Yellow Lab And Color...

[Hero]

My yellow lab had a nice black line going down only the top fin when I bought it. The black line seems to have completely disappeared and the yellow body looks half white too now. Whats happening? I want a strong yellow lab with plenty of black in all fins, not just the top. Does only the top signify a specific sex?

 

[dthoffsett]

That sounds odd, any chance of pic?

Looking at your other post, since you have the lab, and kennyi, demasoni, and red zebra (labidochromis caeruleus, metriaclima lombardoi, pseudotropheus demasoni, & metricalima esthereae respectively) in a 20gal tank; the most likely explanation is stress. You have one relatively peaceful species (the lab) in with a fairly aggressive one (red zebra), and two highly aggressive species (the kennyi and demasoni) in an entirely too small tank. I'd say once they hit sexual maturity (at around 2") you'll start seeing some deaths. And to be honest, IMO a 55 gal is too small for the kennyi, they should be kept in 75gal or larger due to aggression.

Unless you can get a larger tank in the next few weeks, I'd highly suggest trying to return or rehome them until you can get a suitable environment.

 

[Hero]

That sounds odd, any chance of pic?

Looking at your other post, since you have the lab, and kennyi, demasoni, and red zebra (labidochromis caeruleus, metriaclima lombardoi, pseudotropheus demasoni, & metricalima esthereae respectively) in a 20gal tank; the most likely explanation is stress. You have one relatively peaceful species (the lab) in with a fairly aggressive one (red zebra), and two highly aggressive species (the kennyi and demasoni) in an entirely too small tank. I'd say once they hit sexual maturity (at around 2") you'll start seeing some deaths. And to be honest, IMO a 55 gal is too small for the kennyi, they should be kept in 75gal or larger due to aggression.

Unless you can get a larger tank in the next few weeks, I'd highly suggest trying to return or rehome them until you can get a suitable environment.

Ok, so pretty much stressed out. About how long will it take one of these fish to grow an inch? I have had them for a couple weeks and haven't noticed growth (but i see them everyday). I should have the new tank within a month.

 

[dthoffsett]

They should be ok for a month though I wouldn't push is much past that.

 

[helterskelter]

When you have a larger tank try getting 1-2 more as the males in breeding condation are stunning, and if the fish have been feed hormones to bring the colour's out then of course they will soon lose them as it's quite possible a female.

 

[Hero]

When you have a larger tank try getting 1-2 more as the males in breeding condation are stunning, and if the fish have been feed hormones to bring the colour's out then of course they will soon lose them as it's quite possible a female.

And you can sex a male by the black being on the anal fin or what?

 

[helterskelter]

When their small it's almost impossible.

But mature males have brighter colours esp when breeding.
Cant use egg spot's either as both sex's have them.

 

[dthoffsett]

The only reliable way to sex labidochromis caeruleus is to vent them. The black markings and egg spots aren't a determining factor. As helterskelter pointed out, dominant males in full breeding dress are fairly easy to pick out, however females and sub-dominate males look pretty much identical.

Here's a good article on venting.
[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gender.php"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gender.php[/URL]