[Jaakko_L]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum, but I have had a Malawi tank for about ten years now.

I have a question about coloration of Labidochomis Caerulus. One of my newly added yellow labs has a blue chin. I haven't seen this earlier, althoug blue lips are comon for this species.

Is this kind of coloration comon for L Caerulus? Do others have similar?

Yoy can see some videos of my tank in youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIyWpa3B29WRPIpjZ3yxGgg

Best Regards,
Jaakko

 

[DJRansome]

Can't see the pic. A blue anal fin is desirable, but never heard of a blue chin.

 

[Jaakko_L]

Hi DJRansome, Thanks for reply!

... but never heard of a blue chin.

Me neither, but here he is :-?

I post the pic again:

Or look at the video

 

[Deeda]

I can see the pics and the video. I see this fish has very dark colored pelvic and anal fins plus the mouth area and 'chin' area are very blue all the way to the gill plate.

 

[wryan]

... Is this kind of coloration comon for L Caerulus? Do others have similar? ...

See the following article:

https://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_caeruleus.php

From the article:

"... The "Electric Yellow" morph is just one of almost a dozen different morphologies seen in this species through out the lake. These other morphs go either unnoticed, ignored, or forgotten by most hobbyists because of the omnipresent availability of the "Electric Yellow". This color variant, while more rare in the lake, enjoys a distribution in the hobby that would easily out number the wild population by probably several hundred-fold. In fact, the "Electric Yellow" that is so popular today was only recently discovered (about 15 years ago). The discovery and subsequent public offering of this mbuna constitutes a very colorful tale.

L. caeruleus was first identified in 1956 by G. Fryer. He described this fish as normally being white, with a black stripe through the dorsal fin, which would become a pale blue cast in breeding males (probably the morph from Nkhata Bay, Malawi). Believe it or not, this species was named caeruleus (meaning "blue" in Latin) for this very reason. It wasn't until around 1980 that this xanthic color variant was discovered by Stuart Grant and his divers. Grant et. al supposedly discovered a small colony of "Electric Yellows" at Lion's Cove, Malawi. ..."

 

[DJRansome]

We fairly often see dark barring and/or a beard like your fish has. But it is usually gray...I've never seen a blue one like that.

Some prefer strains with clean yellow on the body, and line-breed to get the strain they like.

 

[Jaakko_L]

Thank you all,

I hope it's a "morph", not a hybrid.
I like this fellow. It's the dominant male of the Caerulus of my tank (if it is a Cearulus at all...)