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Electric Yellows: Care and Morphology


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#1 anchar

anchar
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Posted 23 August 2006 - 11:10 AM

Electric Yellows: Care and Morphology
by Andrea Watts

Common Name: Electric yellow, Blue streak hap, Yellow Lab, Electric Yellow Lab, Lemon Yellow, Labidochromis tanganyicae, Labidochromis Yellow,
Labidochromis electric yellow, Canary cichlid

Scientific Name: Labidochromis caeruleus

Size (cm) M/F: 13/8 Electric yellows are a dwarf species

Habitat: Labidochromis caeruleus is endemic to Lake Malawi and is found in two distinct biotopes. Groups can be found along rocky shorelines at depths ranging from 10 to 40m and in shallower waters amongst beds of Vallisneria spp. Although yellows have a very wide distribution in the lake, wild specimens are very rare. The yellow morph (common in Australia) occurs between Charo and Lion’s Cove in the north.

Temperature Range: Not particular, range between 24C - 28C

Min. Tank Requirement: Large aquariums are best, in excess of 250L for a group with a sex ratio of 1 male to every 3-6 females. A hard water, alkaline chemistry should be provided, with parameters of pH 7.6-8.6, GH 7 plus and a KH 10-12 a must. The tank décor should reflect the natural habitat ie. holey rock with cave structures, providing suitable places for shelter and spawning, as well as open areas for swimming. I prefer to use coarse lime sand as a substrate, although sand, crushed coral and crushed marble are all suitable. Clumps of Vallisnera spp. are welcomed, thus providing vegetable matter to supplement their (largely) vegetarian diet. I have also added some wood to the tank upon which useful algae attaches. The hardness is not greatly affected because of the buffering capacity of my substrate and limestone rockwork.

Food: L. caeruleus is an omnivore, feeding primarily upon plants, algae, insects, snails, small crustacea (and their larvae) and molluscs. The teeth of the Labidochromis are long and pointed. They perform like tweezers, prying their prey out of tiny fissures in the submerged rock face. These fish need be fed a wide assortment of foods that include a large amount of vegetable matter. A good spirulina/vegetable based flake food (OSI, HBH, Sera Flora) with occassional frozen/live brine shrimp supplements provides most of their dietary needs. Shelled peas, lettuce and spinach are welcomed. L. caeruleus is very susceptible to Malawi bloat, a disease that is difficult to treat and usually fatal. Less than adequate water conditions and a high protein diet will lead to disaster. Do not feed them Tubifex or blood worms. As mentioned earlier, they love to graze upon algae and nibble plants.

Breeding: Both sexes of this species are similarly coloured. A dominant adult male is very easy to identify. Apart from the yellow colouration being more intense than his sub-ordinates, the jet-black anal and ventral fins contrast beautifully against its golden body. The black dorsal is edged with yellow. As the fish ages, it can develop a blackish facemask, which continues along the belly. Often male fish can exhibit a brownish patch between the eye and mouth. Some people have suggested that only the males possess a back bar through the eye, although I have found this to be unreliable. Subdominant males are harder to sex because the black pigment is less pronounced, thus making it difficult to tell them apart from females. Females tend to have yellow in place of any black on the anal and ventral fins. Fully-grown females are smaller than males of equal age.
Labidochromis caeruleus is one of the easiest mouthbrooders to breed, commonly producing young from an age of about 6 months (at around 5-6cm). Electric yellows spawn in the typical fashion of most mbunas. The male will chose a site and entice the female to join him. The female deposits her eggs at the site where they are fertilized by the male and taken up in turn by the mouthbrooding female. This process will repeat itself several times over an hour or so. She will then retire to a secluded area and incubate the eggs in her bucchal cavity for about 3 weeks. I have found yellows to be tenacious “holders” of their eggs and fry. The number of fry is generally quite small, with young females producing 8-10 fry and older, more experienced fish producing up to 30. This fish has been produced in sufficient numbers that it is readily available in almost any store that carries African cichlids. There is always a ready market for any fry produced.

Temperament/Notes: The yellow Labidochromis is an aquarium favorite not only because of its brilliant color but also because it is generally a peaceful species. Squabbles between yellows are rarely serious and resulting injuries are rare. Even mouth brooding females can be left to enjoy relative peace within the colony. However, rival males can become quite aggressive towards each other if over crowding occurs. I keep one of my colonies with a group of Ps. sp. “acei Tanzania”. They look fantastic together and are very compatible.

