Pregnant Electric Yellow Lab? Doesn't make sense...

Smitty114

Smitty114

AC Members
Mar 30, 2009
57
1
6
ATL, Georgia
Hey guys, I have a 55 gallon african cichlid tank and recently the Electric Yellow stopped eating. The weird thing is I only have one electric yellow, but all of the signs are pointing to pregnant. It seems to have a mouthful and isn't eating. It doesn't seem sick at all and still swims comfortably. I have another fish that is a light blue color that looks to be an identical fish to the electric yellow, except for the color of course. Could this fish have impregnated the lab? Another question, I have a Melanochromis Auratus in the tank. He was orange when we first got him, then changed to black with small bits of orange and has been this color for probably 5 months. Is he ever going to get the bluish stripe? It's almost as if he's stuck between the color change. All tank parameters are fine, tank has been setup for about 8 months, and all fish seem very healthy and active, they all eat well except for the yellow guy. Thoughts?
 
It's confirmed, the Electric Yellow is pregnant. My question is, how? I have no other EY's in the tank. Could it be a crossbreed?

My stock goes

1 Melanochromis Auratus
1 Red Peacock
1 Powder Blue cichlid
1 Ice Blue cichlid
1 Red Zebra male
1 Red Zebra female
1 Electric Yellow
1 Kenyi
1 Yellow tailed Acei

All of the fish have been together for 7 months and are very healthy. Any ideas how the EY could be pregnant?
 
It's as cichlid, it cant get pregnant as such. It may be gravid, which means it's holding eggs, but they are not fertile. So no male is needed.

If it had a mate they would court, the eggs would be layed and fertilised. But a single fish will still produce eggs, just in case a male comes along.

Ian
 
[tangent]Your auratus is presumably a female, given that the other fish are still alive?[/tangent]

I have another fish that is a light blue color that looks to be an identical fish to the electric yellow, except for the color of course
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This could be the (more common in the wild) blue morph of the fish (caeruleus does actually mean sky-blue), in which case, if it's male, it could have mated with your female. Only time (i.e. whether the eggs hatch) will tell.
 
hello,,I have a tank full of africans ,,my female yellow hangs with my male ruby red peacock,,she had babies a few times,,with no male yellow,,
 
RDTigger said:
What are the dominant fish in the tank?

Yellows crossing with dominant males of another similar species is not uncommon.
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The Auratus is the dominant fish in the tank. It chases other fish around at times but doesn't really do any damage, hopefully it stays that way but I can always remove it if need be.

I have an Ice Blue that's the biggest fish in the tank and it's one of the dominant ones also. The male Red Zebra is up there also.

Despite what I've heard about Kenyi, mine isn't aggressive at all. It's one of the most passive fish in the tank. I thought it was female b/c it was blue with black stripes, but now is losing the blue color and has somewhat of an orange tint to it. But, I was under the impression they'd change to orange much sooner than 7-8 months. He's been this middle color for a while now.


The EY has had a mouthful for probably 2 weeks now. Looking at it very closely, I'm pretty sure I saw eyes inside of it's mouth which would indicate there are fry. I'm extremely curious now, should I go get a net breeder and put the fry into that inside of the tank? I don't have a spare tank.
 
EY can't be impregnated as you mentioned. They lay eggs on a flat, then after fertilization by a male, the eggs are scooped up and held in the mouth.

It is possible that the eggs may be fertile but the only true way of knowing is to let her hold for 19-21 days and then strip them. They won't eat while holding and will still come out for food. She will be fine to not eat. You don't want to strip any sooner than day 17 if you want viable fry. I would think that cross breeding has taken place if anything.

I recommend watching her closely if this is her first potential spawn as she may eat they eggs. All other fish will if given the chance. You can't stop her from eating the eggs and it can take 2-3 times for her to get it right.

If she has a hybrid spawn, do not sell them as an Electric Yellow as the line is getting very polluted from irresponsible breeding. Consider raising them and then feeding them off.
 
excuzzzeme said:
EY can't be impregnated as you mentioned. They lay eggs on a flat, then after fertilization by a male, the eggs are scooped up and held in the mouth.

It is possible that the eggs may be fertile but the only true way of knowing is to let her hold for 19-21 days and then strip them. They won't eat while holding and will still come out for food. She will be fine to not eat. You don't want to strip any sooner than day 17 if you want viable fry. I would think that cross breeding has taken place if anything.

I recommend watching her closely if this is her first potential spawn as she may eat they eggs. All other fish will if given the chance. You can't stop her from eating the eggs and it can take 2-3 times for her to get it right.

If she has a hybrid spawn, do not sell them as an Electric Yellow as the line is getting very polluted from irresponsible breeding. Consider raising them and then feeding them off.
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Thanks for the info.

My dilemma is, I don't know exactly how long she's had the eggs in her mouth. It's been around two weeks but I could be a few days off. I don't want to look at her one day and all of the fry be gone. Her mouth seems to be pretty full at this point.

Would a net breeder work?

And, should I just feed the fry crushed flake food?
 
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