Does this look like a yellow lab to you?

[Sonny Disposition]

Uncle Ruckus' post about the yellow zebras got me thinking. I have what I thought was the best looking yellow lab I've ever come across. I'm wondering now whether he might be a hybrid of a yellow lab and some other species. The reason I say this is that he never bred with any of the females. Anyone want to take a guess? Does the fish at the bottom look like a yellow lab or a hybrid to you?

 

[maddog10]

Looks like a yellow lab to me.

 

[SubMariner]

Looks like a great looking Lab to me Bob.


RM

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Thanks, guys. Maybe he's a yellow lab who's just not interested in girls.

Looks like a great looking Lab to me Bob.


RM

 

[Pat Kelly]

Looks like a lab here also.

 

[SubMariner]

Maybe, your lab is a little picky. Give him time or maybe try some new strategies.


Good Luck,

Richard

 

[Pat Kelly]

A little Barry White.
Mood lighting.
Privacy.

If that does'nt work then introduce another male to get him jealous.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Thanks guys. Maybe he just needs a pair of beer goggles. After I saw the resemblance in Uncle Ruckus' photos, I got to thinking that he was such an outstanding fish that maybe he was a hybrid with something else.

Sadly, that little female in the photo with him passed away. (Why, I don't know.) All three females that I got in that batch with him are also gone. I bought another batch of young fish and am now waiting for them to get big enough.

A little Barry White.
Mood lighting.
Privacy.

If that does'nt work then introduce another male to get him jealous.

 

[danger_chicken]

How big/old is he and the others?

 

[readebruce]

I guess hybrid...

It's hard to tell because it isn't a profile picture, but I'd say the guy on the bottom of the photo is a hybrid. His pigmentation is like a Labidochromis caeruleus, but the morphology of his head and mouth doesn't seem quite right to me.

Labidochromis have slender bodies - they're insectivores with a pointy forward-facing mouth:
http://www.africancichlids.net/gallery/labidochromis_caeruleus13.jpg http://www.aquariumlife.net/profile-images/yellow-lab-lg.jpg

Your guy looks a bit more like this supposed "Labidochromis":
http://www.borstein.com/sam/images/Labidochromis_caereuleus-M.jpg

I'm guessing that the last link is to a hybrid - it is clearly different than the first two. It has a more Metriaclima-like deep body and lower-oriented jaw morphology, but Labidochromis caeruleus pigmentation.

I'd compare the morphology of your guy in profile to the above photos - it's hard for me to make a morphology call because of the angle. Try to ignore the pigmentation...

Hopefully that was helpful and the links all work!

 

[Sonny Disposition]

He's about a year old. The others are small fish, I bought at Scales about a month ago.

How big/old is he and the others?

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Yeah, he does have a more rounded head. That was the main reason I asked the question. I'll try to get a photo of him, but he hides a lot. He was getting aggressive, so I had to put him behind an egg crate partition.

It's hard to tell because it isn't a profile picture, but I'd say the guy on the bottom of the photo is a hybrid. His pigmentation is like a Labidochromis caeruleus, but the morphology of his head and mouth doesn't seem quite right to me.

Labidochromis have slender bodies - they're insectivores with a pointy forward-facing mouth:
http://www.africancichlids.net/gallery/labidochromis_caeruleus13.jpg http://www.aquariumlife.net/profile-images/yellow-lab-lg.jpg

Your guy looks a bit more like this supposed "Labidochromis":
http://www.borstein.com/sam/images/Labidochromis_caereuleus-M.jpg

I'm guessing that the last link is to a hybrid - it is clearly different than the first two. It has a more Metriaclima-like deep body and lower-oriented jaw morphology, but Labidochromis caeruleus pigmentation.

I'd compare the morphology of your guy in profile to the above photos - it's hard for me to make a morphology call because of the angle. Try to ignore the pigmentation...

Hopefully that was helpful and the links all work!

 

[readebruce]

Hey Sonny, I took a second look at your photo and feel a bit more convinced that the bottom fish is a hybrid. The top fish in the picture looks a lot more like a Labidochromis than the bottom one. Just comparing the mouths of the two fish in the picture suggests that they aren't the same species. The top one has the small beak-like mouth that defines the genus, and the bottom guy has a much wider mouth.

Sorry if this is a disappointment to you!

Yeah, he does have a more rounded head. That was the main reason I asked the question. I'll try to get a photo of him, but he hides a lot. He was getting aggressive, so I had to put him behind an egg crate partition.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Thank you. Yeah, it's a bummer. He is one nice looking fish.

 

[longstocking]

Bob.... I'm pretty sure it's a hybrid as well.

Lets say it isn't for arguement sake....

This fish still should not be used as a breeder. It is not a good example of this species.

 

[Sonny Disposition]

I'm inclined to agree with both of you. I'll try to get another photo of him tonight to post again, but his head is really rounded and his jawline is really heavy--something I don't see in any of the other yellow labs. At the moment, he's not breeding with anybody, as he's behind bars (or behind egg crate, anyway) in the cichlid detention center, along with the three salvini.

He grew twice as large as the other labs, twice as fast, and, even though I wasn't watching, probably played a role in their untimely demise.

 

[McFluffrichromis]

I want to join conversation.

I have a pair of yellow labs. I too also wanted to see peoples opinion on their looks.

These guys are paired up but have not produced fertile eggs yet. The female holds eggs every couple of weeks but drops them after a couple days of holding.

Female



The Male



I wanted to see if anybody sees any evidence of non pure blood in these two.

 

[longstocking]

They don't look right to me.

They shouldn't be used as breeders. Not good examples of the species. Just my opinion....

 

[Sonny Disposition]

Patrick, now that you mention it, I'd have to say they look like hybrids as well. Rounded heads. Thick lips. Long pectoral fins. You don't see those on your average yellow labs.

The fact that they haven't produced offspring also suggests that their lineage isn't pure L. caeruleus. There's no way to prove this without DNA testing, of course. But since no one wants to ruin a neat aquarium species by distributing hybrids around, I think it's best not to plan a breeding effort around them.

I'm planning to bring my fish in for the meeting tomorrow (but not for the auction.) Everyone can have a look and tell me what they think.

 

[readebruce]

Hi Patrick -

They also don't look right to me, though I think they look a bit more like Labidochromis than Sonny's do. You can check the links I posted above in the thread for comparison.

The last link I posted above is clearly not a Labidochromis in my opinion, yet it is from a breeder selling them as pure Labidochromis from wild-caught stocks. The best I can tell it is from a Metriaclima x Labidochromis hybrid line selected for Labidochromis coloration.

Unfortunately, I think either intentionally or unintentionally some breeders produce hybrid pools and then pull fish out and name them based on their coloration. You have to look at morphology as well to make a good determination.

Sorry to add to the bad news!