange and blue stripes horizontally?


no it was always like this ever since i got it at around 1.5 inches.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

Well, 1.5 inches is "sometimes" large enough for a melanochromis male to change to adult coloration particularly if he is the dominant fish or at least not chased incessantly by others.

If I had to put money on it I would say it is a melanochromis joanjohnsonae crossed with something else.


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## eddy (Jan 16, 2009)

Looks like a Labidochromis caeruleus to me. The most popular is the yellow lab but they come in blue as well.

Actually the word caeruleus means blue.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

eddy said:


> Looks like a Labidochromis caeruleus to me. The most popular is the yellow lab but they come in blue as well.
> 
> Actually the word caeruleus means blue.


 Sorry but not even close in my opinion. And I would be very interested in seeing pics of a blue caeruleus. I've seen many shades of caeruleus but never one nearly as "blue" as the OP's fish.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Blue Labidochromis caeruleus "Nkali" I think as requested. :wink: 








But there are many more blue (and bluish white) morphs I think.

But wheather there is much chance of picking one of these guys up by accident I do not know.
They are highly sort after, expensive and thus well labeled I think.

Sorry hybrid is I think more likely for a guy that just happens to look like a blue caeruleus.


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

Yes 24, I have seen the caeruleus like the one pictured that look very much like labidochromis chisumulae (in fact that one looks just like my own male chisumulae). But if you were to ask me, I would say that fish is white with black barring and a hint of blue, just my opinion though. Thanks for the pic, it's a very nice specimen!


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## eddy (Jan 16, 2009)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1670

I don't know how hard they are to get but they are actually more common in the wild than the yellow morph. I almost bet that fish has some Labidochromis caeruleus genes.

Possibly Zebra/Lab


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

wow this looks like the fish i cant identify that i have .. got it at lfs. Is your fish overly aggressive.??? Mine is. The only difference is that mine has only 3 eggs on anal fin


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## straitjacketstar (Mar 8, 2004)

I agree with male M. joanjohnsonae. The bright orange eggspots and last trace of orange line pattern on the caudal peduncle shows it.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

The most commonly thought og of the blue Lab Caeruleus is the Nkhata Bay variant. They have the same black markings as the yellow ones

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1667


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## DragonGT83 (Apr 3, 2005)

Melanochromis joanjohnsonae


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## etcbrown (Nov 10, 2007)

MalawiLover said:


> The most commonly thought og of the blue Lab Caeruleus is the Nkhata Bay variant. They have the same black markings as the yellow ones
> 
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1667


 And if you look at every picture of a Nkhata Bay caeruleus in the wild they are either white or yellow. I suppose that when males are in breeding dress they could take on a blue hue. I suspect that the blue in that first photo may be enhanced by artificial lighting.


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## DragonGT83 (Apr 3, 2005)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=759 this is what it is.


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## DragonGT83 (Apr 3, 2005)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=759 this is what it is.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

hmmm, I have one that looks just like it but with MUCH darker barring, including a bar that goes from head to tail as well as the vertical bars, and allot more blue...other than that looks exactly the same as a Melanochromis joanjohnsonae, so probably some sorta hybrid as well...hmmm...


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I dunno anything about the frequency of blue caeruleus in the US. Kind of just guessing from the frequency in the UK.
I think the Labidochromis joanjohnsonae
http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery.php?ge ... idochromis
as a major input into this fish is a good theory. No way can we tell for sure. opcorn: but as it was blue when young (unlike joanjohnsonae) then it kind of leads credence to a blue caeruleus being a major part of its make up?


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