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Introduction
Africa
has more species of Cichlids than any other continents. We can
generally divided them into Cichlids from the Great Lakes of African
and the West and South Riverine Cichlids.
Cichlids
from Great Lakes, i.e.. Lake Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria, are possibly the most colourful freshwater fishes. They
are sometimes refer to as coral fishes as their colours are comparable
to the marine fishes. As these lakes are very
stable in terms of water chemistry, these fishes are intolerant of and
sensitive to dissolved metabolites and high nitrate levels.
Two main species from
these lakes that are popular to the aquarists are the Mbuna
(Rock fish) and the Haplochromines which are kept for
their stunning colours, lively movements and their dedicated parental
care for their young.
Cichlids from West
and North Africa are often the riverine species inhabiting rivers and
streams. Though they may not be as colourful as the Cichlids from the
Great Lakes, they bare often more robust, aggressive and easier to
keep. The 3 species that are common to aquarists are the Tilapines,
Hemichromines and Chromidotilapias.
Cichlids
from Lake Victoria
Lake
Victoria Cichlids are generally more tolerant of Nitrite better than
cichlids from the other 2 lakes. The lake is fairly shallow compared
to the other 2 lakes with varied habitat. These can range from rocky
to swampy. The fishes generally do well in neutral to slightly
hard water with temperatures of between
The male cichlid from
Lake Victoria are generally much more colourful than their female
counterparts. Many of these are very aggressive during spawning and
therefore are not popular fishes for community tanks.
Many of these fishes are
also facing extinction or have been wiped out due to the introduction of
the Nile Perch into the Lake to provide food for the natives. It is
therefore not surprising that some of the Cichlids from Lake Victoria
though extinct in nature are still available for the aquarist as they
are successfully mass breed commercially.
Breeding behavior ranges from mouth brooding,
substrate
brooding or laying their eggs on floating plants.
The better known
Cichlids from Lake Victoria are the Haplochromis and the Jewel
Cichlids (Hemichromis Guttatus).
Related
Articles
African Cichlids
Central America Cichlids
South America Cichlids
Photo Gallery
Articles
Aquarium Books & Magazines
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Cichlids
from Lake Malawi
Malawi
Cichlids require excellent water condition to thrive successfully.
They are intolerant of dissolved metabolites. Efficient filtration and
regular large volume changes of water are therefore require to
maintain them.
These
fish are often aggressive and active. To minimise aggression, it is common
practice to maintain them at high population densities. This will in
turn be challenging to keep the water in pristine condition.
Temperature
of 220-250C (720-770F)
is suffice for day-to-day well being and increase the temperature by a
couple of degrees for breeding purposes. Majority of these fish
relish algae and will tear out any water plants. Even if they are not
consumed, they are likely to be uprooted with the constant digging.
All of the
Cichlids from Lake Malawi
are open polygamous maternal breeders. Spawning follow a
prolonged and
often vigorous courtship.
After a
period of reciprocal circling, the female lay eggs a few at a time,
fertilise by the male and then pick up by the female re-circling
the spawning site. In certain species, the fertilising is done
with female nipping at the male's vent after the eggs are picked up.
The
female can hold the brood in her mouth for up to 28 days before she
splits them out. During this period, the female eats very
little.
The
better known groups of Malawi cichlids are the Mbuna (rockfish),
Aulonocara (Peacocks) and Haplochromis.
Electric
Blue Hap (Ahli), Sciaenochromis fryeri
Related Topics
My Cichlid Tank
African Cichlids
Central America Cichlids
South America Cichlids
Photo Gallery
Articles
Aquarium Books & Magazines
Links
|
Cichlids
from Lake Tanganyika
Lake
Tanganyika has the most diversify type of Cichlids, from substrate
brooders, shell dwellers, cave brooders and mouth brooders to
specified nest building Cichlids. These Cichlids thrive in hard
alkaline waters with relatively stable temperature (220 to
240C) similar
to their cousins from Lake Malawi. Raised the temperature to 27 - 290
C for breeding.
The
stable water condition in the lake resulted in poor tolerance of these
fish to large fluctuations in temperature and water quality. Most
domestic cichlids from the lake fair better than their natural cousins
but it is best to avoid large percentage of water changes for these
fishes. More regular changes instead of large volume of water changes
serves the fishes well. See article on Crash
of my Tropheus Tank
The
various brooding behaviors make Lake Tanganyika Cichlids a favorite
amongst fish keepers. An aquarist can have different types of cichlids
from the Lake with each peculiar brooding style with little problems
as they share similar water parameters and as long as the tank is
sufficiently large.
The best known cichlids
from Lake Tanganyika are probably the Frontosas (Cyphotilapia
Frontosa), Calvus, Tropheus such as Tropheus Moorili and
the various shell dwellers such as Lamprologus Signatus.
Cichlids
from West & North Africa
The
other group of Cichlids from Africa are those from the rivers of West
and North Africa. The species can inhibit the rapid flowing streams to
slow meandering rivers with possibility of sudden fluctuations in the
water properties due to thunderstorms or draughts.
Three major groups
are common to the aquarists : Tilapines eg. Bump head cichlids,
Tilapia Buttikoferi, Hemichromines, eg. Jewel Cichlids and
Chromidotilapias, eg. Kribs.
Tilapia Buttikoferi
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