Domestic bred yellow labs are common, and inexpensive, and it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for a LFS to sell hybrids labs. If the owner is a cichlid breeder, she ought to know better.
Yellow Lab parents
- Thread starter LunarValkyrie
- Start date
I know most of you are purists who may have stores at your disposal but common or not, 11.99 each is pricey to som folks. It’s not just labs in this tank and the tank in question is mostly trades for store credit for folks that just like prettier fish. As usual, I seem to attract posters that only see the negative. I’m sorry I posted as I have yet to have questions truly answered that I came for and just keep getting condemned.
I’m sorry you feel that way. When you come to a forum sometimes you don’t hear what you want to.
I took a longer look at your photos and did some searching. There are a few possible answers but no way of knowing for sure.
There are plenty of yellow African cichlids.
Many listed as yellow zebra, red top zebra ( that looks pale yellow). But in the end we are all just guessing because these fish can hybridize and people just keep passing them on.
You are in this situation because at some point someone did the same thing that we are telling you not to do.
I am not attacking you I said that in my previous post. I’m just trying to give good advice.
Ironically I am not a fish purist - I have kept hybrid fish, and currently still have one in one of my tanks. The key words being - in MY tanks. I have a pair of fish that breed on a regular basis, one is a hybrid, they produce hundreds of fry on a monthly basis, but I leave the fry in a community tank and allow nature to take its course - they all eventually get eaten by the pairs tank mates. All good.
On the flip side I have been in this hobby many years, and have seen a LOT of people who buy a pretty fish that after several months of raising the fish discover that it is a hybrid, marketed, sold, traded, whatever, as something that it clearly isn't. (yellow lab?) Most of those folks feel cheated. I have also bred yellow labs for a number of years, direct descendants from a wild group that was collected by a friend while he was working at Lake Malawi.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ht-labidochromis-caeruleus-lions-cove.701047/
I bred those fish and sold them to the LFS, and gave many away to hobbyists for free, in an attempt to increase the quality of yellow labs in this area. I currently still keep a breeding group of L. caeruleus "Ruarwe", a lesser known collection location that is not often seen in these parts. Having seen thousands of lower quality labs, or worse, obvious hybrid crosses, at various LFS over the years, I simply have no sympathy for anyone who knowingly supports passing along hybrids in this hobby, hybrids that when small are not always so easy to determine their lineage.
You obviously weren't sure what you had, hence the initial questions about this pair of yours. Seems to me you got your question answered, you just didn't like the answer. And no one is condemning anyone, just offering some sound advice.
On the flip side I have been in this hobby many years, and have seen a LOT of people who buy a pretty fish that after several months of raising the fish discover that it is a hybrid, marketed, sold, traded, whatever, as something that it clearly isn't. (yellow lab?) Most of those folks feel cheated. I have also bred yellow labs for a number of years, direct descendants from a wild group that was collected by a friend while he was working at Lake Malawi.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ht-labidochromis-caeruleus-lions-cove.701047/
I bred those fish and sold them to the LFS, and gave many away to hobbyists for free, in an attempt to increase the quality of yellow labs in this area. I currently still keep a breeding group of L. caeruleus "Ruarwe", a lesser known collection location that is not often seen in these parts. Having seen thousands of lower quality labs, or worse, obvious hybrid crosses, at various LFS over the years, I simply have no sympathy for anyone who knowingly supports passing along hybrids in this hobby, hybrids that when small are not always so easy to determine their lineage.
You obviously weren't sure what you had, hence the initial questions about this pair of yours. Seems to me you got your question answered, you just didn't like the answer. And no one is condemning anyone, just offering some sound advice.
Aright, first off, my original question was not the genetics but the gender of the fish. While yes, I’m not sure who dad is, I saved the babies into a tumbler so as not to stress the female who is a yellow lab. These came from a friend who tumbled them separate but the last few she put in a tank together with other stragglers she had left over.
As for passing them on to the store....we don’t have clubs or breeders much around here so she has to buy most of her fish from companies. Thus she has to price them accordingly. She has a large tank that she can price super cheap for folks that just want bigger than a guppy but not so pricey fish. She labels them as such and can at least make back her food cost to have them. It’s a business thing.
It’s not that I didn’t like your answers, they just always seem to say CULL. And that wasn’t the question. I have separated the 2 fish I got from my friend and the babies are in a tumbler in another tank to see what I get.
Lastly, I asked if the babies looked Lab to you guys. After much research and comparing to my own they look the same but I will keep them separate. I have 2 sets from my known pure group and I don’t want to mess them up after finally finding a great group.
Thank you for the replies. As stated before, I will work it out.
As for passing them on to the store....we don’t have clubs or breeders much around here so she has to buy most of her fish from companies. Thus she has to price them accordingly. She has a large tank that she can price super cheap for folks that just want bigger than a guppy but not so pricey fish. She labels them as such and can at least make back her food cost to have them. It’s a business thing.
It’s not that I didn’t like your answers, they just always seem to say CULL. And that wasn’t the question. I have separated the 2 fish I got from my friend and the babies are in a tumbler in another tank to see what I get.
Lastly, I asked if the babies looked Lab to you guys. After much research and comparing to my own they look the same but I will keep them separate. I have 2 sets from my known pure group and I don’t want to mess them up after finally finding a great group.
Thank you for the replies. As stated before, I will work it out.
In the end, you take GREAT pictures and the fish are stunning in the solid yellow. I love the macro of the fry!
It's difficult to answer about gender, without genetics coming into play, as this species is monomorphic. Both male L. caeruleus and female, have black in their fins. So your question was answered, the answer was no, it is not possible for a male yellow lab to have no black in its fins, unless it is a hybrid cross.
I only see one pic of the fry, in the tumbler, the other pic just shows a red x for me. No telling anything about the fry in the tumbler, other than they are fish.
I only see one pic of the fry, in the tumbler, the other pic just shows a red x for me. No telling anything about the fry in the tumbler, other than they are fish.
I had a Texas and a con hybridize I did the same thing as Rd with his Hybrids except kept three of the best lookin NOT to sell but to KEEP not saying u have to tho. Sounds like the lfs he has is good at labeling and cater to people who care about the look of the fish(like me) and keep it not for breeding but for the enjoyment of the hobby
