breeding cichlids

[candace]

I just noticed that I have a baby cichlid about 1/4 in. long in my tank. I don't know wether to take it out or not. I have 3 different types of adults, all bought at the same time for a ttl. of 7 adults and this baby. I don't know anything about this type of fish. I just thought they were beautiful and decided to give it a try. I have read about temp. and ph. and have tried to establish a pretty decent tank for them. My tank is only a 29 gal. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Candace

[SGypsyMermaid]

hi candace--what kind of cichlids do you have? are they african lake cichlids?

[candace]

I think so Mermaid. The baby is a light bluish color with black strips that run up and down. His/her mate is light pale yellow with the same stripe pattern. The other chiclids that I have are dark blue and bright yellow with strips running from neck to tail. Like I said, I am not well versed in the subject at all. Candace

[jonah]

Sounds like Maylandia lombardoi to me. They're from Lake Malawi in Africa.

[SGypsyMermaid]

[quote:1b2b915ceb]The baby is a light bluish color with black strips that run up and down. His/her mate is light pale yellow with the same stripe pattern.[/quote:1b2b915ceb]
i agree with jonah--the first pair sounds like lombardoi aka kennyi. the yellow one is the male, in that case. the babies look like their mothers. as to the other fish...are the stripes vertical or horizontal? which part of the fish is blue and which part is yellow?

[candace]

Hello,
The baby is pale blue. The stripes run around its belly. The mate is pale yellow. I think. The other chiclids in my tank are either very bright yellow with black on their fins, deep blue and one gold. They are all about 10 months old and either have or are starting to get white spots on their lower fins.

[SGypsyMermaid]

[quote:e7e1103e01="candace"]Hello,
The baby is pale blue. The stripes run around its belly. The mate is pale yellow. I think. The other chiclids in my tank are either very bright yellow with black on their fins, deep blue and one gold. They are all about 10 months old and either have or are starting to get white spots on their lower fins.[/quote:e7e1103e01]
the very bright yellow one with black on the fins is probably a yellow lab(labidochromis caeruleus).

[jonah]

[quote:6ff38c1800="candace"]Hello,
The other chiclids in my tank are either very bright yellow with black on their fins, deep blue and one gold. [/quote:6ff38c1800]

Is the gold one gold colored like the metal or gold colored like a gold fish? If it looks more like a goldfish color it might me a red zebra, Maylandia estherae. I think SGM is probably right about the yellow fish being Lab. caeruleus.