expecting mother?

[dokjones]

I am a relatively new at having african cichlids. I have had a tank for about 6 months now with no problems. I have mostly mbuna fish. But my questions is how do you tell if one is having babies? i have heard so many things but im not sure what to believe. also i have a pure white fish which im not sure of the type, any ideas? and finally I just bought a frontosa, will he be ok in my tank?

[tom]

Hi and welcome, dokjones

Mbuna are maternal mouthbrooders: The female of the species carries the eggs (and later, the fry) in the mouth until the babies are released (spat out, basically). From spawning to release varies from species to species (and from fish to fish), but four weeks is a pretty fair ballpark figure. When the female is holding eggs, maybe the first thing you'll notice is that she hides from the pack and doesn't eat (or appears to draw in only tiny particles of food). Assuming that she's not ill, look closer and you'll notice a bulge in her "throat": These are the eggs. As the eggs turn to fry, the bulge may "soften," giving her throat a more sac-like appearance. She'll likely release shortly thereafter.

By "pure white," do you mean white or without color (i.e., albino)?

I'm not sure how a frontosa (also a mouthbrooder but from Lake Tanganyika; the Mbuna are from Lake Malawi) would do with a bunch of Mbuna since I've never kept the two together, but I wouldn't place a single specimen of any species with Mbuna.

[dokjones]

bye white i mean pure white. its not albino because it still has its 3 yellow trade mark dots. also its eyes are not red. and thank you for the info i diff think she is expecting then. Hope to have pictures soon.

[dokjones]

this is the white fish.I hope its some help because I cant tell what she is and if shes prego.

[SGypsyMermaid]

he or she is not preggo...just fat. "she" would have a bulge in her throat if "she" were holding eggs or fry. i don't think that you can tell socolofi's sex by looking at them.

ps...i forgot to mention that i believe that your fish is a variant of ps. socolofi(snow white socolofi).

[Athena]

dokjones I believe that your fish is a male Metangula... Check out this link. :) African Cichlid Identification > Identify my cichlid?
(http://cichlidforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2578)