# Baby Labs



## Norse76 (Jul 20, 2008)

Just purchased some baby labs via the net. Received them early Saturday morning. They are now in my 40g holding tank.

They are real lively, and a real joy to watch. They remain in a school as they swim, for now lol.


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## jjleetest (Mar 12, 2009)

look to be hybrids:X


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I see black on the fins of some of them...do they all have black on their fins?


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## Norse76 (Jul 20, 2008)

Super Turtleman said:


> I see black on the fins of some of them...do they all have black on their fins?


Yes, my camera isnt the greatest in the world. 



jjleetest said:


> look to be hybrids:X


If they are hybrids then one of the breeders that advertises on this forum isnt really reputable :wink:


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## PitBully (Apr 14, 2009)

They look good to me.


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## Nor Cal Cichlid (Oct 24, 2007)

PitBully said:


> They look good to me.


X2


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

Any chance of a larger picture?

They appear to be ok.


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## jjleetest (Mar 12, 2009)

sry all i saw/see is a pure yellow fish


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I can for sure see black in the fins of 2 and they are a great yellow color. If they all have black and it just isn't showing up in the pic, I wouldn't worry at all. I think they look great.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

You know, people are complaining about this forum, and I 'm starting to see why. Maybe we should be sure of what we are seeing, and be happy for those who are excited to share fish with us, before jumping on the hybrid bandwagon. Just my 02.


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## BoostedX (Mar 1, 2009)

Congrats on the new fish. They look good to me. I just picked up some labs myself. They stayed in a school until they got comfortable then they broke up and are roaming the tank freely now.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

They don't look like hybrids to me, they look just like mine did. Enjoy! :thumb:


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## willny1 (Nov 17, 2008)

For those who are shouting hybrid, lets see your yellow labs.

Anyway. I have a batch of labs growing out myself. Your fish look good. I love when they run up to the glass.


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## jjleetest (Mar 12, 2009)

you guys are far too sensitive. i have a hybrid yellow lab myself, granted it could be the picture but i don't see any black on any of them.


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

Floridagirl, from what I see only one person said they were hybrids. Everyone else said they looked fine or asked questions about the fish because the pic did not show them well enough to form an educated opinion.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Sorry.  This was just one post that had the same tone I'd been seeing on several others, and I couldn't hold my tongue (or fingers). I like this site because it is informative, and usually very nice peope here. A few have become way too judgemental for their own good. With any luck, i didn't just cross that line myself. :?

BTW Norse. Nice fish. I hope that you enjoy them.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Remember everyone... "hybrid" is only an insult if you choose to accept it as one.

jjleetest posted what he thought he saw in a very small photo. I see no problem with any of his posts. In fact, he deserves a thank you for having a thick skin. It's those who can take disagreements as well as jjleetest did that make a forum a good place for discussions.

Let's get back to discussing the yellow labs in the photo now... thanks!


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

look fine to me :-?


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I agree Number6, good point.

I also agree that if they all have the black on the fins, then they are some good looking labs.


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## Buckeyereavis (Jun 20, 2008)

Hey Yall My Yellow Labs Had fry 2 weeks ago maybe 3 and they are getting bigger now, but all yellow when will they get the black on fins, when should i put them in the larger tank?>


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I can;t really give you a timeline on when the black will show up. If they're not hybrids it will show up eventually.

I can't tell you when to put them in the larger tank until I know what that tank has in it.


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Back to the original post: I can definitely see black on at least 3 of the fish in the picture.
They look nice.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My lab fry sometimes *looked* all yellow, but even at birth some had black on top and bottom fins (at birth). And, if you looked really closely...even to the point of netting the fish and getting your eye an inch away...you could always see very slightly darker pigmentation just along the top edge of the dorsal.

I have a very clean strain, no barring, bearding or mustaches even on adult males that are years old. I think they just supress the color being timid. The older they get, the more black on all fins you see. It's not that it's "growing in". They are turning it on more often.

So I agree that the truly all yellow ones are hybrids, but you may have to really do an exam to determine they don't have the black dorsal stripe.


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## Norse76 (Jul 20, 2008)

All of them have black through the tops of their dorsals. They are Kakusa Electric Yellow Labs. All I have is a camera phone at the moment, so getting better quality picture is almost out of the question.

I was just showing my labs that I got online, and was happy with. It is rather disappointing for someone to shout out hybrid from one picture, a bad one at that. But like stated by Number6, its only a insult if the person take it as one. Although I do think some people are trigger happy when it comes to calling something a hybrid,especially with a limited evidence, but no offense was taken, I know what they are :wink:

But anyway, they are doing great. Its a blast watching them school around. These are the first group of real babies I have owned. I have 12 all together and they will end up in a 90 Gallon when the time comes. :thumb:

When I get a better camera, Ill post more pics later.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Norse76 said:


> Although I do think some people are trigger happy when it comes to calling something a hybrid,especially with a limited evidence, but no offense was taken,


agree, and thank you for taking it properly... it takes two to bicker!

Thanks Norse...and I'm jealous of the fish!


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## scottiefish (Jun 28, 2006)

I purchased a bakers dozen about a month ago. They are now about 3 months old, and only a couple have black stripes. I know these are not hybrids, as the parents are not. I am waiting to see if the rest develop the black. If i can get them to sit still :? , I will take a pic.


