Pundamilia Nyererei

[Jombi21]

I know little about Victorians, or Africans in general. I received a group of 6 Pundamilia Nyererei from another OCA member. He was selling it as a group of one male to five females, all of decent size, 2-3". When I got them home, it looked right. One was black and colorful and the rest looked like female African fish.

I've had them for a few months now, and I'm noticing that the male is not vibrant at all, rather displaying dull colors. On the other hand, a few of the females have ridiculous coloration as of late. Oranges, and yellows, and greens, and wow! I really can't take my eyes off of them. They are aggressive and lively.

Any idea what's going on in my tank?

[Lisachromis]

Are they in a species only tank? If not, the male is probably not the 'king of the castle' so to speak. Females stay grey, basically. If you're seeing oranges and greens, it's a distinct possibility that they are boys. Do those fish have egg spots?

[Jombi21]

It's a species only tank... 75 gallons.

Wouldn't the new males display the dark black body, like the other known male? The "females" have actually outgrown the male. They don't really boss him around, just the other "females."

The coloration on these fish immediately reminded me of some tropheus I've seen at a talk.

Well, a google search for P. Nyererei shows males with that yellow color as distinct even moreso than the black. I wonder if I have a bunch of males. Could they color up much later than the other male?

Hrm

Jom

[Lisachromis]

Well, when I raised mine, when the males were young, and not a "big man" they stayed with lighter colour and only the really dominant ones showed a dark body. I think it's their way of trying to look innocuous so the big male doesn't beat them up. Do you know a locale for your nyererei? I know there's differences in the locales.

[Jombi21]

Mwanza Gulf per the seller.

Thanks for the responses, Lisa!