cichlids acting all crazy

i have a 20 gal. with mbuna in it. the past week or so, my yellow
lab had been sort of affectionate toward my bumblbee (m. Crabro).
that had cooled down some, but my yellow lab (which i was 90% sure was
a male) now appears to be holding. i am pretty sure this cannot be
true, since it is the only yellow lab in the tank and there are no
other labidochomis species. i have heard of females "faking it" and
figure that is what is happening.
but that doesnt really explain the next part of my situation. i was
curious, so i netted it just to take a look. i am realtively new to
cichlids and never had anything breed yet, but it didnt appear that
there were any eggs in its mouth, but there were two round things in
its mouth, but i thought there would be a large number of eggs so i am
guessing this is jus some fish anatomy i dont know much about.
when i put the lab. back in, i re-arranged the tank because it was
about that time and afew minutes later, my female melanochromis
joanjohnsonae (which i am SURE is a female due to coloation) started
to show brilliant colors and swim after it in circles and flip from
side to side, which i am assuming is a mating thing.

so i guess what i am saying is whats goin on? anyone have this going
on in your tank? any help wouuld help.

oh and before i get ripped, i know mbuna should not be in a 20 gal.
this was a growout tank and they are about to be moved into a 75
gallon. other fish include pseudotropheus acei, socolofi, kenyi, m.
crabro(bumblbee) and a really cool (and boss) Pseudotropheus sp. "BB
Chilumba" there is only 1 fish per species at the moment, and this is
the final number of fish in here until they all get moved to their
larger home. the chilumba is the largest at just over 3 inches, and
the kenyi is the smallest at just over an inch.

i fed my fish some flakes tonight and i watched my lab and it spit
some eggs out and took some food, then sucked them back in quickly. i
am now even more confused. the joanjohnsonae stopped chasing it and
it has found a nice hiding spot where noone bothers it (actually
inside my driftwood). now, since this is they only one of its
species, will these eggs hatch and leave me with some hybrid of
something else in the tank, or are they just unfertalized?

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 23:20:35 -0500, steveh28
wrote:

i have a 20 gal. with mbuna in it. the past week or so, my yellow
lab had been sort of affectionate toward my bumblbee (m. Crabro).
that had cooled down some, but my yellow lab (which i was 90% sure was
a male) now appears to be holding. i am pretty sure this cannot be
true, since it is the only yellow lab in the tank and there are no
other labidochomis species. i have heard of females "faking it" and
figure that is what is happening.
but that doesnt really explain the next part of my situation. i was
curious, so i netted it just to take a look. i am realtively new to
cichlids and never had anything breed yet, but it didnt appear that
there were any eggs in its mouth, but there were two round things in
its mouth, but i thought there would be a large number of eggs so i am
guessing this is jus some fish anatomy i dont know much about.
when i put the lab. back in, i re-arranged the tank because it was
about that time and afew minutes later, my female melanochromis
joanjohnsonae (which i am SURE is a female due to coloation) started
to show brilliant colors and swim after it in circles and flip from
side to side, which i am assuming is a mating thing.

so i guess what i am saying is whats goin on? anyone have this going
on in your tank? any help wouuld help.

oh and before i get ripped, i know mbuna should not be in a 20 gal.
this was a growout tank and they are about to be moved into a 75
gallon. other fish include pseudotropheus acei, socolofi, kenyi, m.
crabro(bumblbee) and a really cool (and boss) Pseudotropheus sp. "BB
Chilumba" there is only 1 fish per species at the moment, and this is
the final number of fish in here until they all get moved to their
larger home. the chilumba is the largest at just over 3 inches, and
the kenyi is the smallest at just over an inch.

steveh28 wrote in message ...
i fed my fish some flakes tonight and i watched my lab and it spit
some eggs out and took some food, then sucked them back in quickly. i
am now even more confused. the joanjohnsonae stopped chasing it and
it has found a nice hiding spot where noone bothers it (actually
inside my driftwood). now, since this is they only one of its
species, will these eggs hatch and leave me with some hybrid of
something else in the tank, or are they just unfertalized?

probably just unfertilised eggs mate, you will find out in a few days.
somehow they know the eggs have died and will just spit them out.