# Post Cynotilapia Pictures!



## CichlidWhisperer

I wanted to create a post for Cynotilapia pictures... Please post any you have of your Cynos!


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## CichlidWhisperer

Cynotilapia afra Jalo Reef (my personal favorite)



















Cynotilapia sp 'Hara' (White top hara)



















Cynotiplapia sp 'Lion' Mara Rocks



















Cynotilapia afra Cobue albino (RIP)



















Cynotilapia sp 'Lion' Lions Cove (Pending)


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## CICHLUDED

My first Cobue (Gone)










My second Cobue










My third Cobue


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## nick a

What happened to your albino afra cobwe?









Cynotilapia sp 'lion' Lions Cove 









Cynotilapia sp 'mbamba' Mphanga Rocks (young F1 male)








WC male








WC female









Cynotilapia sp 'chinyankwazi' Chinyankwazi









Cynotilapia axelrodi Nkhata Bay









Cynotilapia sp 'hara'









Best pic I've got so far of C. sp 'lion' Sanga


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## Maddog

very beatiful pics guys!


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## khaki

Cynotilapia sp 'hara'


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## CichlidWhisperer

nick a


> What happened to your albino afra cobwe?


He is the only fish I have ever had die of bloat. Actually saved my C. Lion Mara Point who had bloat as well. The albino struggled in my hospital tank for almost a month with an increasing abdomen while I tried just about everything I could think of. I finally did the humane thing and put him out of his misery when he was on his side under a rock no longer able to swim.

BTW, I simply love your last picture.. He is beautiful! Being that you are in Texas, I am guessing you get most of your fish from Dave?


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## nick a

Sorry to hear about that! Yes, Dave probably gets tired of seeing me! :lol:

A few more:

C. afra Lupingu









C sp. 'elongatus taiwan' Taiwanee Reef (former Ps. see pg 71 4th ed)









C. sp. 'mbamba' Lundo


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## bac3492

Cynotilapia afra cobue









again









Cyno sp. hara

Picture does him very little justice. Just what i get for buying a crappy camera.


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## moonlight

Sorry for the bad pictures, but you can get the idea!

C. sp. 'mbamba' Lundo (wild)










Cyno Lion, Mara Rocks









Cynotilapia afra (Chitande)


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## moonlight

A better pic of the afra, Chitande


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## why_spyder

psh... I think I have the worst photos here... someday I'll get some better photos...

_C. afra_ Cape Kaiser (wild pair)









_C. afra_ Lupingu (F1)









_C._ sp. hara Gallireya Reef (F1)









_C._ sp. lion Cape Kaiser (wild male - no longer in possession)









_C._ sp. lion Lion's Cove (F1)









_C._ sp. mbamba Mphanga Rocks (F1)


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## Jeff W

No my camera sucks at taking pics of fish
Cynotalapia afra chewere F1









Breeding pair


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## Jeff W

Spyder I want some of those C. sp. lion Lion's Cove and C. sp. hara Gallireya Reef. I was hoping chazard had some fry but he hasn't got back to me.

Jeff


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## why_spyder

Jeff W said:


> I was hoping chazard had some fry but he hasn't got back to me.


Jeff, I'll have to get on his case about that... :lol: I'm still waiting for some fry to come from the Lion's Cove again, but I think I have a female or two of the _C._ sp. hara holding - I'll know for sure next waterchange.


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## Alisonj

Gorgeous fish everyone!


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## nick a

:drooling: Yeah keep 'em coming!
C sp lion Mara Rocks

















C afra Likoma

















C afra Cobwe


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## nick a

Almost forgot this one :wink: 
C afra Jalo Reef


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## bac3492

Nick A, your likoma are magnificent specimens. Maybe one day, I will have half as many cyno species as you.

I think that the Jalo will be my next attempt. That or if i can ever find ndumbi.

The thing i like the best about cynotilapia species is their unpopularity. I didnt want fish that you could find in a petco. Although most of the females are hideous, no other mbuna out there can match the coloration in an excited cynotilapia.


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## Jeff W

Spyder, sounds good to me. I have been going to Beloit wis. alot lately best friend dying from cancer. so its a few more miles to you so getting there is no problem. when ever you have some juvies I will take some.


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## why_spyder

bac3492 said:


> The thing i like the best about cynotilapia species is their unpopularity.


I am with you here, the ironic thing is that now they are gaining popularity - which is great! :thumb:


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## Jeff W

heres another cyno
Cyno. Afra Jalo Reef


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## why_spyder

Jeff - how many Jalo's do you have?


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## Jeff W

I have 5 now. Sold 6 but going to get more. One of the guys from GBAS breeds them. Haven't got mine to breed yet. He has dozens of them. All around 2 inches at $2.00 each


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## why_spyder

Sending PM to you Jeff.


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## nick a

Bet you're gonna get a LOT of PMs for those :lol: Excellent deal for a very nice fish!

bac3492, gathering this collection was the motivator to build the fishroom! 8) Couldn't keep this many types without it.

C afra Minos Reef









C afra Nkhata Bay


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## why_spyder

Nick's fishroom is 'The Doghouse' - the equivalent of the Godfather's home....(which makes Nick the Godfather of _Cynotilapia_)....


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## MbunaMan25

*nick a*

I wish I had your fish lol. 
I
have some Cynotilapia sp. hara Gallireya Reef, but I'm checking out some sources for some WC's. I also plan to get some WC Cynotilapia afra Jalo Reef some day.


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## CichlidWhisperer

nick a, I was wondering what you feed your cynos? Your colors are magnificent. My Lions are fairly brown instead of yellow. This could be due to them being young still, but thinking it might be the food.


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## moonlight

Nick (or anyone else), I would love to see more pictures of C afra Nkhata Bay, they are one of my favs. I can't wait till my little NB's grow a little more so I can take some bad pictures of them.


