# Finally got some pics



## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

Not great, but they are something to go by

Sorry for the quality hope you can tell the difference




























here it actually is light blue.. Did I get lucky and get a pair? Or still too early to tell


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

Also here is a pic of my tank before I added anything. I know its kind of silly, but it was a spur of the moment type of thing and working with what I had. Its a white and blue UT/Tennessee football field lol. I was wondering if I could maybe put something over the white and blue, or just put more white and then add caves and plants etc. Or maybe if it would look good with the white and blue?? I doubt it, but Im open for criticism/opinions.. I dont know why I didnt get a better idea before I did this. For one I didnt know what was going in there besides the black ghost knife. I have another 55 gal. Corner type tank if the black ghost knife cant get along with the Cichlids


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## toume (Oct 7, 2010)

Looks like Kenyi to me--how many do you have?

You'll want more than a "pair" as in just one male and one female.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

mbuna's don't "pair" - they're harem breeders. 1M:4F typically.

Looks like a Kenyi (too young to tell male/female - males start out blue too) and a Yellow Lab (young and female can have some barring, if it doesnt fade it's likely a hybrid).


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

If what don't fade? Does it matter that the lights were just turned on? Its the only way I can catch them in one spot. Barely did here. Seems it made their color change some. Was just told it was not a Kenyi on another site. said that the stripes are to skinny?


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## toume (Oct 7, 2010)

I think what Glaneon meant is that the first image appears like a yellow lab with stress barring.
Kenyi juveniles are blue (both sexes); the males don't turn yellow until they reach sexual maturity, which is when they're about 2" long (approx.--sometimes they're bigger but rarely smaller).

However, I think you'll need more than the normal 4-5 females per single male. With Kenyi, 6-8 females (with 8 being the safer number) is better to curb the aggression of the male. If you have just the single female, she will get chased/run down till she dies...


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

They aren't the same species.

The yellow fish is either a poor quality Labidochromis caeruleus, or hybrid of the same. I'm not certain on the blue thing, but pure Metriaclima lombardi it is not. Could be a mixed fish with Metriaclima callainos in it... not sure.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

Well he!!.... When I got to the lfs and get more how do I know for certain they are pure and not hybrid cause they usually just say African cichlids. Not Kenyi, or Lab, etc. And dont want to order off the net and them die, or be dead when I get them. At least petsmart has a decent return policy. Yall know of a site to order from that is not over priced and has a guarantee on their fish?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

VolForLife said:


> Well he!!.... When I got to the lfs and get more how do I know for certain they are pure and not hybrid cause they usually just say African cichlids. Not Kenyi, or Lab, etc. And dont want to order off the net and them die, or be dead when I get them. At least petsmart has a decent return policy. Yall know of a site to order from that is not over priced and has a guarantee on their fish?


If you want quality fish, you have to pay a quality fish price. If you want to pay discount prices, you get discount fish.

Check out the site sponsors here, and browse through their listings (links section above). See if there is anything you like. Alternatively check out Aquabid.com

Most business have a guarantee of some sort, regarding live arrival.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

True.. those stripes are too numerous and too thin to really be a Kenyi.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

perhaps this fish?

http://bluegrassaquatics.com/pseudotrop ... ikoma.html

And thanks Ill look around. I actually am now and came across this fish and noticed its colors and stripes are like that of mine


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

No, your fish isn't the elongaust likoma.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

toume said:


> I think what Glaneon meant is that the first image appears like a yellow lab with stress barring.
> Kenyi juveniles are blue (both sexes); the males don't turn yellow until they reach sexual maturity, which is when they're about 2" long (approx.--sometimes they're bigger but rarely smaller).
> 
> However, I think you'll need more than the normal 4-5 females per single male. With Kenyi, 6-8 females (with 8 being the safer number) is better to curb the aggression of the male. If you have just the single female, she will get chased/run down till she dies...


