Lake Malawi Cichlids
(Pseudotropheus, Melanochromis, and Labeotropheus species)
Every time the hobbyists of the world become jaded and say that there is nothing new to be seen among fishes, it seems that someone comes along with the news that a new source has been found and there is a new set of tongue-twisting names to learn and fishes to admire. A strange thing about many of these African lakes is that they harbor a fish life that is found nowhere else in the world except in that particular lake.
The Golden Nyasa (Malawi) Cichlid (Melanochromis auratus)</p>
One of the most beautiful of the cichlids from Lake Malawi is this one, which has created a bit of a furor among hobbyists. It was quickly established that this was a mouthbrooding species, but so scrappy in disposition that two males should never be kept together unless the tank is very large and each can lay claim to a certain part of the tank for himself. They spawn like the other mouthbrooding cichlids, the female carrying the eggs in her mouth for two weeks. Unlike the other mouth- brooders, these have been observed to spit out the eggs on occasion and eat a hearty meal. At this time the eggs can be siphoned out and allowed to hatch, and this has been done successfully.
The Zebra Nyasa (Malawi) Cichlid (Pseudotropheus zebra)
Body color is blue, with a number of color morphs or varieties. The male's anal fin has a group of interesting orange spots that have an intriguing story, as have those on some of the other mouthbrooding species.
The male stands by while the female lays her eggs in a depression in the bottom and then picks them up in her mouth. Then he spreads out his anal fin with those orange spots in front of her. The spots look like eggs to her, and she picks at them vigorously while at the same time the male is emitting sperm, which gets to all the eggs and fertilizes them.
The Trewavas Nyasa (Malawi) Cichlid (Labeotropheus trewavasae)
So different are the male and female of this species that it was at first thought they were two different species. The male has a blue body with a number of dark vertical stripes and a bright red dorsal fin, while the female is mottled brown all over, with darker markings and tiny blue spots. Both have an odd, underslung mouth. This is a mouthbrooding species like the others. There are color morphs of this cichlid, too.
The Compressed Cichlid (Lamprologus compressiceps)
This is one of the many cichlids that the author found in Lake Tanganyika in 1957. They have a very thin body that lets them slip in among the clefts of the rocks. The natives collect them by diving.
The Lemon Cichlid (Lamprologus leleupi)
This little rarity comes from the home of many cichlid species, Lake Tanganyika. It gets to be only 4 inches in length and is not hard to keep if given living foods and water which is definitely alkaline. They have been spawned and breed like the usual cichlid species, using a flowerpot as a substitute cave. The eggs hatch in three days. They are easily raised with the standard procedure.
Other Malawi and. Tanganyika Cichlids
So beautiful, interesting, and popular are these colorful cichlids that hundreds of different species have been imported. Most are very easy to induce to spawn, but all require a specially set up aquarium in which there are few, if any, plants and lots of rocks and caves. If you want to spawn these beauties there is little to fear as long as the tank is large enough and you have a pair. It is easiest, as a general rule, to get a 20-gallon aquarium with just some gravel on the bottom. A few flowerpots lying on their sides will provide enough hiding places. The majority of them spawn readily. Lamprologus species prefer to spawn in caves. The eggs are taken from the mouths of mouthbrooders for protection and hatch in small jars that are heavily aerated.
