Cichlid Of The Month: Labidochromis Caeruleus

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Labidochromis caeruleus

By far one of the most popular of the mbuna species.

Please share your pictures and experiences with this wonderful fish.

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I'll start us out, I kept L.caeruleus for a little over 3 years. I found them to be a fantastic starter mbuna species as they are quite peaceful compared to the majority of the species.

That said, I started with several in a 29 gallon bowfront tank and soon 1 male and 2 females took over the tank killing all of the other occupants. They bred several times and would even kill their offspring once they reached around an inch. About a year after I started the tank I upgraded to a 75 gallon and after adding the adult labs with juveniles of several other species the labs quickly became quite docile and dropped to the bottom of the hierarchy.

IME they are far less shy when kept in groups of 5 or more, when kept in an adequate sized tank (4ft) multiple males are tolerated and oddly enough even the most aggressive species tend to ignore them. They are one of the few omnivorous species mostly eating insects and small crustaceans in the wild. As such they tend to ignore most vegetables but love the occasional brine shrimp treat or small snails (ie. malaysian trumpet snails).

They can be mixed with peacocks and haps as well due to their more peaceful temperment and feeding requirements.

All in all I highly recommend them to anyone interesting in mbuna, new keeper and experienced alike.

Here are a few pictures of my past labs.

Holding female

Male

Female I believe

Male I believe

 

[kribensis12]

I just bought some labs this past Jan. They were about 1 inch. THey grew extremely fast, and I had a majority of males, so I switched them out for females( I have 5 in a 30g with plenty of rock work). Then, they bred. Long story short, I just sold some babies a couple weeks ago and now have over 30 fry in a 30g for growing out.

Here is a video of a holding female:



Here is an older pic of the fry in a bowl while I was cleaning:

That was about 2 weeks ago. They are now triple the size and turning yellow.

 

[mjzuverink]

have had these in past mbuna tanks, but just got a bunch yesterday for a species only tank. here is some of the ones i just got. feel free to check the rest of them our in my journal in my signiture

 

[kribensis12]

The one in the top right( not the half fish, the whole one) looks to me a immature red zebra or something. I don't believe it's a yellow lab.

 

[mjzuverink]

hmm, sorry it is a yellow lab, i can see what your thinking though, maybe it is the lighting or something but the breeder i got them from i know bred all these from a single colony of labs, the only other fish he has in the tank is two kenyi. i think the red zebra would be a bit more orange. im sure if you saw the tank in person you would agree

 

[kribensis12]

The coloration and the blue bottom fin-age and the egg spot made me think other wise.

 

[mjzuverink]

yellow labs can have egg spots. and the blue fin can be seen on young african cichid of a cichlid with a clear fin from the lighting in the thank but thanks for the input i will keep an eye on it as it matures. again i think if you saw the all the fishes in the tank in person it would be easier for me to explain

 

[dthoffsett]

Labs can have egg spots, my big male did, but even juveniles will show the black band on their dorsal and ventral fins, I'd definitely keep an eye on it and certainly wouldn't use it if you intend to breed for sale.

 

[mjzuverink]

hmm , in my experience i have had many that never develope a black bad on their fins. I have always been told that some do not have it expressed and it is often a mistaken way of sexing them

 

[dthoffsett]

hmm , in my experience i have had many that never develope a black bad on their fins. I have always been told that some do not have it expressed and it is often a mistaken way of sexing them

Interesting, every lab I've ever seen or kept (aside from albinos) have the black barring, I have seen some poor quality ones that have faint or broken bars but they've all had some. I've never heard of using it to sex them either.

I'm not saying your breeder is unreliable, however, it has become quite popular (at least in the us) to cross breed L.caeruleus & M.estherae to produce yellow fish with no black markings. These are often sold as yellow labs.

Regardless, unless the fish conforms to the standard markings of the species it should not be included in a breeding group. For more on the different color variants check this out.
http/malawicichlids.com/mw09001j.htm

 

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Anyone else care to share their experience with this wonderful species?

 

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Well, the month is coming to a close, I'll be adding a pinned topic linking the Cichlid of the Month threads when I start the December COTM. Even though it's titled COTM, I hope everyone will update us with how their L.caeruleus are doing.

Dawn

 

[demasonisrule]

These two have been in my tank for about two weeks now, and now that I go back and look at this picture, I am noticing how much they have changed!

 

[kribensis12]

I have some new pictures. Here is my male :

And here are the fry: