# Metriaclima msobo Female Vs Metriaclima lombardoi Male



## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

Can you tell the difference between a Metriaclima msobo Female Vs Metriaclima lombardoi Male? They seem to look the same. Can anyone post some pictures?

In Konings book there seem to be a slight blue tint on the fin of the lombardoi.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Wow, that's a tough call for someone with my eye/lack of experience.

From pictures I can access on http://www.malawi-dream.info/Maylandia_lombardoi.htm and http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery/species.php?s=2458 (a subscription site) it looks as if the lombardoi _might_ have lips that jut out from the face a little more...

kevin

EDIT: Bah! Konings' 4th doesn't even have a profile shot of the male Kenyi! But after looking at it and the 2nd of Back to Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids, it appears to me that the msobo females have fairly solid yellow colouring in their fins, whereas the lombardoi males seem to have more translucent finnage. But perhaps that because I haven't seen many pictures of female msobo with flared fins...


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

female msobo tend to be completely yellow... Although not all are. I have a female who has held that has blue in her dorsal... Post a pic if ur in question of which is which. It should be pretty easy to tell, I kept male kenyi a LONG time ago and they dont look that much like my msobo females


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## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

justinf67 said:


> I have a female who has held that has blue in her dorsal...


How is her coloration like when she is stressed or excited?


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

pretty-nifty said:


> How is her coloration like when she is stressed or excited?


same. She is still yellow/orange. I think shes the only one with any eggspots as well. She has the blue in the dorsal at all times


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Fairly easy to differentiate. Kenyi males show barring.
It will depend on the angle and how much exposure there is, overexposure or flash will wash out the barring, difficult to see on some of the profile pics here.


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## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

justinf67 said:


> same. She is still yellow/orange. I think shes the only one with any eggspots as well. She has the blue in the dorsal at all times


This particular one I picked up turns a bit darker on the upper part of her body so it looks like a brown kind of. I'll try to post a pic.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

The kenyi male will likely show some vertical barring - at least temporarily from time to time. The Metriaclima sp. Msobo (Magunga) females should never have distinct vertical bars. Rather, msobo females will sometimes show some blotchy or regional blue/brown coloration in their face and dorsal fin.


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## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

Here's a photo.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

vs a male kenyi (can't remember if this is my sub-dom male or not)


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

pretty-nifty said:


> Here's a photo.


This is without a doubt a Metriaclima sp. Msobo
It might be a female, but I think it's probably a male just beginning to go through its color change. Msobo males color up much later than most mbuna - usually at about 2 inches or even as late as 2.5 inches.


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## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

Kanorin said:


> This is without a doubt a Metriaclima sp. Msobo
> It might be a female, but I think it's probably a male just beginning to go through its color change. Msobo males color up much later than most mbuna - usually at about 2 inches or even as late as 2.5 inches.


Oh, so they don't start out blue for the males? You're certain because you don't see the barring? (as the previous picture posted above) It's temperment is certainly not as I'm thinking a kenyi would be just from reading everyone's posts. I also thought that msobo females are all yellow and no hind of blue...


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

My 3-4" Kenyi don't act any different than my Zebras. Not sure I'd judge on behavior.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

> Oh, so they don't start out blue for the males? You're certain because you don't see the barring? (as the previous picture posted above) It's temperment is certainly not as I'm thinking a kenyi would be just from reading everyone's posts. I also thought that msobo females are all yellow and no hind of blue...


All juvenile Msobos are orange/yellow. Males begin to turn brownish at around 2 inches or slightly larger and it takes them about 3-5 months to completely change color from orange to the blue-splotched pattern that makes them so distinct.

I see three bars on his/her face - this is normal for a msobo (especially a maturing male). And I see a horizontal bar across the dorsal - also normal. But msobos will not have vertical barring anywhere else.

Here's a picture of my male Met. Msobo when he was about 2.25" (about 1 year ago).


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## pretty-nifty (Nov 4, 2009)

Kanorin, do you have pictures of your trewavasae (from your signature)? I'm curious to see how that one looks like.


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

I agree its def a msobo in the picture. I also agree that its a male starting the color change. The horizontal bars on the snout area give it away for me as most likely a male. Kanorin is right, they start the chnage very late. I have had one (my current dominant male) not start the change till around 3 inches. He turned VERY quickly in comparison tho, only took him a couple months.

Pretty-Nifty, the pic in his avatar is a cynotilapia afra nkhata bay.... A very beautiful one at that, lol... My f1 doesnt have as much yellow blaze as Kanorins tho... Great fish, breeds a lot too


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

pretty-nifty said:


> Kanorin, do you have pictures of your trewavasae (from your signature)? I'm curious to see how that one looks like.


This is the Trewavasae male from about 3 months ago. He's got a bit more orange coloration on him now.








And this is a female:


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