Lemon Yellow Cichlid or Something Else?

[Derek Sherman]

Hi All!

I have a fish that was supposed to be a Lemon Yellow cichlid, but now
I'm not so sure. He seems to dark - a lot more orange to him then
yellow. I've got some images up at the following address :

http://members.aol.com/disciple%20of%20zor/Fish/fish.html

At the moment I've had him for about four months, and he's approximately
2 inches long. Not overly aggressive (unless I'm trying to take his
picture). Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks

Derek

--
"Good luck to you in your holy cause, Captain Sheridan. May your
choices have better results than mine. Remembered, not as a
messenger, remembered not as a reformer, not as a prophet, not
as a hero, not even as Sebastian. Remembered only .. as Jack."
-- Sebastian to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "Comes the Inquisitor"

[Bob K.]

>I have a fish that was supposed to be a Lemon Yellow cichlid, but now
>I'm not so sure. He seems to dark - a lot more orange to him then
>yellow. I've got some images up at the following address :
>
>http://members.aol.com/disciple%20of%20zor/Fish/fish.html
>
>At the moment I've had him for about four months, and he's approximately
>2 inches long. Not overly aggressive (unless I'm trying to take his
>picture). Anybody have any suggestions?
>
>Thanks
>
>Derek

It's not a "Lemon Yellow" or Labidochromis caeruleus. It's body
shape is not Labidochromis.

Your fish looks like a Pseudotropheus or perhaps even a Melanochromis.
Which specie? I'm not sure, so many variations of both of those genus's
have similar colors and shapes.

When you buy "miscellaneous cichlids" you have a probability
of getting hybrids. I've seen where some of the 'miscellaneous' are
scooped from the drainage canals between raising ponds in Florida.
Nothing wrong with 'miscellaneous cichlids', but please don't pass
off their fry as a known specie. Keep them and enjoy them for what
they are - Pretty but unknown.

Bob

[The Madd Hatter]

Thats a Labidochromis Caeruleus... Not a great specimen, but it looks like a
sub dominant male. There are different color variants that i've seen ranging
from powder yellow to a deep almost orangy yellow. Keepin mind with this
species, they are probably one of the most inbred of all the africans
available in the hobby. Due tothe depths at which they reside and the
difficulty of bringing them up, relatively few were initially exported. For
obvious reasons, these were bred on a large scale to feed the market. You
can only keep breeding brother to sister down so many generations before
things start getting a little pear shaped. Ask any discus breeder how much
he has to cull. I don't think this is a hybrid personally, but I may be
mistaken... there just isn't a lot of fish that a yellow could mistakenly
breed w/, due to their unique colorations.
"Derek Sherman" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All!
>
> I have a fish that was supposed to be a Lemon Yellow cichlid, but now
> I'm not so sure. He seems to dark - a lot more orange to him then
> yellow. I've got some images up at the following address :
>
> http://members.aol.com/disciple%20of%20zor/Fish/fish.html
>
> At the moment I've had him for about four months, and he's approximately
> 2 inches long. Not overly aggressive (unless I'm trying to take his
> picture). Anybody have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks
>
> Derek
>
> --
> "Good luck to you in your holy cause, Captain Sheridan. May your
> choices have better results than mine. Remembered, not as a
> messenger, remembered not as a reformer, not as a prophet, not
> as a hero, not even as Sebastian. Remembered only .. as Jack."
> -- Sebastian to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "Comes the Inquisitor"

[3492]

