Chilumba Question:

[Sonny Disposition]

Hi. I've heard that in some Malawi cichlid species, females have egg spots on the ventral fin.

Does anybody know if that's the case with the Aulonocara stuartgranti Chilumba variant?

Out of the original seven, I've got five left. One of the males has deep blue color around the edges. A couple of others have faint blue color. The rest are dull gray. All of the five have egg spots on the ventral fins.

Do I have five males, with one dominant, and 4 subdominant?

 

[maddog10]

Both males and females can have (or not have) egg spots.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Thanks Mike. They're a nice fish, and I might like the option of breeding them some day. (That would be tough to do, I think, with only five males)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (maddog10 @ Jun 10 2008, 05:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Both males and females can have (or not have) egg spots.[/b]

 

[Pat Kelly]

You had me looking last night and yes my 4 all have egg spots but two are holding. lol

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Thank you. That's good to know. Now I'm hopeful. I really like the color of the dominant male. I don't know that I've ever kept a fish that was such a deep, yet luminescent shade of blue. He's even colorful first thing in the morning when I turn the overhead light on before I turn the tank light on.

Compared to the livebearers I'd been keeping, the Aulonocaras seem to take a long time to mature. The dominant male seems to be coloring up from the outside in, with color on the head and the outer edges of the body, but gray in the middle.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pat Kelly @ Jun 11 2008, 09:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

You had me looking last night and yes my 4 all have egg spots but two are holding. lol

[/b]

 

[Pat Kelly]

And the older the fish, the more color.
Thats always a problem when growing a tank of Peacocks up. Only a few will color at a time.

 

[dogofwar]

They can start breeding before they're fully colored up, though

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pat Kelly @ Jun 11 2008, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

And the older the fish, the more color.
Thats always a problem when growing a tank of Peacocks up. Only a few will color at a time.[/b]

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Well, he's a nice looking fish now. It's nice to think he'll only get better looking. (I wish I could get better looking as I get older.)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dogofwar @ Jun 11 2008, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

They can start breeding before they're fully colored up, though

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pat Kelly @ Jun 11 2008, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And the older the fish, the more color.
Thats always a problem when growing a tank of Peacocks up. Only a few will color at a time.[/b]

[/b][/quote]