Re: L. flavilabris

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@fgn.net>]

Ron,

I had this fish about 15 years ago. They came in
as contaminants with wild caught Neon Tetras
(Paracheirodon innesi). They grew up & spawned for
me on several occasions. It was easy to see when
they had eggs. Their faces turned a sooty black,
similar the the dark ruddy color seen on breeding
L. sp. Orange-fins/Orangeflossen, only black. This
changes to contrasting bars & a light colored face
when guarding fry. I don't recall off hand any
photos in books showing spawning colors, but
Koslowski's 1st book (Die Buntbarsche der Neuen
Welt - Zwergcichliden) has a photo of parents
guarding fry.

It should be rather easy to differentiate L.
flavilabris from L. thayeri. Both can get long
dorsal & anal fin extensions, so this will not
help you. With age L. flavilabris has a longish
cichlasomine body, like L. curviceps, while L.
thayeri becomes much more deep bodied, almost
'dumpy'. What really differentiates them is the
dark markings. L. flavilabris has a straight
lateral band the typically ends at the flank spot.
This marking in L. thayeri makes a 60º angle at
the flank spot and extends upward into the dorsal
fin as a dorsal spot. It looks sort of like a
hockey stick. Hope this helps.

Mike Wise

Ron Schulz wrote:

> Hi all,.  Does anyone have a good breeding color
> photo of full grown L. flavilabris? I had this
> fish about 20 years ago having come upon a wild
> pair that originated thru Wayne Leibel. What I
> recall about the pair was the very changeable
> and dark breeding colors of this fish.In
> addition, it was a large Laetacara with the male
> being about 4 inches and a prolific breeder.
> Finally, the most noteworthy characteristic was
> the very long dorsal and anal fin extensions
> (both male and female) which extended well
> beyond the end of the caudal fin.These
> tremendously flowing fins made for a very
> attractive fish.  I'd like to reaquire this fish
> if possible  but I am not now sure of the ID. It
> seems that L.thayeri may more fit this
> description as to size and coloration. However,
> I've never seen thayeri with the fin extensions
> or in breeding colors. Perhaps there was still
> confusion on IDs at that time? Does Wayne
> participate in this forum? Perhaps he remembers
> and can
> comment...............thanks.........................Ron
> Schulz

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