I forgot to mention that the stripes are only there when I turn the tank light on. Otherwise they are not noticeable. I had the lights off last night letting them sleep and though if I turned the light on I could get some pics of them motionless which almost worked. I dunno if their colors change in the dark or if it was cause it was in a state of shock from all of a sudden light


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## Alleycat (Dec 2, 2006)

Fogelhund said:


> If you want quality fish, you have to pay a quality fish price. If you want to pay discount prices, you get discount fish. .


Well put !

Also, if you have a fish club close by, you could have a source for quality fish right around the corner.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

This is what I was just told on cichlids.com

The yellow fish is a yellow lab/labidochromis caeruleus, the blue fish is a powder blue socolofi/pseudotropheus socolofi.

Both specimens are displaying stress barring. With the socolofi the barring will fade in time (the pattern is mood-based). The barring that the lab has may also be temporary or it may be a permanent pattern.

Stress barring (as a temporary pattern which can last for minutes or persist for months) usually manifests when the fish are introduced into a new environment, are intimidated (directly or indirectly) by other fish, etc. As they gain more confidence and dominance, the temporary barring will go away).

Over-bred yellow labs can often have permanent barring.

If I had to wager I'd say they're both females.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

Get a profile shot of the blue fish. From what I see above, it doesnt appear to have the shape of a Socolofi.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Look at the profile pictures of socolofi. Your fish lacks all of the black pigment expected in the finnage. It most certainly isn't a socolofi. I also have no idea how someone would conclude these are females at this point. I believe that the blue fish is a Metriaclima zebra complex type fish, or hybrid...


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

More pics. Please read the info between the pics

This is not my fish, but the color when I got her/him. This is supposed to be a Kenyi










This is what MINE looked liked when I took pic earlier compared to the ones I posted last night^

Its almost white? Silver her fins are still electric blue like. The body changes color all day and so does its bar pattern. Is normal for bar pattern to change? Usually has bars, but when its this light it don't. Sometimes they aint even straight bars if that makes sense



















And here is my yellow today









Yesterday with bars


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

While it is fun to speculate, the message seems to be these would not be the ideal founders of a breeding program.

If a breeding program is not your goal and fry will go to a synodontis group then the exact ID of the blue fish may not be possible or essential.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

Good news though; your yellow lab is looking MUCH better.

That blue is not a socolofi (not pure anyway). Their stripes are irridescent (they don't show when a flash hits them)

I do have a small female kenyi in a grow-out tank whose stripes come and go fairly rapidly... As DJ said... it may not be possible to ID. I'd hazard it's a hybrid.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

I have came to a conclusion I just went and got 3 more labs and 4 Acei Cichlids. Like the blue one that no1 can ID for me they Aceis turn from dark to light also, but only in certain parts of the aquarium. I have a gravel pattern in my tank where it goes blue white blue white. 5lbs of white, 5lbs of blue repeat across the tank. Im thinking they are tryin to blend in with the rocks? You can watch them change from light to dark in a matter of seconds, or its around certain fish, or just perhaps they are still young and or in a new tank, but the blue one Im tryin to ID went frm a Dark purple and now stays light, but when I FIRST added the Acei Cichlids it turned dark.. Pretty interesting


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

African cichlids do not have the capability to mask their colours depending on the rock they are around. Ps. acei will go from dark to light, particularly the dominant ones.


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

I dunno if yall remember what my 1 fish looked like that we couldnt ID and I deleted the pics from my photobucket not thinking about this, but I am pretty sure it is a Labidochromis Chismulae (clown lab). I was searching for other species to add with me yellow, and Acei and came across this fish and read about it and looked at many pics and am about 98% sure. For those interested here is a link and explains my fish pretty well.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_chisumulae.php


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I've kept and bred Lab. chisimulae a few times. I'm not certain how I would look at pictures of one, and not recognize it as such. The fish I seem to recall didn't look like the chisimulae though. Perhaps you could repost the pics?


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## VolForLife (Dec 7, 2010)

I dont have them anymore, but I will try to get another pic up tonight, or tomorrow


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