How old do cichlids from Lake Malawi get?

On average, cichlids from Lake Malawi live for 4 – 6 years. Depending on the species and gender, the value is of course different. Individual East African cichlids can live for 25 to 30 years.

The rearing of African cichlids – Malawi cichlids

Artemia are popular as rearing food.

In order for the young to grow well, the young should really stand up for food and be fed up to 10 times a day. At each feeding, as much food is given as the young eat within 2 minutes. Food that has fallen on the ground should not be left on the ground for a long time. If possible, some catfish can be used to eat the food off the bottom.

After three months, well-fed young are about 3 – 4 cm tall.

Can mouthbrooding females be transferred to a breeding tank?

Usually the eggs are fertilized by the male when they are ingested by the female. It sometimes happens that some eggs are fertilized in the female’s mouth. The female lays an egg and the male brushes over it with a gush of semen. Then the female ingests the egg and sperm. The egg is only fertilized in the throat sac.

The female can therefore be transferred as soon as she carries the eggs in her mouth. Due to the stress of catching, the female may drop eggs from her mouth. If the female and the spit out eggs are placed in a separate rearing tank, the female will most often retrieve the eggs. Therefore, no rearing net should be used. If the eggs have not been picked up after 1 to 2 hours, the eggs can also be hatched in an incubator. Otherwise the eggs will spoil.

Unfertilized eggs are no longer accepted. If the eggs turn white, they have fungus and cannot be saved.

Depending on the species, young fish hatch from fertilized eggs after about 10 days. The young fish are carried on for up to 4 weeks.

What are the egg stains for?

Melanochromis auratus male Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 2.0 Author: Vlad Butsky

Mouthbrooder females have an innate reflex that causes the female to automatically take eggs and brood into her mouth.

The males use this reflex during fertilization. The female releases the unfertilized eggs into the water and takes them in her mouth. The male swims directly in front of the female’s mouth and releases the semen into the water in front of the female. The female sees the egg spots on the fin and reflexively sucks in the water with the semen. The eggs in the mouth are fertilized in this way.

Female cichlids also have egg spots.

Not only the males of East African cichlids have egg spots, but also the females. For example, a yellow female with large egg spots is reported. However, it was clearly a female, as she has hatched offspring in her mouth several times. Some faint egg-spots in the anal fin have been reported in females of P. johnstoni.

However, the egg spots of the females are usually not as numerous and as pronounced as in the males.

Do Malawi cichlids clean their gills with sand?

Malawi cichlids can often be seen ingesting fine sand or gravel and pushing through their gills.

This usually happens when they search the gravel after feeding. However, they do not clean the gills, but simply look for food. Some species of fish have combs on their gill arches that they use to fish food out of the water. They cannot sort out what is edible with their tongue.

Malawi species in particular that look for food on the ground have this behavior. Species from the open water show the behavior less. Other fish species that forage on the bottom behave in the same way.

Do Malawi cichlids interbreed?

Malawi cichlids also mate and breed interspecies with other cichlids. When given the opportunity, almost all Malawi cichlids interbreed. The half-breeds are undesirable from the point of view of species conservation and must not be distributed under any circumstances. The young should be fed as early as possible. At most, a few hybrids may be kept in your own aquarium. Passing it on to other aquarists is irresponsible.

Examples of crossings:

Some of the crossbreeds only reproduce with each other, sometimes with the purebred ancestors.

In nature, the individual species live so far apart that they cannot interbreed.

African Malawi cichlids | attitude and care

Monster Koi / Pixabay

Only species that are not related at all may be kept together in an aquarium with Malawi cichlids. So it can z. For example, only one Aulonocara species can be maintained together with one Pseudotropheus species. Otherwise the species interbreed.

The cichlids from Lake Malawi form territories. Usually there is one dominant male. The weaker males disguise themselves as females. Because this doesn’t always work out perfectly, it can lead to violent fights with fatal outcomes. When younger males are strong enough, they crowd out the previously dominant male.