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## briansbelle

here is my reason for becoming a cyno nut!   i love these little guys. this is my only male cobue and i have 4 females for him. i am also growing out some hai reef fry right now, and also polits.my plan is to have my 75 be a polit/cobue only tank and the hai reef breeding group in my 30 gallon.










this pic is about 20 mins after i added him to the tank...


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## why_spyder

*CichlidWhisperer* - quality food and clean water goes a long way. If you can't get good colors from your fish with those two things, it may be time to consider finding a better quality strain.


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## pilotscove

Hai Reef








chinyanwazi








charo








axelrodi








Lundu pt








lions cove








likoma








cape kaiser








chimate








sand sanga








cobue


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## why_spyder

Still have all those in your tanks? Looks like a rivalry for the top collector around here...

:lol:


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## moonlight

Haven't seen those pics on aquabid in a while  Great looking fish....


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## Jeff W

you guys are making me want to give up my Aulonocaras and go to more cynos. guess i will have to add more tanks.


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## CichlidWhisperer

why_spyder,

I am feeding Dianichi food, but recently was told that the Color FX may be making the yellows more brown because of the krill. I am switching to Color Supreme, but wondering if this is the reason my two Lions (Lion's Cove and Mara Rocks) seem not as bright of a yellow as some of the others I see here... Anyone have experience or knowledge about this issue?


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## khaki

enjoy! opcorn:


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## nick a

CichlidWhisperer, I'm not sure if the food is the deal? I feed all my fish a bulk flake food I get from some local suppliers and a combination of pellets --including Dainichi color fx/color supreme/primary krill/NLS/ some Hikari /etc...

I put all the pellets in a largish tupperware dealie all mixed together--so it's random but varied what each fish gets every day :thumb:

Did you ever get to see the parents of the fish you got? If you're sure they're from good stock, then I'd definitely vary up the diet and try to resort the populations to see if pecking order position is playing a role in the coloration?

Pecking (intra/inter species) order can have a huge impact on how these guys show. The male in the box used to display brilliant yellows/blues while the one outside was plain & drab--Within 1/2 hour the patterns were entirely reversed.


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## CichlidWhisperer

nick a,

I think you hit it on the head when you said it might be due to pecking order. I have an all male mbuna tank, so there is always going to be issues regarding that. In general I have been pretty lucky with most fish displaying great colors. These two fish are definitely low in the pecking order. The Mara Rocks was the smallest in the tank until I added 4 from my grow out tank of which the smallest was the Lion's Cove... so it is quite possible this is the issue. I used to use a much more mixed diet as you do (although not quite the same mix) and I think I will go back to this in any case. As for the stock, I did not actually see the parents as I got them through the mail, but I got them from the most reputable dealer in the US (IMO) and so trust that they are from good stock. Thanks for your thoughts, they have been very helpful and reassuring.


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## knotty dreadlocks

i cant wait till my jalo reefs get more of their color theyre only about 1.5-2" right now


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## traderumors

I just have to say that this topic is AWESOME! I'm new to cyno's with only a juvie group of Nhkata Bay, but can see why everyone loves 'em.

Shawn


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## nick a

The genus really has some HOT fish in it. Small size + big personality=great fish :thumb: 
With the types that were added to the Cyno family in Ad's 4th ed., there's something for everyone.

bac3492, besides having really nice looking males the afra Likoma females are reasonably attractive and different enough looking to make that variant worth keeping.









Moonlight, the NBs are one of the hardest for me to get good shots of. Here's the best from my attempts this weekend :roll:









Another shot of everybodys favorite afra--cobwe!


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## gtphale

Awesome fish everyone. Well guess i'll post mine now.

They are Afra Cobue, not sure on sex so maybe I could get some help there. Was hoping to have some more colors from them. Maybe still to young? Over an 1.5 but under 2 inches. I think the dark one is male and hoping other two are female.

Thinking these are both female?? Funny the front one will get some color and then get very drab.









Dark one Male??


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## gtphale

Well after further investigation, I'm thinking that the dark blue one is female. Now to hope by Feb. 8th. I'll be able to tell what the other two are for sure. Heading to the swap and want to make sure I have one male and three females.


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## MbunaMan25

Nice fish *nick a* and *pilotscove*

Might I suggest some heavy duty door locks for you fish rooms jk :lol:


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## przezda

jalo reef female


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## przezda

jalo reef male


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## przezda

pair


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## przezda

jalo reef male


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## why_spyder

Very stunning!


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## skyleranne

Here are my 1 in babies. Not a good picture as I took them with my cell phone.


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## CichlidMan81

some pics of my WC male cyno. sp. "lion" cape kaiser
not that good of pics but you need to see him when he wants to spawn with the female then his colors truly come out. enjoy


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## moonlight

Great looking Jalos przezda!


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## skyleranne

I forgot to add that my babies are c.afras cobue. Does any one else have any pics of there c.afras fry or Jevies?


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## kj23502

Here's my juvie pics. They were being held in the 30g until I got my big tank set up. I also have pundamilia nyererei juvies in there.


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## S4surf

I sold my group of 20 Cobue and always regreted it 





































Steve


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## CichlidWhisperer

This is no longer considered a Cynotilapia and has been reclassified as Metriaclima mbweca, but I thought he deserved to be mentioned and shown:


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## kj23502

Love everyone's pictures :drooling:

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

:thumb:


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## nick a

S4surf, very interesting cobwe there. Never seen one that turns it's bars off so much--looks very cool!

przezda, Nice looking Jalo Reefs! Especially like the last male. While bar extensions into the dorsal are quite normal (such as in the first male), I LOVE the look of the ones with the uninterrupted yellow. 8)

CichlidWhisperer, my tank raised group from way back looked exactly like yours (see the species article for Cyno Mbweca here) , however the WC ones I got are much different looking and appear to me to better match Ad's pics in his books.


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## moonlight

S4surf,
I have never seen Cobues like that! Outstanding, I would love to have a group like that, they look like a whole new fish without the bars.


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## przezda

Thanks to You all for nice comments, 
I like that male with clean yellow dorsal as well, it looks like the book sample one.


