Labidochromis Caeruleus
AKA
"Lemon or Electric Yellow"
Male in breeding color, note the black beard on his face.
This is a picture of a female
Thank you Cichlid Press and
Ad Konings for allowing me to use your pictures.
This fish is so bright you would think he was a salt water fish.
A great fish for a community tank, he seems to get along with everyone.
He does well with Cichlids from Lake Tanganyika or Victoria (or at least
I have not had a problem) You can tell males from females by the
fins. On the male the ventral fins are solid black, while the females are
either solid light yellow or trimmed in black. The Dorsal and Anal fins
are trimmed in black (on both sexes) but the males have a brooder band
of black. This fish is a must have for any Cichlid person.
Tank size:
Temp; 78 to 82
pH: 8.0
Adult size: 6" or 15 cm male and 4" or 10 cm female
Breeding Information:
Prolific breeders, as long as you have lots of rocks in the tank, you keep
your tank clean and temp and pH consistent and you have a male and female,
you will have fry. With most mouth brooders the females can have
a batch of fry about every 2 to 3 months, you can get batches more often
if you strip your fish. (see breeding page for info on stripping)
Batch size depends on the size of the female, mine had about 24 on average
per batch. The female holds the eggs from 14 to 21 days, it seems
to depend on the number of fry and size of the female as to how long they
hold. I have had Lemon Yellows breed as small as 2" I only got like
13 fry from this little girl. Tank size does not seem to be a factor
in breeding either. I have had them in 10 gallon tanks and they bred.
It's always a good idea to have at least 2 females per male in the tank
as the males do tend to get a little aggressive towards the females when
they want to breed. Although I have never had a female get killed
by the male it can and has happened.
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