# several lab questions



## mhsrunner (Aug 1, 2006)

ive had my 3 labs in my 20 gallon for 24 hours now, and so far so decent... theyve even eaten a little bit and arent sulking too much... 1. When i chose them they were all yellow...the catching of one at the lfs brought out stripes in it from the stress, and the other two stayed yellow...now one is starting to stripe a bit too...does this mean hes getting stressed by something after acting ok recently? theres small ammounts of ammonia and nitrities but its well well below .25 2. Ive read that these stripes are associated with more "unpure" fish and its not desirable (though it does look pretty cool)... what exactly happened to the species through the pet trade to cause this?... is it likely that generations of fish ago something non lab had fry with a lab or what? 3. All they eat is flakes...ill try to get them off it as yall recomened crushed up pellets and veggies as well but should flakes be ok as the only food source till i get them to be less picky? 4. They mostly hang near the bottom except when food is around...do they generaly spend most of their time in the middle/bottom area?... thanks


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## mhsrunner (Aug 1, 2006)

no answers to any of these questions?...


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## Buddy8076 (Aug 6, 2006)

i have no clue. sorry cant help yea. im new to cichlids


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

mhsrunner said:


> ive had my 3 labs in my 20 gallon for 24 hours now, and so far so decent... theyve even eaten a little bit and arent sulking too much... 1. When i chose them they were all yellow...the catching of one at the lfs brought out stripes in it from the stress, and the other two stayed yellow...now one is starting to stripe a bit too...does this mean hes getting stressed by something after acting ok recently? theres small ammounts of ammonia and nitrities but its well well below .25 2. Ive read that these stripes are associated with more "unpure" fish and its not desirable (though it does look pretty cool)... what exactly happened to the species through the pet trade to cause this?... is it likely that generations of fish ago something non lab had fry with a lab or what? 3. All they eat is flakes...ill try to get them off it as yall recomened crushed up pellets and veggies as well but should flakes be ok as the only food source till i get them to be less picky? 4. They mostly hang near the bottom except when food is around...do they generaly spend most of their time in the middle/bottom area?... thanks


I have limited experience here. But all I can say is pale is bad. I find that my jack and other fish get brighter when they are happy or eating. My Jack’s stripes get VERY dark when feeding (making her almost black). On the other hand my other fish get pale (some times nearly white) when I’m fiddling with the tank. Like cleaning it or adding a new fish.


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## Shelzbells (Apr 9, 2005)

I am pretty new to mbunas myself, only have kept labs for oohh about 8? months maybe. Some of mine also show very faint striping too, more so when I first got them, so, I also think its shows more when they are stressed. I had also heard the striping is "less desirable". But I often wonder if its just a submissive thing also? Maybe not? But the dominant fish in the tank are pure yellow. I am still learning about them. Mine stay pretty close to the bottom area of the tank and near their hidey holes. The tank they are in is located in a corner sort of away from alot of traffic, so they seem to be a bit more skittish when I do go near the tank. I feed mine a good cichlid flake and also veggie 8 flake (they really like their greens) plus brine shrimp & pellets every so often for a treat. Sorry I couldnt be of more help


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## Shelzbells (Apr 9, 2005)

I am pretty new to mbunas myself, only have kept labs for oohh about 8? months maybe. Some of mine also show very faint striping too, more so when I first got them, so, I also think its shows more when they are stressed. I had also heard the striping is "less desirable". But I often wonder if its just a submissive thing also? Maybe not? But the dominant fish in the tank are pure yellow. I am still learning about them. Mine stay pretty close to the bottom area of the tank and near their hidey holes. The tank they are in is located in a corner sort of away from alot of traffic, so they seem to be a bit more skittish when I do go near the tank. I feed mine a good cichlid flake and also veggie 8 flake (they really like their greens) plus brine shrimp & pellets every so often for a treat. Sorry I couldnt be of more help


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## Shelzbells (Apr 9, 2005)

Sorry I dont know why it double posted


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

Yellow labs normally remain closer to the bottom as they like to be around rockwork. What kinda of tank setup do you have?? Do you have caves and rocks for them to hide in?? Yellow labs will easily cross breed with other mbuna if there are not any of their own species to breed with. Although, mine has cross bred with red zebras and they have mates! So they may just do it to do it or either the male zebra is fighting to fertilize the eggs before the male lab can get to them - I say this cause he is quite a bit bigger than the lab. 

If your tank is showing ammonia and nitrites you should do small water changes everyday until its gone. How long has this tank been set up?? Is it cycled??


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