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## S4surf

moonlight said:


> S4surf,
> I have never seen Cobues like that! Outstanding, I would love to have a group like that, they look like a whole new fish without the bars.


Thanks for the comments. they were a very nice group and very prolific. Their dad always showed his stripes but his fry always seemed to keep them hidden. I personally like them more without the bars, but I can see why people like the stripes. To each his own 

Steve


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## S4surf

oops


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## cyc949

Here are a few of mine. All except the Hara and the Red Top Likoma are housed in my 80 Gallon all-male Mbuna tank though some of these shots were before i released them into the general population! :lol:

Cynotilapia Sp. "Hara"










Cynotilapia Afra "Red Top" Likoma










Cynotilapia Sp. "Mbamba" Mphanga Rocks










Cynotilapia Sp. "Lion" Lion's Cove










Cynotilapia Afra Chimate










Cynotilapia Sp. "Jalo"










Cynotilapia Afra Cobue (From Nick A's Line)










Cynotilapia Sp. "Lion" Lupingu


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## why_spyder

Some wonder males there! :thumb:


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## why_spyder

Two shots of the smaller _C._ sp. "Lion" Magunga I got. Looks like I have two males but until they really settle in - or I vent them - I won't know for sure.


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## nick a

cyc949, your doing well with that Cobwe :thumb: --glad you're one the one's that picked those up!

Very curious about the C. sp. "Lion" Magungas Why, keep the pics coming as they get comfortable.

My C. sp. lion Sanga group has finally settled in and is starting to get bizzy!


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## Mugen-Malawi

No more pictures? Keep them coming. opcorn:


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## why_spyder

I have some others *here* and *here*


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## nick a

New Cyno for me. C. sp 'elongatus mbenji blue' (formerly Ps.)

















Still working with the Chinys. This guy is from the very first batch of F1s.









And working three variations of the albino afra cobwe. keeping some of the fry from the yellow female separate from the rest to see how they develop.


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## why_spyder

Nick, I'll be sure to send you my address for some albino Cobwe and Mphanga Rocks. :lol: I'd take some Chiny's but I don't know how they'd fair with my Hara or _afra _Lupingu.


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## Mugen-Malawi

=D> =D>

Love the albino.

=D> =D>

I dont have enough posts to post ne pics of mines just yet. :?

In the mean time....

...keep them coming.

opcorn:


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## why_spyder




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## knotty dreadlocks

nice looking fish guys.


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## DrgRcr

Wow, all of these pics have me :drooling: ! I have a question though. At what size do the Afras really start to color up? I have some Jalo Reefers that I mail ordered from a well known dealer as juvies 2 months ago. I've had my eye on at least 2 that seem to be slightly bigger(maybe an 1 1/2") as well as showing a bit more color.


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## why_spyder

In my experience, a lot of Cynotilapia species will really put on some color between the sizes of 2" and 2.5". I've had some start to color up before that, but they really seemed to bloom once they hit the 2" mark.


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## jasien

I have a bunch of C. Afra 'Jalo Reefs' and its at about 2" that the dominant male will show his coloring a majority of the time. It really depends on how much territory there is and how many females are around too. When isolated, they look pretty boring. But get a group of them and you can watch them forever.


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## ManiacalMbunas

Wild caught C. Afra Cobue male - all grown up:









A younger pic - better idea of the colors:









If only I could get some pix of him in full color. Unfortunately, when he's in the mood, he's never still...


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## chris777

my C. Afra Cobue male


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## knotty dreadlocks

my jalo reef "scarface"


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## why_spyder

Not my good male, but one of the subdominant males...

_Cynotilapia_ sp. Mbamba Mphanga Rocks


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## nfrost

not all my cynos, but the ones that I have decent photos of...

cobwe (both males are always colored; on a side note granulosus are amazing, she will eat pellets right from my fingers)








axelrodi (he will occasionally show strong black markings)








'elongatus mbenji blue' (rarely shows full potential, here is about half)








'lion' Sanga (when I first got him his pelvic fins were much longer, but the other fish decided he didn't need them that long)


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## why_spyder

Nick, they look great! :thumb:


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## Afishionado

Impressive collection Nick!

Mara Point


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## DrgRcr

Still juvies at 1 1/2", but here is one of my Jalo Reefers. No sooner did I ask when, and then they started showing more color  ! Not nearly as much as the other larger ones here, but they are showing promise.


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## why_spyder

*DW*, I still love your _C. afra_ poses - always cool.

Nice Jalo's *DrgRcr*.


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## icedgxe

Here are my old Jalo reef a cobue before I had to take the tank down




























Here is a pic of the juv Jalo reef in my new tank...[/img]


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## ladybugzcrunch

nick a said:


> New Cyno for me. C. sp 'elongatus mbenji blue' (formerly Ps.)
> 
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> Still working with the Chinys. This guy is from the very first batch of F1s.
> 
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> And working three variations of the albino afra cobwe. keeping some of the fry from the yellow female separate from the rest to see how they develop.


What is the third picture down?


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## why_spyder

They are _Cynotilapia_ sp. "Chinyankwazi" from either Chinyankwazi or Chinyamwezi... I am not sure if Ad had split the two islands into separate species or not. Hopefully *nick a* will chime in with what he knows about them - he's done some research on these.


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## loverjw

My favorite Jalo pic from a few years back.









Cobue









Lion's Cove









Lion's Cove, smiling for the camera


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## why_spyder

Nice looking Jalo Reef. :thumb:


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## ladybugzcrunch

why_spyder said:


> They are _Cynotilapia_ sp. "Chinyankwazi" from either Chinyankwazi or Chinyamwezi... I am not sure if Ad had split the two islands into separate species or not. Hopefully *nick a* will chime in with what he knows about them - he's done some research on these.


Cool thanks. Nick do you have females too? Do you have a picture of one?


