Can Female Afras Color Up Like Males When Dominant?

[cyradis4]

Hi!

I have two wild female Cynotilapia Afras I got from Mike a while back. One seems like a normal female. But the other is the dominant fish in the tank and now looks more like a male then a female. The females were much bigger then the male, so I would assume that I did not get the two mixed up, but its very possible that I did as there are a LOT of Afra sized hiding places, many of which I can not see directly into, and I've had them for a few months. Could it happen that a dominant female has more male like colors?

Thanks!
Amanda.

 

[maddog10]

The female afra (Puulu) can vary from silver to blue in coloration, but they generally do not get the bright yellow dorsal fringe (there is some yellow) like the males get and they do not seem to turn what I call "electric blue" like a breeding male. I am sure you have seen when you scare or try to net them, they all end up looking pretty much the same shade of blue.

So to answer your question, yes - but not exactly.

 

[Charlutz]

Mbuna will take the color of the opposite sex under certain conditions. Sometimes when a sub male is trying to remain stealthy and not get attacked by the dominant male. Or when there are no males in a group, a female will take on male coloration and male aggressive tendencies. They do not change their sex to male, but they can look very much like a male. It's usually not perfect male coloration, but it is a significant departure from female coloration. I saw it a lot with melanochromis and metraclima.

 

[cyradis4]

Nice. I did notice that she does not have much yellow on her at all.

Has anyone tried to breed the more colorful females to try to get fish with females that are uniformly more colorful?

Later!
Amanda.