Paralabidochromis sp "rock kribensis" Uganda is a rock dwelling insectivore from Lake Victoria that only grows to about 4.5 inches (12 cm) long. The top three pictures show a dominant male:
There are several color variants of rock kribensis found at different locations in Lake Victoria. This is the Ugandan varient from the northern part of the lake with males that are a blue grey color. This strain of rock kribensis is discussed in the book "Lake Victoria Basin Cichlids" by Mark Phillip Smith available from Barrons. The color in both the males and females varies quite a bit depending upon mood and dominance. The dominant males may have very faint striping or a distinct checkerboard pattern. Subdominant males and stressed males are basically white and black.
When stressed, the males will turn white with distinct horizontal black stripes as shown below:
The female Ugandan rock kribs usually look very similar to other females. However, their checkerboard pattern tend to have a wider horizontal stripe and they display a bit of red on their dorsal and caudal fins. As you can see, the female color is a bit more orange as shown below.
I bought a reverse trio of these rock kribs at the Cincinnati club auction in November of 2002. The person that sold them told me they came from the Shedd Aquarium, and I assume that they were a part of the species survival program. I met with the breeder who originally sold them at the auction and he gave me 8F:2M juvenlies in April of 2005. They turned out to be very prolific and I had over 75 fry from three different females in a few weeks.
Above left is a holding female and on the right is a young developing male.
I had the opportunity to see my rock kribs distant relatives at the Shedd Aquarium on the ACA 2006 tour (see above)
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My blue rock kribensis spawning
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