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## nick a

loverjw, very nice looking afras--the lions are looking good too!

ladybugzcrunch,
Brian nailed it. C. sp. 'chinyankwazi' Chinyankwazi (while Ad considers the three populations to be one species; recent DNA analysis would tend to make the case that they are separate).

Adult female








Adult male (the other pic is of a juvenile just getting his colors going)









A little more info on them here:http://www.usafishbox.org/lake-malawi-f24/cynotilapia-sp-chinyankwazi-t892.htm


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## ladybugzcrunch

Thanks


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## loverjw

Gotta love those Hara!


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## why_spyder

Great looking Hara, very nice! :thumb:


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## justinf67

I have had my first cyno group for almost month now. I have f1 cyno lion "sanga" its hard to get a pic, but he looks amazing even at barely over 1.5''. his yellow is just starting to come in... felt i should revive this thread. Its a great one!


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## copasetic

Heres my WC cyno afra (mbenji is) in the middle of spawinnig of course


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## why_spyder

First time I have seen those, *copasetic*. 

More photos please. :thumb:


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## copasetic

Im sure *** shown them to you before whyspyder.. IMO mbenji's females are the best looking female afra.. Ad Konings 3rd edition shows a nice purple female.. 
Heres a video i made of them spawning.


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## copasetic

if only this photo came out more clear! if someone wants to touch it up for me that would be great!


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## why_spyder

Sure enough, I do recognize that video. So when do you make a trip to southern Wisconsin again for a fry delivery? :lol:


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## copasetic




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## thevein

love this thread, awesome jalo btw, gotta get a group eventually


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## copasetic

Funny after posting that video yesterday that wc female breed for first time in over 6months.
I thought she had went thru menopause lol... 
And whyspyder your going to have to meet me in Toronto lol


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## thevein

got an email from an online breeder about F0 cyno order going in. i missed Dave's by a few days so I was excited to get in on this one. It seems that the majority of online breeders and wholesalers get fish via Old World or another major importer as their schedules all kinda sync. Here's what went for my order....can't wait for these guys !!!!! will post pics asap

Cyno afra chimate (red top) 1m 
F0 Cyno afra sanga gold lion F0 1m/2f 
F0 Cyno afra "Lupingu" Purple Lion 1m/1 
F0 Cyno afra "Galireya Reef" White Top 1/1

could only sell the WC in pairs since they were pre-ordered

Haki


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## nick a

This has got to be one of the energizer bunnies of threads......Still goin'........... :lol: 
(one of my FAVs too!!!!!!)

afra Jalo Reef










F1 Chinys really maturing nicely.









Crappy pic of a Chiny--but love the dentures :thumb:


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## Mugen-Malawi

My bad boy.

Cynotilapia Afra Cobue/Cobwe



















&

One of him and his HARLEM.










opcorn: :fish: opcorn:


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## synodontys

Cynotilapia afra chewere red top WC male


























No more chewere fans so far???


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## thevein

F1 cyno. afra RT chimate


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## jasien

Here is my F2 Cyno. Afra 'Jalo Reef'

Note that some of the vertical black bars reach into the yellow dorsal fin. On my F1 male (which died), the dorsal was entirely yellow. Is the presence of the black stripes on the dorsal a corruption of the Jalo Reef variety, or is this found in the wild as well? It looks a lot like the chimate RT dwarf.


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## why_spyder

Barring into the dorsal isn't a sign of a bad Jalo Reef, wilds get them too. Look above in the thread - Nick's wonderful Jalo's have barring into the dorsal as well. Your Jalo's are the first that I've seen with the barring like it is at the bottom (belly region) - where it is like the bars form one big black area.


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## jasien

Speaking of the black belly on my F2 jalo reef, his father did not have it, yet his 'uncle' did. There seems to be quite a bit of variation in this sub-species.


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## why_spyder

That is a lot of variation for one line to have in my opinion. Fry should be replicas of their parents unless there is a recessive gene that gets expressed (like a pigmentation disorder).

Were the parents (and/or grandparents) bred in a species only tank - or were there other mbuna in there? Maybe two different bloodlines of _C. afra_ Jalo Reef were mixed?


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## thevein

F0 cyno. sp. hara


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## nick a

While the clear solid yellow dorsal is the most desireable look to me, the bar extensions are not abnormal. Neither of ours will ever be 'show' fish but they're still good looking fish! :thumb:

Here's a new one to me (and to the Cyno genus, formerly a Ps.), the elongatus mbenji blue. Two different males....note the variation between the two. Upper male has much more yellow/lower has a deeper/richer blue. I think variability is more of a constant than not.


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## crys

hi!

here s mine..a big male of Cynotilapia sp.



















it was a King of my tank , dominant male ..

:thumb:


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## thevein




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## GaFishMan1181

Those are really really nice looking. Are they wild caughts?


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## thevein

nope !, actually from f1 parents, they are both brothers. if you notice the fish on the left; his barring isn't up to my breeding standards and he normally get's removed when I introduce females. The other male is part of my hara breeding program B. A few posts above is my F0 male that's part of breeding program A.


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## GaFishMan1181

They look so different. I actually like the way the hara with smaller lines that do not go into the dorsal fin look. Is the standard for it to go up into the dorsal or for it to stop on the body?


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## thevein

when I got my f0 group i noticed exactly what you just said. it appears that with aquarium breeding, the black barring gradually becomes phased out. the intensity when full colored lightens and the dorsal barring diminishes as the line progresses. here's a side by side....

from f1 parents (tank raised)









f0


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## Mugen-Malawi

Lets keep this thread alive :dancing: ...Same fish...New Pixs...

Cyno Afra Cobue / Cobwe

Subby Male (these came out crappy, since he is camera shy, but shows his colors)



















Albino Male (lives in show tank)




























Dom Male (breeder)



















My fav pix of the Dom Male so far...didnt resize this one since it ruins the pix...my new background...click on it...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/k00mk1ng/fish/cobuez042-1.jpg

Short Vid of the DOM and SUBBY Male


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## Munchie1010

Here is my Jalo Reef


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## loffy74




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## cjacob316

no pics, i have too much trouble trying to take them, but i have a new vid

Cynotilapia sp. 'Mbamba' Mpanga Rocks


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## loffy74

very cool, the males should darken up soon right?


