# L. labeotropheus trewavasae mpanga red



## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Video of my male that finally has matured. Very nice different colour then most Africans and good addition to the tank


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## Kleovoulos (Jan 6, 2011)

wow very nice fish !!!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Great looking fish


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## AlmightyJoshaeus (May 2, 2013)

Finally, a truly red/Orange Mbuna!


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Very nice male! Thanks for sharing.
Holding female in there too.

I had a group of these, but my male never quite attained that full red-orange color that yours did.
I've heard from someone else that perhaps not all males reach that full color, maybe I got a dud (but even still he looked neat)
What are you feeding them? Anything out of the ordinary?


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Kanorin said:


> Very nice male! Thanks for sharing.
> Holding female in there too.
> 
> I had a group of these, but my male never quite attained that full red-orange color that yours did.
> ...


Thanks  I think I got a good batch as I have a smaller male that might even be nicer then this one. I'm using Omega Super Color Cichlid Pellets. I've used every food out there and personally wasn't thrilled with Omega's flake food but this pellet is insane. I've always used great foods but the colours on my fish are different level and the change was immediate...not 6 weeks later. My red by red zebras look like strawberrys lol.


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## cumbrianewbie (Jul 25, 2013)

Wow, he looks great.

I have a male in my tank with my Saulosi. He is not anywhere near that colour though. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what colour I would describe him as really.

He is a kind of orangey, brown with a purple tint. Good size now as well, he must be around 4" long and the biggest fish in the tank.

I have assumed he hasn't coloured up properly for two reasons:

He isn't the tank boss - one of the Saulosi males is
I only have one Mpanga female in there with him after I lost one 

Although, I don't feed a very expensive food to them. Does it really make that much difference ?

My Saulosi have coloured up nicely without any mega expensive food so far


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

cumbrianewbie said:


> Wow, he looks great.
> 
> I have a male in my tank with my Saulosi. He is not anywhere near that colour though. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what colour I would describe him as really.
> 
> ...


I would say a good colour enhancing food should help. I've seen some too that were kind of peachy and yellowish but not as intense as my male. The addition of another female or two may help also. My guy is probably around 5 inches.


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## cumbrianewbie (Jul 25, 2013)

Late reply I know - I'm just back from holiday abroad.

I agree about the extra females Marconi. The problem is that I got the first ones mail order from a specialist breeder. I can't find any Mpanga in my local area and I'm loathe to spend £20 on postage for three fish worth around the same 

As for the food, I may have to go with the popular choice and order some NLS food at some point !


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## miDnIghtEr20C (Aug 13, 2013)

I have one of these guys I bought from Live Fish Direct... he's starting to get some red now finally! Bought a Male.. and he's starting to finally color. Yours look great!


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## cumbrianewbie (Jul 25, 2013)

Just uploaded a pic of my Male:


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Also nice!


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## ILCichlid (Feb 27, 2012)

Naturally this species is more of the orange rusty coloration like cumbrians. The bright red versions are linebred for that feature and not a natural site in the wild.


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## cumbrianewbie (Jul 25, 2013)

Well, I've now taken the plunge and added some extra female Mpanga.

I did have 1M and 1F. I now have 5 females in the tank. They all arrived at a really good size as well, as some are as big as my male and he is around 4 - 5 inches.

They are all fed exclusively on NLS pellets now, which will hopefully help my male develop his colour a little more.

Just to clarify, after ILCichlid mentioned the line breeding, the breeder I got mine from here in the UK has supposedly already line bred his stock to a degree. The pics he has of males on his site are a lot more red than mine, but it's hard to know if that is just due to editing of the photo or other such trickery :-?


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

cumbrianewbie said:


> Just uploaded a pic of my Male:


Nice potential there


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## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

Beautiful I had a group a long time ago and they are great looking fish.


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## cumbrianewbie (Jul 25, 2013)

I just thought you might like a look at this pic.

I had some extra females delivered from the same supplier who provided my original Mpanga. My wife had a surprise when they arrived as one bag contained a mum and four little freebie surprises 



They are currently very happy in my fry tank with the slightly bigger Saulosi


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