Alexxxis

I have heard that malawi cichlids have been known to interbreed.
I have a tank full of yellow lab cichlids and I was wondering if I added 2 albino of their same species would they interbreed or would that be fine?
Please respond as soon as possible all advice is appreciated
thank you!

Amanda

An albino & regular lab could very well interbreed. If I know my genetics - most of them would turn out to be regular colored.

Allie

As long as you have the 1 male to 3 female ratio they will choose their own species first. If you have a single male or female...they will breed with whomever is willing. They would still be hybrids...which is a no no in the african cichlid world.

Slug

Thats true. Albino is the recessive gene.

Its still a Labidochromis caeruleus, it wouldn't really be interbreeding. More like just breeding 2 color forms of the same species. Much like pink and black convicts, and even Discus.

Alexxxis

so if they did interbreed their fry would most likely still look just like the yellow labs? or would it be an odd lighter yellow/albino mixed?

Slug

Normal yellow lab + Albino yellow lab would probably make mostly just regular yellow labs, color would depend on how the parents look and how their parents looked. But generally, the Albino gene is the recessive gene. You might get an albino out of the mix but i wouldn't count much on it. However i think that the offspring of a pair like this would carry the gene so then if you bred 2 of the kids together you might get a % of Albinos.

Alexxxis

Thanks so much