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## cjacob316

hopefully, probably by the time they get closer to 2 inches


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## Belexes

C. afra Cobwe


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## tires_6792

F1 afra cobue _(taken a while back)_ will update as soon as i can get a good shot of him. Hes @ 2"-2-1/2" here









wild afra Magunga

















Young F1 1-1/2"-2" Magunga male









I will also post up pics of some of the albino cobwe i have as soon as they get bigger. *** got like 7 of them to take my pick from to keep. :thumb:


----------



## cjacob316

here is a screen shot from a video i shot, low quality though, sorry

male Cynotilapia sp. 'Mbamba' Mpanga Rocks


----------



## nick a

tires_6792 & Belexes, very excellent looking Cobwe. Near my ideal of 'perfect' patterns!

cjacob316, Just give him a little more time & he'll be a show-stopper! Each one shows a slightly different variation on coloration & patterning. I've been extremely fortunate to have a seemingly stable species-only set-up in a 40BR with 3 DOM males/3 subDOMs/8 females. Check out the variation in the 3 DOMs. Look at the egg spots, the penetration of bars into the dorsal etc.... These are all from the samr batch of F1s!


----------



## cjacob316

I got mine from Dave btw, so I assume you bred them?

i've seen him look pretty good sometimes when i first walk into the room, but once he sees me he lightens up, has a great looking yellow crest already though


----------



## nick a

Definitely a fun fish to watch as they mature :thumb: It's possible that they were from me but Dave has multiple sources so I'm not certain.


----------



## cjacob316

well when i put the dog up last night i got a good look at him all colored up, he was dark dark with a beautiful yellow blaze


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## cjacob316




----------



## bearded lab

There are some incredible fish, and some terrific photos on this thread! I didn't know cynotilapia were so popular. The cyno. sp. hara were especially sweet, they might be the fish to put with my labs, especially if they were f0 or f1 like the ones thevein had!


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## cjacob316

bearded lab said:


> There are some incredible fish, and some terrific photos on this thread! I didn't know cynotilapia were so popular. The cyno. sp. hara were especially sweet, they might be the fish to put with my labs, especially if they were f0 or f1 like the ones thevein had!


go for it, i think the very light color would look great against the yellow lab


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## bearded lab

Thank you for your reply. I agree about the color contrast! Right now it's a tie between them and metriaclima sp. dolphin.


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## nick a

Trying to get shots af these guys from the same angle--so the quality is suboptimal 

I was looking at the afra (top pic) and the mbamba (middle pic) and thinking how close the coloration patterns were to each other...you know... yellow tail outline, yellow streak with white tips on dorsal etc.... and got to comparing the blue x black barring thru the body. After looking over all of the males, it appears that the afra typically have black bars about 1/2 the width of the blue bar and the mbamba the opposite. 

















Just out of the same curiosity I looked at the Chiny. Seems pretty close to equal blue to black width.









Any observations from your groups?


----------



## K5MOW

Great looking pics.

Roger


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## cjacob316

it makes sense that the mbamba's black stripes are more predominant, especially when you consider that some are almost all black


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## tires_6792

K5MOW said:


> Great looking pics.
> 
> Roger


Yea. I really got to get a better camera....lol.


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## stnick80

Bumping with some pictures.


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## nick a

File this one under "Almost got a good shot!" I wish my DOF was set better for this shot. I couldn't get him to pose for me again :x . This is the new Dom male Lion Lions Cove. He recently took over from his father.


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## xWingman48

My male cobue


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## tires_6792

MHenrichs48 said:


> My male cobue


Nice fish. not used to seeing a cobue with solid black stripe thru dorsal like that.


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## xWingman48

tires_6792 said:


> Nice fish. not used to seeing a cobue with solid black stripe thru dorsal like that.


Is the solid black stripe a good thing or a bad thing? He's the only Cyno I have so I don't know too much about them.


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## electyellowdude

stnick80 said:


> Bumping with some pictures.


beautiful hara!!!!


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## tires_6792

MHenrichs48 said:


> tires_6792 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Nice fish. not used to seeing a cobue with solid black stripe thru dorsal like that.
> 
> 
> 
> Is the solid black stripe a good thing or a bad thing? He's the only Cyno I have so I don't know too much about them.
Click to expand...

Im not sure, may just depend on the line.

Here is a link to another "cobue" with same type dorsal.
http://www.african-cichlid.com/AfraCobue.htm


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## electyellowdude

here is my new cobue:


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## cjacob316

couple of male c. sp. mbamba (mpanga rocks)






bought 4, i know i have two males and a female, very afraid that the 4th is also male and not female


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## cjacob316

two guys from the vid


















and the one i thought might be male, is, it fired up while i was fighting with the second male, so 3 of the 4 i bought are males, and i don't know where to get these


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## Kanorin

Very nice looking Mbamba, Cjacob. He's fun to watch, too. A Cyno mbamba type is definitely on my wish list.

Here are two pictures of my Cyno sp. Hara male


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## cjacob316




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## GaFishMan1181

@cjacob - wow...he is looking really awsome now!

@kanorin - really nice looking hara! I like how his lines do not go into the dorsal.


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## why_spyder

_C. afra_ Nkhata Bay


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## cjacob316

thanks gafish

love the nkhata bay afras, great looking fish, if i get another cyno that may be next


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## cjacob316

screen shot


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## justinf67

why_spyder said:


> _C. afra_ Nkhata Bay


Beautiful. I have a group of F1's and they look like this guy  I love their coloration...

cjacob, u should snag them, they are awesome looking fish. I have 2 males colored up in a 55g. They claim opposite sides of the tank so far, with little to no fighting. They puff up at each other sometimes, but thats it...


