ViS Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 A friend of mine bought these fish recently, which originally came from a forum member here. He bought them as Cynotilapia afra "Lions cove blue variant" Now call me cynical, but I was under the impression that the Lions cove afra is yellow? I cannot find any links or pictures on the net or in my books that refer to a blue variant from that location. There are a few variants of C. afra "lion" mentioned on some sites, but no pictures I can see. EVERY photo I can find of the lions cove afra is yellow, and there are many many photos around, so I find it strange I can't find this mysterious blue variant anywhere. If anyone has info, please put it here. My friend paid decent money for these fish, so I'm keen to ID them properly for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 This is what i got as C. Afra "lion`s cove", Dunno alot about them, i didnt even know there was another varient..... Heres a site with more pics... http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=161 Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Hey I havent had much experience witrh these fish at all but i jumped onto a few websites. Is there a difference between sp lions cove and sp lion. I noticed there was sp. Lion from a few locations other than lions cove.????? I could be wrong too. But definitely worth a google or 2. I would have naturally thought that sp. lion would be the same as sp' lions cove' but this may not be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 i had some c afra "lions cove" that didnt really show any yellow/orange colour but i have seen pics of some that were fry from yellow ones that were almost blue like the pics the fish i had werenice and sometimes showed a hint of yellow but were only fairly young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcichlid Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Hi Andy, I keep both coloured variant , my come from Queensland. Andrew at Benleigh and a LFS in Annnerly are selling both coloured Cynotilapia afra "Lions cove'' . My question is how do you breed them if you do not know where the females come from? According to some you can get both colour morph from the same batch of fry's and it does not matter if the male is blue or yellow. Can that be right??? Cheers Ziggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 29, 2005 Author Share Posted April 29, 2005 Bucky these were your fish This is your old colony, and they came from another forum member here as you know. The buyer sent me the pics to confirm if they were lions cove and I said I didn't think so. He contacted the original seller who told him they were the blue variant. I've never heard of a blue lions cove variant, so I thought I'd better post the pics here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 29, 2005 Author Share Posted April 29, 2005 Ziggy, I don't know if that's true or not. I'd suggest you do some research as well. Try and find an article on it and post the link here. I'll do the same if I find anything. I was under the impression that all lions cove afra were yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlabxr Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 Ad Konings says that Cynotilapia sp. lion "some are orange-yellow with thin vertical bars while others are royal blue. Intermediates are present as well." He also goes on to say that this species is found between Lion's Cove and Chadagha. Have a look at " Malawi Cichlids in their natural habitat" if possible. Regards Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 30, 2005 Author Share Posted April 30, 2005 Thanks Martin. Yes I did read that, but I'm not sure if the afra "lion" and the afra "Lion's cove" are the same fish or not. Some websites list "Lions cove" and "lion" in the same lists as separate names (and I'd assume species). It states that the "lion" is widespread and that would contradict having "lions cove" as a name, which is a specific location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 im unsure myself but they were nice fish to look at when displaying anyway id be interested to know as well always good to learn something new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 Martin Ad Konings says that Cynotilapia sp. lion "some are orange-yellow with thin vertical bars while others are royal blue. Intermediates are present as well." Refers to the population of Cynotilapia sp. lion at Karanga. I agree with Andy that Ad Konings lists this a different species from Cynotilapia afra. Gerard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlabxr Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 Ged I agree. I suppose what I was getting at is that the colour variant is a possibility. But I have not come across C.afra "lions cove" blue variant. Ad does go on to say that the type of food available may play a role in the colour of the mbuna. It gets very complicated and annoying at times because anLFS can put any name on a fish and voila! a new colour variant. I am not suggesting that this happened in this case but "trade" names do complicate matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 30, 2005 Author Share Posted April 30, 2005 As far as I can work out in this case, Bucky bought them from an "importer" (for want of a better word - please no names -) as "lions cove" afra. My mate has since asked the "importer" what variant they are and was told: he said they are C. afra 'Lions Cove' Blue variant The problem I am having is finding any information on this variant, which doesn't seem to exist on any website or book I have. I don't believe the C. afra "lions cove" is the same fish as the C. sp "lion". I think we are looking at a mislabelled fish here unfortunately. What we need to do if that's the case, is to ID it correctly as there are already at least two forum members with them, and at least one shop selling them. Sooner than later would be better obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWs Fish Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 It looks quite similar to Cynotilapia afra 'Lupingu' http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1736 Ive read that there is a Cyno sp 'Lion' that comes from Lupingu. