# Fuelleborni marmalade cat..?



## Bubbles407 (Jan 10, 2012)

Okay so I recently bought 4 "fuellborni marmalade cats" and I'm curious if that means there all male..? Cause I thought that marmalade was a fancy way of saying ob.... There is one that is blue with a bit of orange on top (I'm assuming its a male without ob) two with ob morph that have red on top and one that is a bit darker but not ob, is there a chance I have at least one female? and jw what collection point are the marmalade cats from? Just in case I could buy some females in the future. There all about 2.5 inches just showing color as well.

Thanks for all help

Bubbles


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Have you already seen this?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_fuelleborni.php


----------



## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

At several different sites in the lake many Lab fuelleborni females have the OB color morph. The genetics of this trait work out that it is _usually_ passed down only to female offspring, however, about 1-2% of the time the gene switches spots such that a male can inherit it. At these sites in the wild, divers report that 1-2% of male fish have the OB trait.

Because the male OB fish (called marmalade cats) look really cool and sell well, some breeders started selectively breeding those OB males and through several generations of line breeding have developed lines whose male offspring have a >49% chance of carrying the OB gene. Often, close to 100% of females will carry the OB gene in this line, but it depends on their breeding scheme. The name they use is misleading because "marmalade cat" is often the term used for male OB, but in this case it just means OB.

Long story short - the fish you received are likely not all male. I'd guess that the 2 standard "BB" fish are non-OB males and your OB fish could be either males or females. These Lab. Fuelleborni could be from several collection points (possibly even a mix of several collection points). I'd proabably call up the breeder/vendor to ask them 1) if the fish come from a single collection point, and 2) what % of males and females are OB.

Hope that helps!


----------



## jaehovius (Feb 9, 2013)

Try venting the fish to confirm the sex. If they are full size or close to adult size you will need to look at the 2 pores just before the anal fin. The first is for the reproductive products - ie: eggs/sperm and the second is for the waste. If they are both tiny and the same size then its likely you are looking at a male. If there is a visible size difference - need larger opening for the eggs than you would for microscopic sperm - then you are likely looking at a female. Takes some practice but can be a very good way to sex mouthbrooders that don't always show obvious sexual dimorphism.


----------

