African cichlids changing color

[Tinycl]

About 2 months ago,i bought 2 Kenyi cichlids.The smaller of the 2 was yellow and the bigger was blue.Now they seem to have reversed color and the bigger is starting to get yellow and the smaller is turning blue.

I don't know if this is normal and i haven't found any good imformation on these fish.The larger one seems a lot more aggressive also.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ryan]

small kenyi's will be blue (male and female). as the males get larger they turn a kind of yellow-orange. however with multiple males the dominant male will show its color, and any subdominant males will have a sort of orange/blue mix. generally speaking. I would assume that you have two males, and there has been a shift in dominance.

ryan

 

[Tinycl]

Thank you for the info.Was hoping for a male/female pair but looks like i struck out.Is there any way to sex them when they are small?

 

[ryan]

not to my knowledge, but im certainly not an expert on africans. to be honest kenyi's are one of two african cichlid species i've ever kept. as far as i know the only way to tell is by coloration.

ryan

 

[JSchmidt]

You can sex them by venting them (looking at their 'goods', but you have to know what to look for.

Here's a web site that shows how:

http://www.fishhead.com/articles/ventsex.htm

My experience with Ps. lombardoi has been that they're prolific breeders, if you have a male-female pair.

Jim

 

[Tinycl]

Thanks again for all the info.