# Labidochromis caeruleus "Ruarwe" group



## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Just picked up 16 Labidochromis caeruleus "Ruarwe" from a very reliable source Spencer Jack. Super stoked about them. The colour is spectacular on all of them already with zero white on the bellies. They're still young, 1.5-1.75" right now. Really looking forward to working with these.

Here's a quick pic from my iPhone as they were floating in the bag a few days ago. 









And a few pics with my dSLR a few days later (today). (Sorry, remote flash batteries were dead so I had to make do without a flash)

























Spencer also had your standard Electric Yellows (not hybrids) and the colour difference was quite apparent. Definitely more of an orangey-yellow in the Ruarwe.

I also picked up 5 Nkhata Bay Labidochromis caeruleus (1.5") to house in a different tank. Hoping to get both groups going. They'll both be in single species only tanks. Amazing the contrast in colour between the two varieties. The white labs are stunning for being a white fish.

Will update with pics when they get settled in more and start putting some weight on. Been doing daily 5-gallon water changes on both tanks for the time being. I'm visiting from BC and then I'll be driving 2,000kms back west with fish in tow.

Nick


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Here's a couple pics of a F0 male and a F1 female from France 
http://www.malawicichlides.fr/labidochromis-caeruleus-ruarwe-t294.html

















Here's a pic of a male from Cichlid Lovers.









Hoping mine turn out half as good as these!!


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

NICE COLOR!!! Beauts!!


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Thanks! Ya they're pretty stunning!


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Another shot of them from today.









Shot of one of the Nkhata Bay whites. These guys are still pretty small.


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## Ofir.App (Mar 12, 2014)

Excellent fish! :thumb:


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Well the group made the journey home with zero casualties. 16hr drive in a bucket. They're settling in now with 5 Synodontis multipuncatus. Will update with pics over the next couple weeks.


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

NLaferriere said:


> Well the group made the journey home with zero casualties. Will update with pics over the next couple weeks.


The "heck" with your pics, I want some fry. 

JK.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Hahaha. I'm power feeding and doing 3 x 25% water changes per day to get them going quicker. The males have started setting up their territories and getting going. Unfortunately the dominant male is the best looking of the group. I'm just picky and two of the other males have better markings. I'll likely move the dominant male out and give one of the others a chance at the crown.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Update:

I've moved a few of the males out of the main tank and into a secondary tank. I chose the nicest male of the group to be my main breeder male and put him in with the rest of the grow-outs. I'm still power-feeding and doing 3x25% water changes daily. I forgot how slow Labidochromis grow... :?

Still not sure how many females I'll end up with out of the 16 I got. Time will tell I guess.

Here's a couple pics from tonight. No flash or colour editing done on these photos. Shot with Canon 6D and 100mm Macro. Detail could have been better had I used flash but I can't seem to figure out how to get my external flash working again. :? 
Dominant Male









Female


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

What is the length of that male? Looks a tad skinny to me.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

He's about 2-inches and I recently moved him from a tank where I had only males. I was giving the smaller ones a chance to catch up in size. He was the smallest male and got picked on. Now he's dominant and will likely start packing on some weight. I'll try to get a picture of him all flared up.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Pic from tonight of the dominant male.


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

Looking good. Lots of water changes and several small feedings per day should fatten him up in no time!


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Yep. 30% water changes daily. Females are all looking pretty plump now with visible swollen vents. Shouldn't be too long now before they start spawning.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

First spawn is underway. Female's vent was protruding this morning which generally means you can expect a spawn within the next 24hrs. Not expecting her to hold to term on his first try but glad to see they're figuring things out.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Holding Female


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

The Ruarwe were at it again today after a 50% water change. I noticed again this morning that one of the females was very gravid and her oviposter was quite swollen. Within an hour of doing the water change and they were at it.

There's one more female that is quite gravid so hopefully they get going pretty good. Sadly out of the 16 that I purchased it appears there's only 3 females.

From the first spawn the female only had 4 fry which are finishing off their yolk sacs in an egg tumbler. They're about 2 weeks old now. The female of these fry was the largest of the three females but I think it was lack of experience. They'll figure it out.

Dominant male

















Holding Female


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Third female spawned today. She's barely 2-inches long so I'm not expecting many fry. haha. First female spit only 4 fry. So I have two females holding now, 2 days apart.


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

Nice, now need a way for you to sneak some across the border south to us/US.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Haha, thanks tanker3. Well if you're ever up this way you're welcome to grab some.

I just stripped the two holding females and got about 12 more fry. So I'm up to 16 fry. Not a lot but a great start considering it was their first go at spawning. I stripped the two females as they looked like they were starting to struggle to breath as the fry were growing. lol It's no wonder considering they both had hefty mouthfuls for their size.

Females and fry are all doing great. Females are already starting to pack on some weight.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Any updates on this?

Sucks about your ratios. Been there. Hopefully there's a couple girls yet to show themselves.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Females are fattening back up, one is probably a week from spawning again. Fry are doing good although quite shy. 
No other females, just the three.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

Well that didn't take long. As of this morning, the largest female is holding for the second time. Unlike the other two, she seems a bit conservative with how many eggs she'll hold. Last spit was 4 so we'll see how many she's got this time in a couple weeks.


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## NLaferriere (Jan 15, 2015)

A quick update. 
Breeding has been like clockwork. The two smaller females hold within 2 days of one another and the larger female is typically ready to go when the smaller ones spit.

There's about 40-50 fry growing out right now, plus 8 more that I just stripped yesterday. The largest fry is nearly an inch long already.

We just bought a new house so we'll be moving in a couple weeks and I plan on setting things up a little different once we're settled in. Just mostly thinning the herd in the Ruarwe tank, moving out the Acei to their own tank with only Cuckoo Cats for tankmates.


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