Electric Yellow Cichlid
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Electric Yellow | image = IMG_1166_filtered.jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Actinopterygii | ordo = Perciformes | familia = Cichlidae | genus = Labidochromis | species = L. caeruleus | binomial = Labidochromis caeruleus | binomial_authority = Fryer, 1956 }}
The Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus) is a freshwater perciform fish, a cichlid. The Electric Yellow is also known as Lemon Yellow Lab, the Blue Streak Hap, the Electric Yellow African, and is called the Yellow Prince in the Philippines. They are endemic to the northern coastal region of Lake Malawi, especially the Nkhata Bay area, in East Africa. It has become a popular commercial fish for aquarium enthusiasts.
Their bodies are strikingly bright yellow, with males having dark black streaks on their dorsal, pelvic, and ventral fins. While any Labidochromis caeruleus in the aquarium hobby should be the usual bright yellow with black markings, specimens from different areas of Lake Malawi will exhibit different coloring. In fact their quality is determined mostly on appearance, with brighter yellow, less white, and minimal appearance of the bars along their broad side making a better cichlid. Males and females are sexually monomorphic, the only true way to sex them would require examining their vents, while behaviour can provide reliable hints. In their natural habitat, Electric Yellow grow to about 9 cm in length, and have been known to reach 15 cm in captivity.
This species is a Mouthbrooder, meaning the larvae are carried, hatch, and develop in the mother's mouth (buchal pouch), for about four weeks. These fish are ovophiles and the male will excavate a pit in the sand within his territory, in which the female lays the eggs; the female then takes these eggs into her mouth for fertilization.
Electric Yellow are peaceful compared to most other African cichlids. However, due to their aggressive nature toward non-cichlids Electric Yellow can be problematic for many standard freshwater aquarium keepers. In an aquarium setting, these fish thrive when provided numerous hiding places, such as rocks, plants, and caves.
Labidochromis caeruleus natively live in a tropical climate and prefer freshwater with a pH between 7.8 and 8.9 and an ideal temperature range of 73 - 78 F (23 - 26 C). They prefer to breed in cooler temperature ranges (low 70s). Their diet consists mostly of prepared cichlid pellets or flakes, with supplemented with foods like krill, brineshrimp, spirulina flake, and veggies. A healthy diet and carotene rich foods like krill and spirulina will help your fish, in good lighting, to appear neon-like (hence the name Electric Yellow).