History: Geoffrey Fryer first described this species in 1956 during his time at a fisheries station on Nkhata Bay. The species name caeruleus translates in English to the word blue, reflecting the colour of the first specimens that he observed. The blue variants of Labidochromis caeruleus mainly occur between Undu Reef and Thumbi Point. The "electric yellow" morph is just one of almost a dozen different morphologies seen in this species throughout the lake, including a blue morph for which it is named. The yellow Labidochromis is a geographical variant of L. caeruleus that has a much wider distribution on both sides of the lake. The yellow color variant is not present in all populations between Charo and Kajizingi. The population of L. caeruleus along the northern shore of Nkhoso Point, is pure white. Lion's Cove, a very narrow and deep bay about 15 miles north of Nkhata Bay, is home to two different populations. Along the northern part of the bay, the fish are more yellow than that found along the southern side. The latter morph has yellow on the upper part of the body but white on the lower half. South of Kajizingi all populations known are pure white.
In the late seventies and early eighties there were three exporters operating in Malawi: Stuart Grant, Eric Fleet and Norman Edwards. Edwards was able to get two live specimens, a male and a female, out of the country in 1980. They were included in a shipment going to Swedish importer, Stig Jansson, in Stockholm. It was Pierre Brichard who first recognized the commercial potential of these fish. Jansson relinquished the pair to him and Brichard was able to produce a spawn. Once he had accumulated over 1000 offspring (1986) he began selling the yellows under the name Labidochromis “tanganicae”.
It wasn’t until 1986 that Stuart Grant first saw the yellows. Due to logistics he decided that it was unviable to collect the fish for export. Years later (around 1990) Grant decided to breed the fish at his fish station at Kambiri point. Unfortunately most were killed when an earthquake all but destroyed the ponds in which they were housed. He decided not to continue the breeding program and sent the remaining few specimens to colleague Gary Kratochval in the USA. Between 1980 and 1990 there were no exports of wild caught specimens and the majority of pond and tank raised yellows in the hobby had all derived from the single pair that Brichard bred. This colour variant while more rare in the lake, enjoys a distribution in the hobby that would easily outnumber the wild population by probably several hundred-fold.

Line breeding and variations amongst aquarium bred fish: Photographs taken of L. caeruleus in the wild show marked variation amongst individuals. Electric yellow colouration is also widely affected by diet and medications. Some processed foods have the ability to turn the fish a muddy colour whilst fish that are fed natural (carotene) colour enhancement food tend to become peach/pale orange in appearance. I have seen fish treated with Ivomec (worming medication) turn a greenish black. Colour is also affected by stress induced through “less than ideal” water conditions, bullying, change of tank or illness.
Line breeding involves the selection of the more desirable traits in a species and retaining them. There have been many attempts to intensify the yellow coloration, strengthen the black markings on the dorsal, lessen the black “blotching” etc. in electric yellows. Unfortunately for the species, the opposite has also occurred. Many people flood the market with poor quality fish, thus “muddying” the limited gene pool in Australia. This is largely due to ignorance on the part of the hobbyist and the undiscerning buyer at the local LFS.
For almost 5 years I have tried to gather electric yellows from all over Australia to strengthen the gene pool amongst my colonies. I have witnessed a range of colour variations: very pale (almost white) fish to pale yellow to a rich yellow to orange specimens. The dorsal markings carry similar diversity. Fish that exhibit a lack of black on the dorsal seem to be popping up with increasing frequency over the past few years. This is possibly due to a number of breeding exercises whereby hobbyists have been trying to capture the dark yellow trait. By selecting the best body colour, they have forgone the black dorsal in order to gain better yellow in their fry. These fry are then put back to fish that possess the black dorsal. This has then led to many fish exhibiting thin black dorsal markings. In many cases, the black line is discontinuous along the dorsal. With such a limited gene pool in Australia it is important to concentrate on selecting fish that display the best characteristics of this species. Those who feel that line breeding is unethical may wish to reflect upon the early work of Pierre Brichard. He demonstrated that a fish can be bred for hundreds of generations and still retain is beauty and fitness. In fact, some of the most spectacular fish you will ever see have been line bred. I have noticed that imported wild fish are now turning up in the US...hopefully they will make their way here too!

Below is a collection of photographs that display many of the variations within this beautiful and arguably most popular aquarium cichlid of all time.


The two photos on the left are of males. The vertical eye bar that is sometimes useful in sex determination is quite prevalent. The bottom right photo shows a holding female. Note the absence of black on her pelvic fins.


The fish in the top left show a uniform deep yellow colouration over the entire body. Top right photo illustrates a soft yellow/orange morph with a thin black dorsal line. Bottom left denotes fish with a lot of black blotchiness throughout the body and "muddy" face mask. The bottom right shot displays small areas of white extending from the caudal region on the flank an under carriage.


The wide black dorsal band is preserved in this specimen. The fry to the right are yet to achieve their full colour. The bottom photos show a bright orange fish (the only one that I have ever seen). It clearly contrasts it's yellow tankmate. It is a naturally occuring morph and has not had colour inducing foods.


The top two and bottom right pictures show pale fish with colour between yellow and orange. Note the very thin black line in the dorsals. The bottom left photo shows a yellow fish, with a broarder black dorsal line, above a pale yellow/orange one.


Top left is not a great shot but it shows the diminished dorsal marking very well. Bottom left picture shows the variation in belly colour between two fish.


A gorgeous colony of adult fish. Bottom pictures show juvies and fry. There is always demand for good quality electric yellows.

These two pictures show some very white electric yellows.


Some more beautiful examples of males.

* Pictures of fish submitted are not necessarily owned by the named photographer.

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