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## why_spyder

justinf67 said:


> I have 2 males colored up in a 55g. They claim opposite sides of the tank so far, with little to no fighting. They puff up at each other sometimes, but thats it...


This is how my two males act in my 4' long 100g stock tank. Both males look great and they really don't get physical at all.


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## cjacob316

thats what my males did in a 55 as well, now that they are in a 40 breeder only one has color


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## justinf67

Ya, cjacob, they need that extra foot of space... Even with territory on the opposite side of the tank, they arent tolerant of the other coming into their space... Like I said, they get bright and make it clear that the other male isnt welcome... If they get physical, I am prepared to move one to the lfs. So far so good tho  They have bred once so far as well


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## cjacob316

it's a prime example of why longer is better, even with this small fish, that one foot of longth makes the world of difference


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## justinf67

thats what she said :lol:


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## newforestrob

My Cobue abot six months old


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## newforestrob

Oh ya here's one of his females


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## davecshrode

One of my new juvies
[/img]


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## iplaywithemotions

justinf67 said:


> thats what she said :lol:


 :lol:


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## DrgRcr

Here is that same one I posted on page 6 or so, about 10 months ago, along with one of the females holding at the time, and one of their offspring.









Female holding








One of their offspring


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## justinf67

darn man, they look great, I have 4 jalo reefs and they are taking forever to color... i look everyday hoping for it to come in a little more, lol...i remembered ur post on them taking a while to color


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## DrgRcr

Thanks Justin. I really enjoy them and I'm jealous of all the other beauties that some like why spyder and nick a have posted here. An all male Afra tank would be awesome, but I wonder if they'd color up.


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## nick a

DrgRcr, most excellent looking :thumb: that female is really fired up beautifully isn't she!

Some shots of an albino Cobwe male. I'm still undecided if i want to keep him as a breeder.


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## DrgRcr

nick a said:


> DrgRcr, most excellent looking :thumb: that female is really fired up beautifully isn't she!
> 
> Some shots of an albino Cobwe male. I'm still undecided if i want to keep him as a breeder.


Thanks Nick! Yes she really shows some nice colors for a female. She's my largest, most prolific, and definately very protective of her space when she's holding. She turns it on and off like a switch when any rivals get close!

I love those albinos, such a unique look.


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## cjacob316

yeah i can get on board with some of those albinos, very unique looking indeed


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## why_spyder

nick a said:


> I'm still undecided if i want to keep him as a breeder.


And why do you need to decide if you want him as a breeder or not? :-?


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## nick a

I've got some other males growing out that may be better looking--and although I'd love to keep every fish :lol: I can only keep soooo many without it being a full-time job.


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## why_spyder

I can only imagine what the 'better looking' males must look like.  :lol:


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## Kanorin

Cynotilapia afra (nkhata bay) F1 male:


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## why_spyder

:drooling:


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## badboijustin4lfe

im drooling over all these pics lol where can i get some jalo reefs at? they look stunning :drooling:


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## MbunaMan25

*Kanorin*

Great looking fish. :thumb:


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## cjacob316

jalo reefs shouldn't be hard to find


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## justinf67

Kanorin, wow, that is a great looking male... How old is he? I keep this species as well and my male doesnt have the yellow splotching in the dorsal, he does have some on his head though. Mine are F1's as well...Did it take a while for the yellow to come in, or was it there when he colored up?


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## Kanorin

justinf67 said:


> Kanorin, wow, that is a great looking male... How old is he? I keep this species as well and my male doesnt have the yellow splotching in the dorsal, he does have some on his head though. Mine are F1's as well...Did it take a while for the yellow to come in, or was it there when he colored up?


I bought my group from a guy who had a WC trio and had bought a group of unrelated F1's. Then I guess he decided to sell the F1 group to make some room. In any case, when I bought them, my F1 male was just reaching full size, but was subdominant to the WC male - so barely had any color. It took him close to 3 months to establish dominance among my group of afra (I have 4 males and will be removing the others soon) and color up to that picture that I posted. I don't know how old he is, but I'd guess around a year to year and a half.

Ad Koning's comments about this collection point and how some males have the yellow blaze forehead and some do not. It seems that from the 3-4 people I've talked to that keep them, there is much variation on how much yellow the male display both on their dorsals and on their foreheads. Pretty neat that every male is a little bit different!


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## why_spyder

Kanorin said:


> Pretty neat that every male is a little bit different!


Or utterly frustrating if you get some males that don't have what you expected. :lol:


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## toume

Man...there are some ridiculously good pics!
How are you guys getting such good snapshots? What camera are you all using?
Is there a method you use to get good pics?
:thumb:


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## justinf67

I agree the males can look a bit different...I got a group of 8 f1's as young 1'' juvies. I grew them up a bit and the first male to color was awesome looking, but the 2nd was even better. A little more yellow on the head, dorsal lines were perfectly symmetrical and he was a little more intense in color. I had both of them in there for a few months each claiming one side. The both kept full color almost always. They had a few spats but nothing serious... Eventually, the one I liked better gained dominance and the other turned it off completely... Traded him and a few subdom males off to the lfs. Now I have a 1:3 ratio...Mine isnt full grown, but he is mature. I was just hoping he would get the yellow specking as intensely as urs does... Im holding out hope, lol..Hes still an amazing looking fish tho even without much yellow in the dorsal


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## cjacob316

updates of my cyno. sp. mbmaba (mpanga rocks)


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## why_spyder

Playin' with the new camera..


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## hbbyhorse

those guys are gorgeous!


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## nick a

cjacob316,
They are really turning out beautifully :thumb:

BTW: great photog skills!


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## DrgRcr

Not the best pics, but 2 shots of some offspring of my F1's. The male started to color up literally hours after another dominant male was sold. The female is holding, and I'm stunned by the color she is showing. I can't believe the offspring my original group continually put out. It seems like every male is as good as the last, and even some females!


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## GaFishMan1181

Cjacob those are looking AWSOME!


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## why_spyder




----------



## demillso

Here are a few shots of my male.


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## pomi

Good looking albino why_spyder, please post pics as he grows.


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## nick a

This F1 mbamba lundu looks better than his daddy & is rapidly becoming one of my favorite fishes to watch.


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## Kanorin

nick a said:


> This F1 mbamba lundu looks better than his daddy & is rapidly becoming one of my favorite fishes to watch.


Very nice looking fish :thumb: 
I've found that my Cyno sp. Mbamba (Nkhata Bay) doesn't show great color when he's not top dog in the tank. Do you see the same thing with your mbambas?


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## nick a

I've got the WC Lundu male with a few subdoms & femmes, the F1 male with some WC & F1 femmes and my colony of Mphanga Rocks all in species only tanks so I can't really chime in on that Kanorin...other than to say, "that's generally true with all Cynos/Mbuna."

The F1 mbamba and my breeder male afra Cobue are the undisputed kings of their tanks and show full color always...but I have a few 'exceptions to the rule :lol: ' with males that need other males to show off to in order to display their best colors (C. sp. hara is one of these).


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## penalonga2005

Original wild male








F1 @ 2.5 inches.








Another F1 @ 2.75 iches.








Both breeder f1 males








3rd gen from wild








another f1 male








Most of the F1's produced showed complete barring @ 1.5 inches and some were adult color @ 1.75 inches. There is a system to coloring them early, also good genes do help.


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## kyboy

Some of my hara. I have a few others with barring that extends into the dorsal fin, but they were camera-shy. The one below has an orange edge on the tail & back of the dorsal fins,but it's hard to see here. I'm going to be picking up 6 cyno. afra (Nkhata Bay) in Feb.


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## doobie27

i think i have one of these fish...trying to post pics.


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## doobie27

after thumbing through this entire thread i think i have one of these. the fish i have came with the tank(75gal) the previous owner didn't know what it was either. i'm new to the forum and the hobby so of couse i have no idea what it is. just thought you experienced hobbyist of these Cyno's could help me out...i tried my harndest to get good pics i hope you guys can help out.

i know there is a mystery fish section, just thought i'd try it here since i'm pretty sure i have a Cyno. thanks








[/img]
















[/img]


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## why_spyder

*doobie27* - not sure what made you think it is a _Cyno_, but in my opinion it is not. Dentition will tell you one way or another, but I think your fish is a _Metriaclima_ species of some type.


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## cjacob316

looks like it's a good size too


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## doobie27

well i saw a few pics in here that looked similar to mine. i guess the stripes and color is throwing me off. and yeah its about 5-6" long. guess i'll throw it into the mystery fish page. thanks though guys. and i love all of your all's fish makes me want to get another tank lol.


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## DJRansome

Now that others have mentioned Metriaclima I will say that is what I was thinking. I'm bad at visual ID. It's the shape more than the color/bars that made me think Metriaclima. Metriaclima is a more blocky fish than Cynotilapia.


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## TutenStain

WC Cynotilapia sp. Ã¢â‚¬Â


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## nick a

penalonga2005,
I really appreciate the generational 'family album' ...that adds a great layer of information :thumb:

Here's a pic of the 2nd generation (F3) dom male lion (LC) that is king of his tank.


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## Glaneon

Here's a little guy showin' his colors:

Afra sp. Hara


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## Kanorin

After removing the extra male from the tank, my WC Cynotilapia sp. Mbamba (Nkhata Bay) finally fully colored up!


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## TutenStain

Kanorin said:


> After removing the extra male from the tank, my WC Cynotilapia sp. Mbamba (Nkhata Bay) finally fully colored up!


They are really rare here. I miraculously got 1+1 WC but the female died somehow 

Great fish you got there.


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## promoe

here are a few of mine


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## promoe

a few more pics...lol good to see this thread is still going!


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## why_spyder

_Cynotilapia afra_ Lupingu (Juvenile Male)









_Cynotilapia_ sp. "Hara" Gallireya Reef (Male)









_Cynotilapia_ sp. "Lion" Lion's Cove (Juvenile Male)


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## nick a

The group of F1 Lion Sanga's I've been growing out are beginning to put some color on:


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## why_spyder

Have you noticed anything color/behavior wise that sets the Sanga's apart from the Lion's Cove?


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## xxbenjamminxx

Here is the Jalo I had until recently.


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## nick a

Hiya Brian!

The differences between the two are relatively subtle. Some show much more in photos than in person....and may only be this way on my particular groups :roll: ...but do you see from the pics I've posted that the LC has yellow below the blue on the torso? The Sanga seems to reverse that. Little things like that...overall they're very similar and very similar in behavior (much, much more easy-going than the Mara Rocks!)

Here's a batch of F1 grow-outs from that group of afra Jalo Reef I got a while ago that are starting to shape up nicely!


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## why_spyder

Gotta enjoy the subtle diffreneces.... especially with so many similarly colored Cynotilapia species. :thumb:


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## why_spyder




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## The King Crabb

I've never kept any Cynotilapia species before so quick question for you Cyno. experts, are all Cyno. species females drab in comparison to males?


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## why_spyder

Yes and no. Most females are not as colorful as the males, but not all the females lack color.


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## cantrell00

why_spyder said:


> Yes and no. Most females are not as colorful as the males, but not all the females lack color.


Good way to put it...

Really though. Once you get past the handful of mbuna that HAVE attractive females, aren't most of them drab? On average, I don't think Cyno females are any less (or more) attractive than any other species as a whole.


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## Ryan82

I agree, most female mbuna are drab (not just afras). I think the jalo reef and sp hara females look the best.


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## The King Crabb

Thanks for all the info guys, I think that the majority of them are sort of grayish - is that correct?



Ryan82 said:


> I think the jalo reef and sp hara females look the best.


What do they look like? I'm having trouble google imaging them.


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## cantrell00

The King Crabb said:


> Thanks for all the info guys, I think that the majority of them are sort of grayish - is that correct?
> 
> 
> 
> Ryan82 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think the jalo reef and sp hara females look the best.
> 
> 
> 
> What do they look like? I'm having trouble google imaging them.
Click to expand...

Similar to the males, especially if they are holding except their colors are not nearly as vivid. The yellow on their dorsal (Jalo's) & the blaze on their head (Nkhata's) are not nearly as bright.

The "Lion's Cove" strains are much more bland IMO. My Mbamba's (Lundu & Mpanga Rocks) are not nearly big enough to discern at the moment.

Why Spyder can expand on this further.. A lot of my guys have not reached adulthood yet.


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## why_spyder

Many of the blue/black species have a light blue or light brown female.


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## cantrell00

WC Cyno Lion, 'Lions Cove'

F1 Cyno afra 'Nkhata Bay'

Cyno afra 'Jalo Reef'

F1 Cyno sp; 'Hara'


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## eeztropheus

Picked this guy up about a month ago he is now tank boss, but not showing as much orange as I was hoping...


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## why_spyder




----------



## cantrell00

why_spyder said:


>


Nice.. What is the guy in the 1st picture?


----------



## why_spyder

_Cynotilapia afra_ Lupingu.... though I'm not sure if I need to start changing the name since the 'afra' name is changing, lol.


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## cantrell00

why_spyder said:


> _Cynotilapia afra_ Lupingu.... though I'm not sure if I need to start changing the name since the 'afra' name is changing, lol.


Yes, I know... Just when I have most memorized, they change things.

I have always thought that Cobue's body shape and color pattering more closely resembled Mbamba moreso than Afra..


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## Shahlvah

Very beautiful fish. Congratulations on such a nice stock.
Can I ask here where can I find "Dave"? I am about to buy all my fish for my tank and I really like what I see. Thank you


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## cantrell00

Shahlvah said:


> Very beautiful fish. Congratulations on such a nice stock.
> Can I ask here where can I find "Dave"? I am about to buy all my fish for my tank and I really like what I see. Thank you


http://www.davesfish.com


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## cantrell00

Probably my most favorite of all the Afra's


----------



## Ryan82

This was sold to me as a Hai Reef. I'm not sure if that's correct. It could be a likoma or a dwarf chimate. There are too many afras labeled as "red top" that look very similar.

This was his coloration when I had dark gravel substrate:









He got brighter after changing to play sand:


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## cantrell00

That last pic almost suggests Nkhata Bay. I have never seen Nkhata's with a solid blick-dark blue strip at the top of their dorsal fine though...

"It" does have a touch of yellow blaze on it's head though.


----------



## Ryan82

I don't think its a nkhata bay even though it has the yellow on its head. I used to have a female that I bought with him, and she was deep purple with a little stripe of yellow in the dorsal, but I guess it could have just been a sub-dominant male because whenever the dominant male is not colored up, he turns dark purple. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Sorry to change the subject Cantrell, but is that a Msobo in your avatar pic? I recently bought three of them from a LFS for $25 altogether and they are all at least 2.5 inches. One of them is already turning blue, and I thought the other two were females because they're yellowish orange, but I saw one of them locked up with the male, and his/her face started to get dark, and so did the dorsal fin. Have you seen a male that didn't have the blue coloration by the time they were 2.5+ inches, or do the females show these color changes when stressed, fighting, etc..?


----------



## cantrell00

Ryan82 said:


> I don't think its a nkhata bay even though it has the yellow on its head. I used to have a female that I bought with him, and she was deep purple with a little stripe of yellow in the dorsal, but I guess it could have just been a sub-dominant male because whenever the dominant male is not colored up, he turns dark purple. Does that sound familiar to anyone?


The only Cyno's that I am familiar with that are purple and not Hara are Lion, Lupingu. Also, I don't "think" your fish is Likoma. I have Likomas and they don't look like your guy.



Ryan82 said:


> Sorry to change the subject Cantrell, but is that a Msobo in your avatar pic? I recently bought three of them from a LFS for $25 altogether and they are all at least 2.5 inches. One of them is already turning blue, and I thought the other two were females because they're yellowish orange, but I saw one of them locked up with the male, and his/her face started to get dark, and so did the dorsal fin. Have you seen a male that didn't have the blue coloration by the time they were 2.5+ inches, or do the females show these color changes when stressed, fighting, etc..?


Odds are that both were male. They mature at different rates and not necessarily tied to dominance either, IMO.

This is the first time that I have had Msobo and 2.5" seems too young to say one way or the other. I have never had a female msobo tangle with what I knew to be a male. Female to female squabbles are common though.


----------



## Ryan82

Thanks for the help. You confirmed my suspicion about the msobo being a male. Now I'll have to keep checking my LFS to see if they have any more. There were only three in the store when I bought them or else I would have bought more.


----------



## cantrell00

Ryan82 said:


> Thanks for the help. You confirmed my suspicion about the msobo being a male. Now I'll have to keep checking my LFS to see if they have any more. There were only three in the store when I bought them or else I would have bought more.


If one of the three stay orange and 3.5+", I would say female for sure.

Females actually darken up and can display dark lines on their dorsal when holding too.

I have read that subdominant males can stay orange as well although I haven't verified that myself. Mine are still too young to say...


----------



## promoe




----------



## promoe




----------



## Iggy Newcastle

Great pictures!


----------



## shelbynjakesdad

Great pictures above, love the cobue, promoe!

I don't have a good camera, so please excuse the photo quality (iphone photos). I like this composite shot because it really shows the way these fish can change their appearance based on mood. I took these photos of my young F1 Cynotilapia "Hara" less than a minute apart:









I need to take some more pics of this guy, he has grown quite a bit and looks a lot more mature now.


----------



## promoe

Ty... I dont keep as many cynos as I used to. here is my group of Haras that i got rid of to another member here on C-F.There's a wild trio in there somewhere,last pic is of wild male...lol


----------

