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A Black Cichlid

23 16:52:51

Question
I have a black cichlid with a little yellow on his/her fins.  This fish is generally hearty and slim fish but recently got a "pregnant" looking belly. I keep reading that they lay eggs so am I missing something?  And what kind of cichlid would it be?  As an FYI the only other 2 in the tank is a yellow one with black fins and another small yellow one with horizontal strips that all share a 30 gallon tank.  

Answer
Hi Samantha
I just came across your quesion in our question pool section, just showed up on there today, so sorry for the delay in answering.

Here's a few links, with pictures of your fish(maybe?)  Need to copy and paste to your browser:

Yellow with black fins=electric yellow lab? (labidochromis caeruleus)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=839

Yellow with horizontal black stripes=auratus?(melanochromis auratus)

http://www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/African/AuratusInfo.asp

And not sure on the black with yellow fin one.  It could be a peacock variety or just one that's sold as the assorted variety.  I'm not that familiar with Africans, been awhile since I had them.  Not sure if all of them, but some of them are what's called mouth brooders, the female carries the eggs and the fry around in her mouth.  Another thing I was always told with my Africans, to feed them a mainly algae/herbivore diet.  Too much protein can cause bloat, which can kill them.  Yours may have eggs, it may spawn with one of the others in the tank since we're not sure what kind of fish it is.  It may be bloat.  Just keep an eye on it, and watch for symptoms that it would be ill or getting ready to lay the eggs.  

Good luck!

Christy