Whatsup with Adrian my black Yellow Lab fry!?

[MatthewDRyan]

My Yellow labs had fry (about 20 of them!) that are about 2 months old now. I know the males tend to grow bigger and tend to have more dark defined lines on their fins. But whatsup with Adrian!? hes wayy darker than any of the others. he has black all over him and an awesome blue sparkle is seen at the right angle. is this normal for electric yellow fry? will it go away i hope not? does it perhaps signify his dominance over the other male fry

 

[Wy Renegade]

Wow! Based on that picture, I would speculate that Adrian in fact may be a hybrid. Any chance something else breed with your female lab?

 

[MatthewDRyan]

ooh wow this makes things interesting. Could my Electric Blue Johanni have crossbred with the lab?! that is the only other fish i have in the tank that could have done it.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I wouldn't think this is likely, since they are not only seperate species, but completely different genuses as well. Any chance this could be a Melanochromis johanni juvinile that is just starting to color up rather than a Lab fry?

 

[MatthewDRyan]

A possible Electric Blue/Electric Yellow cross?!?

could my Electric Blue Johanni have bred with my female Electric Yellow lab?!?

 

[MatthewDRyan]

I wouldn't think this is likely, since they are not only seperate species, but completely different genuses as well. Any chance this could be a Melanochromis johanni juvinile that is just starting to color up rather than a Lab fry?

No way.I haven't introduced any new fish into the tank. Adrian came from the mother lab along with all the other fry. he has been dark since he was a really little guy too. The odd one out color-wise but fits right in

 

[MatthewDRyan]

I should also note that a few of the other fry in the bunch have faint black lines just like Adrians only they are much less vivid i will post pics later

 

[HUKIT]

I wouldn't think this is likely, since they are not only seperate species, but completely different genuses as well. Any chance this could be a Melanochromis johanni juvinile that is just starting to color up rather than a Lab fry?

It doesn't matter any African mouthbrooder will spawn with any other mouthbrooding species especially if their own female is absent.

Hybrids are generally looked down upon in africans but as long as your not selling them or trading them to the local store keep them.

 

[Wy Renegade]

It doesn't matter any African mouthbrooder will spawn with any other mouthbrooding species especially if their own female is absent.

Hybrids are generally looked down upon in africans but as long as your not selling them or trading them to the local store keep them.

Thank you HUKIT - good to know. I knew that within the genus they often cross, but didn't realize they could cross genus.

Matt, I would say that you definitely have a hybrid. Yellow Labs will get some darker black on them, like mine pictured below, but I've never seen a "normal" one color up to the degree yours is.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I wouldnt be so quick to put it off as a hybrid. there's a guy who owns a cichlid breeding business nearby and was showing me some of his yellow labs with similar coloration in a lab only tank... I think it gives them some character

 

[Wy Renegade]

I wouldnt be so quick to put it off as a hybrid. there's a guy who owns a cichlid breeding business nearby and was showing me some of his yellow labs with similar coloration in a lab only tank... I think it gives them some character

Interesting - perhaps so, but the neither the body shape nor coloring is what I would consider "typical" of the labs I've seen. Certainly though, I'm no expert. Thanks for the info

 

[mfdrookie516]

If you go here and look under images, click on the second one from the bottom... similar coloring. Stress can also cause them to darken up even more than their normal coloring.

 

[MatthewDRyan]

Thank you all! this is awesome being that its the first question i have ever actually asked in a forum B4 i usually just do Google searches and get directed to particular similar forums. Thanks for the insight this is getting interesting. more photos to come

 

[Wy Renegade]

If you go here and look under images, click on the second one from the bottom... similar coloring. Stress can also cause them to darken up even more than their normal coloring.

I hope you don't think that I'm arguing, certainly I agree that that one is darker on the body, as is the one of mine that didn't post up correctly before, in fact, its even got darker stripes than the one you linked to.

But the difference that really stands out to me on Matt's is the mask on the face - its very uncharacteristic of Labidochromis caeruleus.

 

[mattrox]

To me it looks like the lab picked up a stray wherever it was, looks more like a P. flavus to me.

Species Profiles -- Cichlid-Forum

 

[mfdrookie516]

I hope you don't think that I'm arguing, certainly I agree that that one is darker on the body, as is the one of mine that didn't post up correctly before, in fact, its even got darker stripes than the one you linked to.

But the difference that really stands out to me on Matt's is the mask on the face - its very uncharacteristic of Labidochromis caeruleus.

you know what, I think me and you are both wrong. I think Mattrox may have the correct answer. These guys can look so similar to each other!

 

[HUKIT]

Here's a discussion on a very similar fish

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - My Dirty Hybrid Yellow Lab

 

[Wy Renegade]

you know what, I think me and you are both wrong. I think Mattrox may have the correct answer. These guys can look so similar to each other!

Definitely an interesting proposal; OP, how long were the fish in your tank prior to release of young?

Here's a discussion on a very similar fish

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - My Dirty Hybrid Yellow Lab

Interesting discussion as well.

 

[mattrox]

Since all the others are "normal" yellow labs it is extremely unlikely that just one is a hybrid......

 

[Marconis]

Hmm. I always bought all of my Yellow Lab's as juvies. When they were still young, they had black bars that were prominent when stressed. As they aged, though, they never really popped up again. Your Lab does not even look like a Lab, but maybe that's just me. Something about the shape of the face seems a little off.