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

I have fry from yellow labs and two other species growing out right now - the yellow labs are among the smallest (about 3/4 of an inch). Originally I had them all in a 10 gallon, but it started getting crowded, so I bought an extra 2.5 gallon and put 9 of my smallest fry in there (including 3 yellow labs).

After less than a week, I notice that the black stripe on the dorsal fins of the labs in the 2.5 gallon are more prominent than the stripes of their siblings in the larger, more crowded tank. The 10 gallon tank has quite a few boisterous larger Maingano fry inhabiting it and the tank is generally quite active.

My hypothesis - Stress levels can influence the prominence of the black stripes on yellow labs. It's also possible that the ones in the smaller tank are getting more food and growing a bit faster. Further trials must be conducted.


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## Norse76 (Jul 20, 2008)

scottiefish said:


> I purchased a bakers dozen about a month ago. They are now about 3 months old, and only a couple have black stripes. I know these are not hybrids, as the parents are not. I am waiting to see if the rest develop the black. If i can get them to sit still :? , I will take a pic.


Hehe, good luck with getting them to set still. :lol:


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## willny1 (Nov 17, 2008)

blah... :lol:


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

scottiefish said:


> I purchased a bakers dozen about a month ago. They are now about 3 months old, and only a couple have black stripes. I know these are not hybrids, as the parents are not.


 it is not possible to look at a fish and say that they are "not" hybrids. 
You can only say, they do not appear to be hybrids, or you could even say that they are most likely not.

By 3 months, the line on the dorsal will be there... just might be very pale, but if it's not there at all e.g. the fish is obviously all yellow with no black anywhere, then I would suggest that they could be hybrids despite what you were told. Even if they came out of the "lake", all yellow is not normal... so rarer explanations aside, I'd say that the fish was a hybrid.


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## Bweb (Mar 31, 2009)

Currently I have 4 Yellow labs 2" long I have one dominant male and the largest one is holding those two have black on their fins all the time the slightly smaller two have black but it's not quite as brilliant I believe the less dominant they are the less they color up during feedings they all show bold black. Nice fish :thumb:


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## scottiefish (Jun 28, 2006)

I say i know these are not hybrids because i know this for a fact. I purchased these from a lady who has only this fish and breeds them. I actually picked this brood because of the particulary nice looking parents. While it may not be possible in some cases, it IS possible in this case to say mine are NOT hybrid. No offense taken.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

scottiefish said:


> I say i know these are not hybrids because i know this for a fact. I purchased these from a lady who has only this fish and breeds them. I actually picked this brood because of the particulary nice looking parents. While it may not be possible in some cases, it IS possible in this case to say mine are NOT hybrid. No offense taken.


Well, perhaps you can, but you certainly haven't shared a valid reason with me.

My thoughts are that unless you have personally traced your bloodline back to the lake itself and can trace multiple generations of pure breeding, you can never say that the bloodline is pure. All you can do is assume it's true, until some event makes you reject the group as breeders.

It's just one of the many reasons why I cannot be anti-hybrid. I prefer to breed true to species holotype, which means I shall avoid hybridization events in my care. You do the best you can, and cross your fingers on the rest. Hope that makes sense.


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## scottiefish (Jun 28, 2006)

I see your point. I will admit I cant prove this, so I will say that I dont think they are hybrid. I dont intend to breed them, just enjoy them.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

scottiefish, I've had tank raised yellow labs (from a reputable source) that I would have staked my life on being pure...But they weren't...

They looked amazing, but that didn't stop them from throwing fry that were obviously part estherae...

IMO, any yellow lab that doesn't show black on the dorsal by 3 months is suspect.

Of all the ones I've raised, I've never had any go more than 2 weeks before showing their black on the dorsal fin. Anything longer than that would be suspect for me.

And to the OP, the fish in the pic have great colouring. I would be concerned if any of them aren't showing black on the dorsal, just because of the intensity of their yellow. And for what it's worth, the "yellow lab" breeding group of questionable heritage that I mentioned above had the most amazing intensity of their colour I've ever seen...I was very thankful that I had never sold any fry from them as pure, that they were all still in a grow out tank when they produced the clutch that obviously _wasn't_ pure.

For this reason alone, I will never purchase yellow labs that aren't F1 and from a reputable breeder. You can't always tell, no matter how long you've been doing this...


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## LeeKai (May 1, 2009)

Good for you getting a lovely colony of electric yellows! they are one of my favorites... we have over 40 babies now and they are just so cute and fun to watch!! good luck with them! look forward to more pics


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## willny1 (Nov 17, 2008)

Fry


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## scottiefish (Jun 28, 2006)

Thanks folks. I have enjoyed the forum. Good wishes to all of you. Ciao.


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## Norse76 (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice fry willny1, mine are just a little older. They average around 3/4 to 1 inch at the moment, and all are now showing their black doral. Its hard as heck trying to get a picture of them, they are so camera shy. I even broke down and bought a new camera just to get pics of them, they see it and run :lol:

I started out with 12, and my brother wanted to start his own African tank, so I gave him half. I kept the best ones though, which helps me out in the long run since I am approaching my stock limit on my 90 and I still want to get some Dem's. :thumb:


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