New lion

[nick a]

I know, I know--I'm a sucker for any new Cyno. Picked up these C. sp lion from Sanga from Old World. They are just settling in and not 100% established yet. So far, the males are similar to their neighbors to the south, Lions Cove. The blues in the dorsal are quite different however. Less purpleish and more light blue. The females haven't settled in well enough for me to tell if they will be as attractive as the Lions Cove variant.

What appears to be the dominant male:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8383/dsc0572yp7.jpg
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/4757/dsc0571xm1.jpg

[n747KT]

That fish looks amazing! How do you get such great pictures?

Mike

[why_spyder]

So far, the males are similar to their neighbors to the south, Lions Cove. The blues in the dorsal are quite different however. Less purpleish and more light blue.

No kiddin'! How would one tell the difference - especially with the natural variance...?:shocked:

I look forward to your future analysis of these fish. :D

[ChrisG12887]

Awesome Cyno!

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

Great looking Cyno!

[nick a]

I hope they get comfortable soon so I can get some good shots of them. I couldn't get my DOF right because they were so skittish.

How would one tell the difference - especially with the natural variance HA!


It helps when you've got a couple of tanks full of the LCs next to the new ones HA! If I only got to look at my crappy pics--I couldn't tell the diff either!
My take on the variation on the LCs is the range of color goes from purple to yellow but doesn't ever include this sky blue.

An older LC male (yellow end of spectrum)in calm pattern:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6549/dsc0576zg5.jpg

A subdom LC male (purplish end of spectrum)in stress pattern:
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/6610/dsc1121ar9.jpg

I know it's really hard to see in pics, but when you swing by the house I think you'll see what i'm talking about!:)

[nick a]

Just for grins heres that same subdom LC when he's somewhat more calm--of course he never gets to relax completely HA!

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/3231/dsc0343gn0.jpg

[why_spyder]

Hey Nick, not to change the topic too much - but I'm glad to see you also have noticed (and keep) the more purple variation the the Lion's Cove. I prefer my purple variant male over the gold/yellow - but my wife is the opposite.

It is hard to believe how much variation there is in just one location of Cynotilapia sp. lion's....:jawdrop:

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

It is hard to believe how much variation there is in just one location of Cynotilapia sp. lion's....:jawdrop:[/QUOTE]

Yes it is, I'm intrigued. However to weigh in on the color issue I liked the older yellow male myself. Nice looking fish!

[why_spyder]

I will try to get photos of my males - but my males look more like the new species than the Lion's Cove you have Nick.

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

I like the gold/yellow too! Nice pics Nick!

[why_spyder]

A couple horrible shots of my shocked males, but they definitely have a light blue dorsal...

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1087696.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1087688.jpg

I really need to get these guys back in glass cage so I can get photos of them again...

And look, a fish outta water.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1087679.jpg

[why_spyder]

Okay, I left my "good" male in the 20H overnight by himself with the C. afra Nkhata Bay fry. Here is a couple shots of him settled in a bit more than last night.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1097700.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1097699.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1097698.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f238/why_spyder/Cichlid%20Stuff/P1097697.jpg

[Haplee]

I think they are all nice but I really like the new guy form Sanga. The C. sp Lion are my favorite Cynos. Great pictures nick, thanks for sharing. I would like to see the females when they are ready to be photographed.

[nick a]

The C. sp Lion are my favorite Cynos.
Haplee, Me too! I've had a species only tank with the LC variant in the house dedicated to them for quite a few years now and had to get another group of LCs for my fishroom HA!
When the Sangas became available, it was definitely a HAVE to have :love:

Brian, great pics! Your males are definitely on the blue side and look great. The WC group out in the fishroom has males that cover a pretty broad range of variability. I'll have to try to get a better shot of the Sanga. It's not necessarily the quantity of the blue that makes them look different--its the shade (I think :erm:) of blue. I don't have the color vocabulary to describe it HA!

[why_spyder]

I moved all my LC's to the 20H for photos and such. Finally got a decent shot (by my standards) of the most golden male.

http://www.cichlidforums.com/gallery/data/599/medium/P1107710.jpg

and I got a video on YouTube of them (a bit dark - sorry).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y635OAbeuIw

Nick - I'll anxiously await the new photos. :D

[why_spyder]

http://www.cichlidforums.com/gallery/data/599/medium/P1107713.jpg

[why_spyder]

Hey Nick - have you seen the C. sp. lion 'Sanga' in Ad's 4th Edition?

[gmoses]

wow that first guy is one of the nicest fish i have seen... unreal

[why_spyder]

Laif mentions they are brighter....
http://www.cichlidnewsmagazine.com/issues/2009jan/whatsnew.html

[nick a]

Yeah--what that means exactly is ???????:)

The Sanga pic in the 4th is definitely a more yellow type than it appears I have in either the dom or sub. The thing I'm really looking at is the femmes, so far the Sanga femmes have not colored up like the LCs at all.

gmoses, lots of folks think that cynos are just afras, the sp lion group has some of the best looking fish IMHO!

[why_spyder]

lol...

Yeah, there is definitely alot more out there for Cynotilapia than just the 'afra's - the lion-group is nice, but I find myself enjoying the mbamba-group a bit more..... something about the dark body coloration....

[nick a]

I'm thinking that the most significant difference (that I've noted so far) between the Sanga and the Lions Cove population is the female coloration. The LCs show much more male-like bars and dorsal patterns. The Sanga femmes are very muted compared to them.

A little better pic of a male getting fired up to claim a territory.
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/5282/dsc1594ve4.jpg

After battles with the other male this is the King!
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2774/dsc1663jf0.jpg

2 of the 4 femmes are already holding:partay:
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9301/dsc1664hj4.jpg

[why_spyder]

The Sanga femmes are very muted compared to them.

I can definitely notice the difference in females from that photo. Like you said, the Lion's Cove females definitely show more male-like barring.

Good to see you have them spawning already - you're a regular fry factory in that DogHouse....