Labidochromis Caeruleus

[fuzzyferret]

I've seen a tank full of these fish, and I keep yellow ones!!

These are so dark, they are almost black. Some of them have almost black stripes down their sides (all of the time) and are a dirty yellow/black - they are really not good examples.
Their shapes are not ideal either - some are rather hollow, and I don't think that they've had a good life so far.

The guy who owns them seemed quite proud, but to me it was like looking at a video of animal cruelty!
I was so upset, and yet can't bring myself to 'save' any, as I don't want these in my tank with my good stock which do sometimes breed (but I do get good homes for my fry - they do not stay in the tank).
I suppose a rescue tank would be ideal, but I've now run out of wall space.

Could this be caused by inbreeding?
Has anyone come across any such problems like this?

 

[dthoffsett]

Sounds like poor breeding to me. While even wild caught can occasionally be found with some black barring or bearding excessive amounts just aren't desirable. My LFS quality has definately gone down, it's too bad, they're such a lovely fish.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

I bought a yellow lab from walmart and when he matured he has lots of black around his jaw and down his body....

 

[fuzzyferret]

No - when I say black, I mean black all over!!

In the end, I took three of the worst looking females you can ever imagine. One is weedy and almost black all over, one looks like it has been dragged through a hedge backwards and then put through a shredder, and the other one is black/blotchy all over and has a mouth that crosses over itself - it still manages to eat though!
If I get my head around it I'll try and post pics later.

I've decided to keep them in my large fry tank (there are loads of hiding places for the fry) and let them live out their lives there. I couldn't just leave them.

It's not often I look at fish and think that I'd like to really slap their owners with something hard and pointy......