"Dirty" electric yellow-lab cichlid

[mceagle555]

I guess you learn something new everyday. They came out of a mixed african tank at my LFS.

So are we assumed that the top one doesn't look like he is diseased? The reason I ask is that as of 2 weeks ago, they looked identical.

It is odd you mention the top one should be dominant. They are the only two in the tank and the bottom one is definitely dominant and slightly bigger. Anything else I need to look out for?

 

[cav]

I guess you learn something new everyday. They came out of a mixed african tank at my LFS.

So are we assumed that the top one doesn't look like he is diseased? The reason I ask is that as of 2 weeks ago, they looked identical.

It is odd you mention the top one should be dominant. They are the only two in the tank and the bottom one is definitely dominant and slightly bigger. Anything else I need to look out for?

lol, my Daktari tried to be for a while untill some of the others over took him in size and now I have very little aggression in my tank despite the diverse stock I have, I find that at least once a week there will be all out war for about ten mins then it all settles back down again. Be sure to provide plenty of rocks for the Daktari as they tend to like watch the world from the safety of a cave

 

[kay-bee]

The top one isn't a kenyi. The other one might be a dakari or part-dakari (pretty rare for those to wind up in assorted tanks, but anything is possible).

So are we assumed that the top one doesn't look like he is diseased? The reason I ask is that as of 2 weeks ago, they looked identical.

It's undergoing some sort of pattern or color transformation. Might look completely different when it's larger (if it is a hybrid).

It is odd you mention the top one should be dominant. They are the only two in the tank and the bottom one is definitely dominant and slightly bigger. Anything else I need to look out for?

Yep, aggression. Keeping only two mbuna in a tank isn't good. They need to be maintained decent sized groups (6 to 8+). With just two the sub-dominant one will receive 100% of all the aggression.

I guess you learn something new everyday. They came out of a mixed african tank at my LFS....

Were you told they were yellow labs or did you guess that was what they were?

 

[cav]

Google images of Daktari definatley match the second fish and it looks exactly like my daktari

 

[mceagle555]

The top one isn't a kenyi. The other one might be a dakari or part-dakari (pretty rare for those to wind up in assorted tanks, but anything is possible).



It's undergoing some sort of pattern or color transformation. Might look completely different when it's larger (if it is a hybrid).



Yep, aggression. Keeping only two mbuna in a tank isn't good. They need to be maintained decent sized groups (6 to 8+). With just two the sub-dominant one will receive 100% of all the aggression.



Were you told they were yellow labs or did you guess that was what they were?

So you would recommend going back to the store and picking up a few more mbuna? My LFS has them for 88c each until 12/15. If so, are there specific ones I should pick out?

I guessed they were yellow labs. I actually have an excellent LFS.

 

[kay-bee]

So you would recommend going back to the store and picking up a few more mbuna....If so, are there specific ones I should pick out?

Yes, get a more. How large is your tank (that will dictate how many you can stock, hopefully it's at least a 55gal). Most mbuna's are compatible with each other (exception, of course, those that are highly conspecific aggressive, hyperdominant or bare low toleration of their own kind). What species are you interested in?

 

[mceagle555]

Yes, get a more. How large is your tank (that will dictate how many you can stock, hopefully it's at least a 55gal). Most mbuna's are compatible with each other (exception, of course, those that are highly conspecific aggressive, hyperdominant or bare low toleration of their own kind). What species are you interested in?

Not really sure what species I am most interested in. I am new to the world of aquariums and the amount of cichlid names are too numerous to mention. If the LFS is quite reputable, should I be safe getting putting any fish together from the Mixed African Tank?

 

[kay-bee]

...should I be safe getting putting any fish together from the Mixed African Tank?

Possibly. Depends on what you actually get and how your tank is set up (in terms of volume, aquascape, quantity of mbuna, gender ratio, are you planning to breed them, etc). Aggressive species like kenyi and auratus are often found in the assorted tanks. Beautiful fish, but can be very aggressive when matured.

Does your LFS have any mbuna species tanks? Many hobbyists prefer to obtain their mbuna's from species tanks or breeders (just for the fact that you know what you're getting, though that's not always a sure thing, I've seen yellow labs tainted with red zebra lineage being sold as Yellow Labs, so it also helps to know what they're supposed to look like).

What colors or patterns are you interested in?

 

[mceagle555]

Possibly. Depends on what you actually get and how your tank is set up (in terms of volume, aquascape, quantity of mbuna, gender ratio, are you planning to breed them, etc). Aggressive species like kenyi and auratus are often found in the assorted tanks. Beautiful fish, but can be very aggressive when matured.

Does your LFS have any mbuna species tanks? Many hobbyists prefer to obtain their mbuna's from species tanks or breeders (just for the fact that you know what you're getting, though that's not always a sure thing, I've seen yellow labs tainted with red zebra lineage being sold as Yellow Labs, so it also helps to know what they're supposed to look like).

What colors or patterns are you interested in?

I'm a fan of anything similar to a yellow lab, convicts, purplish/blueish convicts, or something similar to what is in your avatar.

 

[AquariumNoob13]

what about for those of us that DO have actual yellow labs, is it normal for them to be getting a black line in their middle?