I think it's a ps saulosi female(search with google and see for your self)
"The Madd Hatter" > schreef in bericht
ble.rogers.com...
> Thats a Labidochromis Caeruleus... Not a great specimen, but it looks like
a
> sub dominant male. There are different color variants that i've seen
ranging
> from powder yellow to a deep almost orangy yellow. Keepin mind with this
> species, they are probably one of the most inbred of all the africans
> available in the hobby. Due tothe depths at which they reside and the
> difficulty of bringing them up, relatively few were initially exported.
For
> obvious reasons, these were bred on a large scale to feed the market. You
> can only keep breeding brother to sister down so many generations before
> things start getting a little pear shaped. Ask any discus breeder how much
> he has to cull. I don't think this is a hybrid personally, but I may be
> mistaken... there just isn't a lot of fish that a yellow could mistakenly
> breed w/, due to their unique colorations.
> "Derek Sherman" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi All!
> >
> > I have a fish that was supposed to be a Lemon Yellow cichlid, but now
> > I'm not so sure. He seems to dark - a lot more orange to him then
> > yellow. I've got some images up at the following address :
> >
> > http://members.aol.com/disciple%20of%20zor/Fish/fish.html
> >
> > At the moment I've had him for about four months, and he's approximately
> > 2 inches long. Not overly aggressive (unless I'm trying to take his
> > picture). Anybody have any suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Derek
> >
> > --
> > "Good luck to you in your holy cause, Captain Sheridan. May your
> > choices have better results than mine. Remembered, not as a
> > messenger, remembered not as a reformer, not as a prophet, not
> > as a hero, not even as Sebastian. Remembered only .. as Jack."
> > -- Sebastian to Sheridan in Babylon 5: "Comes the Inquisitor"
>
>

[Sarotherodon]

I think Madd's right. Lots of variation in "LemonYellow" color. Body shape
doesn't look quite right for saulosi and this fish has a black border on
anal fin, not found on female saulosi.
Paul
"3492" > wrote in message
...
> I think it's a ps saulosi female(search with google and see for your self)
> "The Madd Hatter" > schreef in bericht
> ble.rogers.com...
> > Thats a Labidochromis Caeruleus... Not a great specimen, but it looks
like
> a
> > sub dominant male. There are different color variants that i've seen
> ranging
> > from powder yellow to a deep almost orangy yellow. Keepin mind with this
> > species, they are probably one of the most inbred of all the africans
> > available in the hobby. Due tothe depths at which they reside and the
> > difficulty of bringing them up, relatively few were initially exported.
> For
> > obvious reasons, these were bred on a large scale to feed the market.
You
> > can only keep breeding brother to sister down so many generations before
> > things start getting a little pear shaped. Ask any discus breeder how
much
> > he has to cull. I don't think this is a hybrid personally, but I may be
> > mistaken... there just isn't a lot of fish that a yellow could
mistakenly
> > breed w/, due to their unique colorations.
> > "Derek Sherman" > wrote in message
> > ...

[Bob K.]

>I think Madd's right. Lots of variation in "LemonYellow" color. Body shape
>doesn't look quite right for saulosi and this fish has a black border on
>anal fin, not found on female saulosi.

There are even 'light blue' caeruleus, but I still say the shape is
wrong for a Labidochromis. And it's still a possibility that it's a
hybrid (found in a "misc cichlid tank" breeders get more money
for named species than for 'misc')

BTW, I recall reading some many years ago that very few of the
"Lemon Yellows" were brought out to hobbyists, and most of todays
are descended from those few.

Bob

[The Madd Hatter]

it wasa very small number and they've been line breeding the **** out of
them ever since. this was a case w/ most of the yellow labids in the
beginning. I thing it had to do w/ the difficulty of raising them from the
deep waters w/o having the pressure maim or kill them.. .The color made
demand soo high, that they couldn't wait...

"Bob K." > wrote in message
...
> >I think Madd's right. Lots of variation in "LemonYellow" color. Body
shape
> >doesn't look quite right for saulosi and this fish has a black border on
> >anal fin, not found on female saulosi.
>
> There are even 'light blue' caeruleus, but I still say the shape is
> wrong for a Labidochromis. And it's still a possibility that it's a
> hybrid (found in a "misc cichlid tank" breeders get more money
> for named species than for 'misc')
>
> BTW, I recall reading some many years ago that very few of the
> "Lemon Yellows" were brought out to hobbyists, and most of todays
> are descended from those few.
>
> Bob