How many animals can be kept together varies from species to species. Usually only the males are colorful. Males of Labeotropheus trevawasae z. B. are nice metallic blue, but also very aggressive. A male is kept with 2-3 females. Because the species grows up to 18 centimeters long, a 300 liter tank is practically full.

As a rule, one restricts oneself to 2 types. Most keepers put so many animals in at once that the aquarium is easily overcrowded. Aggression and turf wars are thus partially reduced. There is also strong aggression between the species. If another species is introduced later into a half-empty tank, the old animals will kill the new animals.

Typical occupations for a 300 liter aquarium are 10-15 yellows and a few catfish, or a large male Aulonocara with 2-3 females.

When feeding, the water spills over slightly. Then there are turf wars. As young fish grow large, they fight with the older males until one is left behind.

Many types, e.g. B. Aulonocara jacobfreibergi, multiply incessantly. Breeding females are sometimes not seen for weeks. They hide very well. When the numerous young are released, they eat for a week. Then they are mated again and disappear again. In this way, some species can multiply quickly and profusely.

If possible, predators should therefore always be used, i.e. nocturnal catfish or other predators that eat the offspring. Otherwise, with good husbandry, a strong overstocking will develop in a short time. Malawis are perfectly adapted to confined habitats, and mouthbrooders breed anywhere.

The Malawi species that I know of are actually all robust. Hard water, frequent water changes and often frozen food are almost everything.

Contrary to popular belief, the water from Lake Malawi is not hard. Only the pH value is high. If African cichlids are to be kept in hard water, the species from Lake Tanganyika are suitable.

Stocking and furnishing suggestion:

The stocking is relatively peaceful. The young fish are eaten as food after a short time. Due to the lack of cover, a fish jumps out of the aquarium every now and then.

Shy Malawians

It is not uncommon for Lake Malawi cichlids to be shy. These types include B. Labidocromis and Pseudotropheus. If there are many hiding places in the aquarium, they are often difficult to see. In such cases, the number of hiding places should be reduced.

How less hiding affects:

Adding more fish can also help. Then no Mbunas should be used additionally. Aulonocara or similar species are more suitable. These do not normally hide and this often means that the other, shy species also come out. However, there should be at most a slight overstocking.

If the back and side windows of the aquarium are taped shut, the fish will feel safer and more likely to come out of hiding.

The natural escape reflex when someone suddenly approaches the aquarium is maintained.

What are Mbunas?

Mbunas are the cichlid species from Lake Malawi that live in the rock littoral, the rocks in the coastal area. Mbuna primarily means that they feed on growth on the stones of the rocky coasts. Mbuna therefore mainly need vegetable feed.

Mbunas are a group of morphologically similar animals. They all behave similarly too. They live as agame mouthbrooders in mother families. Alpha males occupy foraging and courtship territories that they aggressively defend. In this context, the strong colors and the dichromatism are to be seen.

Many animals that fall under Mbuna are hardy. They are good at giving and receiving. Care should be taken when socializing with less robust animals. Mbunas need lots of caves and hiding places in the aquarium.

In a 240 liter aquarium, 2 to 3 smaller Mbuna species can be kept.

Non-Mbunas or Non-Mbuna, possibly a mixed word from Latin and Swahili, means that they eat something else. You need animal feed. These species prefer sandy areas. A few individual stones in the aquarium are sufficient as territorial boundaries.

In a 240 liter aquarium, 1 to 2 smaller NonMbuna species can be kept in groups.

Due to the different requirements for keeping conditions, it is recommended not to keep Mbunas together with non-Mbunas in an aquarium.

Do cichlids jump out of Lake Malawi?

Cichlids from Lake Malawi do not normally jump.

Species kept in open aquariums:

But there are sometimes situations in which they jump out of the water anyway.

Reasons why Malawians jump: