# Bubblebee?



## jphanton00 (Jan 5, 2013)

I bought 6 juvenile African Cichlids from the LPS about 2 months ago. They were sold to me as Electric Yellows, but I think I could have a Bumblebee in the bunch. His/her black was faint in the beginning and now it's really coming out. I'm attaching pics...can someone tell me what they think? And if I do have a Bumblebee then I'm assuming this one will have to be rehomed...


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

Lake Malawi, i think? Not really a african guy, but a mod will prob see this, and move it for you


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

It isn't a Bumblebee, rather just a low quality Labidochromis caeruleus


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## Tony La Morte (Nov 30, 2011)

I concur Fogelhund, on both counts


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## jphanton00 (Jan 5, 2013)

How does he/she end up with so much black and markings similar to a Bumblebee? Is it cross breeding? Just curious to know more...he/she gets an awful lot of compliments on appearance for being so low quality lol Goes to show you don't always have to be the cream of the crop to be pretty.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

jphanton00 said:


> How does he/she end up with so much black and markings similar to a Bumblebee? Is it cross breeding?


Multiple generations of breeding, without careful selection of which fish to use as breeders. I tend to think this may happen in fish breeding ponds, where the fish are left to breed.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

I don't know - it's head/mouth are pretty blunt and body is pretty deep and rounded to be pure yellow lab, even for a low quality specimen. The more I look at it, the more I think it could be a hybrid (especially that last pic). Ps. crabro may very well be in the genes of this one at some point.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Black gravel and stress bring out the dark in these. Pop it in a tank with tan or white sand, make sure its dominant and you might be suprised how yellow he goes.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Sorry correction. Dominance also brings out the black. So prob best yellow not dominant but unstressed over light substrate. Yep quite hard to arrange.
But even the LFSs have learnt this trick. :wink:


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## jphanton00 (Jan 5, 2013)

He/she wasn't the dominant one as of last weekend. One of the other labs had him cowering in the plants and when he'd try to come out they'd fight. Now that I'm watching he/she appears to have won the dominance fight. I'm upgrading to a 55-gallon in the next 2 weeks, so I'll have to wait and see what changes when I do that. The substrate will still be black though and I'm looking into making a slate condo from natural slate tiles so that will be black too. Not sure the coloring will really change much. I guess I'll know for sure if he/she grows past the standard 4" in length huh?


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