# ID this mbuna, please!



## efors (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi, folks!
I will try to download some pics of this fish. First, let me tell you that there have been controversy around this 2 1/2 inches long juvenile mbuna. It was sold to me as a rusty (I. sprengerae) and have been in my 55gal tank for 6 weeks. I think he is the most dominant fish in the whole tank, where he lives with rusties, yellow labs, yellow tail aceis and albino socolofis (all juvies). He just chases every fish a little bit; but the rusties are chased with more enthusiasm.
Now, I'm not sure he is a rusty. A friend thinks he is a young male kenyi, other thinks it is a female saulosi and other thinks he is a male msobo or a male saulosi which has not colored up yet.
Can you ID this mbuna for me, please? :-? 
Thanks for your help!!!


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I would have to say no to the I. sprengerae, Met. lombardoi, and Ps. saulosi. Not sure about the Met. msobo - haven't had them.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

definately not a rusty, could be a golden lab. They're yellow labs with a more gold tinge, and minus the black bar


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

BurgerKing said:


> definately not a rusty, could be a golden lab. They're yellow labs with a more gold tinge, and minus the black bar


What they are in fact are hybrids. _M. estherae_ crossed with _L. caeruleus_. I think this is what you have here as well.


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## efors (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks for your replies, folks!
Do you think this hybrid can become too aggressive or cause some kind of problem in the near future, if he stays in my 55g tank setup described earlier? What must I do with him, then?
Thanks, again! :thumb:


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

Hybrids will always be unpredictable. No one can predict what the temperament of any hybrid will be, but I've never heard of this particular mix being any more aggressive than _L. caeruleus_. If he gets along with the rest of the tank, then keep him.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Well he is definitely not a rusty.

He has similar coloration to my male kenyi, however he does not have the metriaclima body shape. They have a distinct head shape IMO


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## efors (Jun 10, 2008)

I appreciate your help, Joe!
Well as I have already said, he appears to be the most dominant fish in the whole tank and shows that to every fish. At this moment, no big issues have occurred; but I'm worried from what I am seeing, of possible bigger issues in the future. What about possible fights for the yellow lab females?


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## efors (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi, bac3492!
Are you suggesting the possibility that this fish can be a kenyi hybrid?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

possibly. I would say the most likely thing is the red zebra-yellow lab hybrid. They are everywhere, and known to be agressive


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Were you wanting to salvage any fry from this tank? That might impact your decision on what to do with him.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You also want to keep in mind that hybrids are more prone to disrupt your breeding amongst your other species, so DJR has raised a valid point. This guy (as your most dominant fish) may interrupt spawns between your pure species, so unless you witness a spawn (and believe me, they can go on for hours) you won't be able to trust any of them to be pure.

I had a group of ""that had some estherae in them - you could not tell it by looking at them, they looked like very nice Yellow labs, but the dominant male was a terror, which was my first indication that something wasn't right. The next indication came when they produced a group of fry that were split down the middle - half of them looked like your fish, the other half looked like perfect yellow labs.


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## efors (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks to all of you for a really great help!!! =D> 
I think I will return him to my LFS.


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