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 30, 2005 Author Share Posted April 30, 2005 The stripes are all wrong Plus it looks like even the dominant males don't show too much blue in the flanks like that pic of yours. Keep trying mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 30, 2005 Author Share Posted April 30, 2005 It shows this as Cynotilapia sp. "Lion" (Lion's Cove): http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=698 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted April 30, 2005 Author Share Posted April 30, 2005 This site (cichlidpress): http://cichlidpress.com/safari/malawi/maps/species/lion.htm Lists Cynotilapia afra and Cynotilapia sp. "lion" as different species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlabxr Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Have a look at this site if you aren't on dial up. Download takes awhile on ADSL. More Afra pics Also could it be C.afra magunga? Similar barring? That's page 109 in Ad's book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted May 1, 2005 Author Share Posted May 1, 2005 The afra magunga shows too much body colour and has yellow in the fins, but the "sp. lion" magunga looks pretty close, but I'm not sold on it. http://www.teyzeogullari.com/MAL0174.GIF The pics I posted above certainly look like a blue version of the yellow lions cove, as the lions cove doesn't show too much yellow colour in the body either until it's dominant. The problem I have is finding proof that this blue variant exists at Lions cove. The website you listed has Cynotilapia sp. lion listed at Lupingu and Magunga which are both in Tanzania, nowhere near Lions cove. The search continues...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funfish Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Hi Everyone, I have the fish in question aswell Cynotilapia sp lion "lions cove", I have 2 lots the first trio the male has the yellow collouration lions cove 1 and the second lot of 12 I have I have some coming up has the blue/purple morph and some the more yellow morph not good pics but you can get the gist.....lions cove#1 and another lions cove#2 I will try to get better shots, I have found the barring in the body the same in blue and yellow ones.....crabros on the forum has bred these before and has had blue and yellow from the same mouthfull ,I know Cyp leptosoma is a totally different fish all together but in my old collony of utinta's I get blue tails and orange yellow tails in the same gobs maybe this could be the same thing going on with Cynotilapia sp lion "lions cove". Just my 2cents worth HTH Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted May 1, 2005 Author Share Posted May 1, 2005 Thanks Christian. If this is true, (and I'm certainly not suggesting it isn't), why can't we find any information in books or on the net about this colour variation? It seems that it's a pretty unique trait for a Malawi mbuna to possess, so I'd think it would be well known about the species and mentioned in all the text about the lions cove afra. The fact that it isn't (that I can find so far), would suggest to me that it has only happened in the particular strain we have here. The reasons for that could be good or bad..... I'm hoping it's good because I'd like to keep them one day myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlabxr Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Just another thought. What food do they get. You could try experimenting with a change in diet just to see if there are any changes. I think the fact that none of us can find any literature is rather a worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted May 1, 2005 Author Share Posted May 1, 2005 Perhaps someone with the fish should ask our good friend Mr Konings? I've sent him pictures for ID before and he's always been happy to oblige. I don't have his email anymore though. I think I might have sent it to info@cichlidpress last time? Brett will know though as I know he's sent him stuff before too. He should be able to confirm if the lions cove variants throw off yellow and blue males, as I'm sure he's dived lions cove plenty of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crabros Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hi all, I have emailed Ad on this subject. I had the yellow varient and the females were spitting a percentage of blue fry which was evident when they grew up. I should know in a few days more info. HTH Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcichlid Posted May 2, 2005 Share Posted May 2, 2005 Hi Again, I found that the yellow and blue variant lion cove look identical. There is no difference in shape, bars or finage between the two color morphs. Check out Ad's Koenig CD, the lion cove on one of the pics looks mostly yellow but there is a strong blue colour presence as well, anyway I could not find anymore info about this subject. Cheers Ziggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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