# yellow cichlid?



## zoz

hi.
just want to find out what the yellow cichlid is?


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## Neptune Boulevard

maybe a red zebra yellow lab mix?

could just be a female yellow lab, I'm kinda new haha.


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## cichlidaholic

In the first pic, it looks like a peacock/mbuna mix.

2nd and 3rd pics look more like M. estherae, but is it really truly yellow, or a pale orange?

Kim


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## SinisterKisses

Looks like an adult male estherae/caeruleus mix to me (red zebra/yellow lab). Nice looking fish though, haven't seen pics of them as adults.


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## Neptune Boulevard

Neptune Boulevard said:


> could just be a female yellow lab,


egg spots= male, typo


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## dielikemoviestars

Neptune Boulevard said:


> Neptune Boulevard said:
> 
> 
> 
> could just be a female yellow lab,
> 
> 
> 
> egg spots= male, typo
Click to expand...

Neg. Egg spots are typical on both sexes - this fish doesn't have the black fins of a yellow lab, anyway, so it's definitely not one.


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## CichInTheMind

peacock/red zebra hybrid or red zebra/saulosi


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## FAMILYOFFISHLOVERS

i was wondering :? 
i was at an lfs yesterday, they had 2 different yellow fish in 1 tank. 1 with the black trim and 1 without. tank was labeled labini/yellow

i asked what the other yellow fish was without the black they said they were both yellow labs. that there are 2 types 1 with the black and 1 that is solid yellow. like the fish pictured above.

my question is ---- is there two types of yellow labs? like the lfs said or is he just wrong! :-?


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## CichInTheMind

there is the electric yellow lab and another type that has a white belly, they are from opposite sides of Lions Cove. the black can fade in/out depending on mood but solid yellow most likely kenyi or saulosi


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## Joea

FAMILYOFFISHLOVERS said:


> is there two types of yellow labs? like the lfs said or is he just wrong! :-?


He's just wrong. There is no naturally occurring _L. caeruleus_ that is pure yellow. They're hybrids, a cross of _Metriaclima estherae_ and _L. caeruleus_ and are unfortunately sold as pure in many cases.


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## etcbrown

Joea,

On this I really must disagree. If you have "Malawi cichlids in their natural habitat" 3rd edition; go to page 131 first complete paragraph. In it Ad Konings writes:

"Within a single population of L. caeruleus there may be some individuals with a black submarginal band in the dorsal and some that are entirely white. Some polymorphism should not be regarded as specific variation. There is a gradual change in the color pattern of the individuals of each neighboring population. In Tanzania the most northerly populations are entirely white; at Lundu males have a yellowish patch on the head; at Thumbi Point males have a blue hue all over the body; and at Liuli the population exhibit a degree of barring on a white body, a feature that is intensified in those at Hongi and Lundo Island. In Mozambique, at Liutche these bars have almost disappeared, and at Londo L. caeruleus is white with a black band in the dorsal fin. Mixed populations (with or without a submarginal band in the dorsal) are also found at Nkhata Bay in Malawi."

If you then turn the page to 132; there are 10 photographs of L. caeruleus from various locations ranging from pure white(Kaiser Point) to the traditional yellow with black bands (Lion's Cove) to blue with vertical black barring (Undu Point). Photograph 6 in the lower left of page 132 is a specimen at Nkhata Bay, it is a light yellow with a black submarginal band..........read the last sentence of the above paragraph.


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## Joea

etcbrown said:


> Photograph 6 in the lower left of page 132 is a specimen at Nkhata Bay, it is a light yellow with a black submarginal band..........read the last sentence of the above paragraph.


I hardly think a light yellow Nkhata Bay variant, without a submarginal black band could ever be confused as a hybrid _M. estherae/L. caeruleus_.

But if it's distinct accuracy you're after (even though I thought it was clear we were discussing bright yellow fish like the one pictured, not pale to light yellow, very uncommon fish in the hobby), let me be more precise, so I won't have to respond to any Axelrod quotes that may pop up....

He's just wrong. There is no naturally occurring *Lion's Cove* _L. caeruleus_ that is pure yellow. They're hybrids, a cross of _Metriaclima estherae_ and _L. caeruleus_ and are unfortunately sold as pure in many cases.


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## cichlidaholic

Joea said:


> He's just wrong. There is no naturally occurring *Lion's Cove* _L. caeruleus_ that is pure yellow. They're hybrids, a cross of _Metriaclima estherae_ and _L. caeruleus_ and are unfortunately sold as pure in many cases.


I agree...

I had the misfortune of purchasing some of those hybrids, and was not aware until fry were produced without any hint of black.

Unfortunately, we're talking tank raised fish here, not wild ones. And these hybrids are becoming so common that I refuse to even buy anymore tank raised Yellow labs.

Kim


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## etcbrown

Joea said:


> etcbrown said:
> 
> 
> 
> Photograph 6 in the lower left of page 132 is a specimen at Nkhata Bay, it is a light yellow with a black submarginal band..........read the last sentence of the above paragraph.
> 
> 
> 
> I hardly think a light yellow Nkhata Bay variant, without a submarginal black band could ever be confused as a hybrid _M. estherae/L. caeruleus_.
> 
> But if it's distinct accuracy you're after (even though I thought it was clear we were discussing bright yellow fish like the one pictured, not pale to light yellow, very uncommon fish in the hobby), let me be more precise, so I won't have to respond to any Axelrod quotes that may pop up....
> 
> He's just wrong. There is no naturally occurring *Lion's Cove* _L. caeruleus_ that is pure yellow. They're hybrids, a cross of _Metriaclima estherae_ and _L. caeruleus_ and are unfortunately sold as pure in many cases.
Click to expand...

 I'm glad I don't think that differing views are personal attacks. I take solace in knowing that just because someone proselytizes their view louder than most, it doesn't make it right. :thumb:


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## Neptune Boulevard

lol :fish:


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## FAMILYOFFISHLOVERS

curious, in the 2nd photo the center of the eyes look like they may be red. are they?


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## Neptune Boulevard

nope just a crappy camera, eyes are most definitely black.


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## Neptune Boulevard

let the quarreling begin...


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## CichInTheMind

that looks like the red zebra/"albino zebra" petco crosses lol


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## Neptune Boulevard

:-?


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## cichlidaholic

Still looks like a yellow lab/estherae cross to me!

Just be glad it's obvious, unlike the ones I had. They all had nice black markings on the dorsal. It wasn't until they had a clutch of fry without it that I knew what was going on!

Kim


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## zoz

cichlidaholic said:


> In the first pic, it looks like a peacock/mbuna mix.
> 
> 2nd and 3rd pics look more like M. estherae, but is it really truly yellow, or a pale orange?
> 
> Kim


the fish is really bright yellow and definately not pale orange.


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## zoz

Looked in the profile section and saw that some of the m.estherae looked yellow.(especially 2 year old male)do you get bright yellow red zebras that aren't hybrids? if so could mine be?(first set of pitures)


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## cichlidaholic

I've never seen an estherae that I would consider "yellow" in the least.

The thing is, with flash and lighting and different cameras, it's very hard to tell exactly what shade your fish is, so it's hard to say for sure.

There is something about the body shape of the first pic that makes me think it isn't a pure estherae.

Kim


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## Ispintechno

Second fish looks like a Metriaclima barlowi from Mbenjii Island, first fish appears to be some variant of the same specie maybe...


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## cichlidaholic

Matt, I believe they are all of the same fish! :wink:

Kim


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## Ispintechno

Presto-Change-oH! 

:lol: yes... I knew that


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