Website design By BotEap.comPseudotropheus elongatus It has always been one of my favorite African cichlids.

Website design By BotEap.comMaybe it’s the graceful torpedo shape that cuts through the aquarium waters, unlike most other types of fish that are built much more like … well, fish! Or possibly the bright colors, usually blue and black with vertical stripes, are what attracted me in the first place and keep me fascinated while swimming. There are a few other morphs and colorations coming into the trade as time goes on, but the blue and black bars of an alpha male will always be my favorite pattern for this fish.

Website design By BotEap.comMost likely, it is the way they carry themselves with pure attitude, from the beginning onwards, that makes them so memorable. They are rarely intimidated and usually end up being the fish to worry about when new additions are added. They are already kings and queens and will make sure the rest know their status. An alpha male, patrolling the aquarium and making sure everyone else runs away when they are around is a sight I can watch for hours.

Website design By BotEap.comLike many other Mbuna from Lake Malawi, the elongatus has developed as a mouth-breeder. Although this form of parental behavior is not unique to this species, it is fascinating to watch. I have established aquariums where many generations live and thrive in the same tank. Father, son, grandson, great-grandson, and even more generations, they all grow and prosper together over time and cross their generations if allowed.

Website design By BotEap.comUnlike life carriers who simply leave their babies somewhere and go, rarely later recognizing them as anything other than food, the entire cichlid family provides some form of parental behavior. South American cichlids share duties with both parents, often protecting the eggs where they have been laid. They then continue to protect the young as they hatch and then begin to swim. For most species, this is a job for both the males and females of the pair, and for this reason many species form long-term bonds.

Website design By BotEap.comMbuna, or African cichlids, generally take this protection a step further, holding the young inside the female’s mouth until the fry swim freely and can fend for themselves. Unlike many others that form a pair bond, it seems that the female assumes the responsibilities of the fry on herself and the mating will be much more fluid. This is important to understand, as when after courtship and the eggs have been laid, the female may not eat for up to three weeks to avoid accidental ingestion of the precious cargo in her mouth. The man does not share these duties and may even be working with another woman during this period.

Website design By BotEap.comElongatus, like most African cichlids, are more difficult to sex, and to compound the problem, there are extreme discrepancies in the sex ratio for many species of Mbuna. Typically, many more females are born and raised than males. It is often best to buy these fish, as sexless juveniles in schools of 6 or more, that way you should get at least one viable mate when they mature. This also helps control the aggressive tendencies of the fish and keeps them more occupied with each other by establishing territory and dominance in the group rather than hitting the other species that are kept in the aquarium.

Website design By BotEap.comOnce grown, the males are generally larger than the females. The egg patches on the anal fins are often more intensely colored for females, offering better visual targets for males in breeding rituals. As a species they are very aggressive, even to African Mbuna, but, with enough distractions, just add a lot of activity to the aquarium. Don’t get these fish if you are looking for a peaceful and placid aquarium community.

Website design By BotEap.comThe living room should be as large as possible, with a minimum 30-gallon aquarium staff for them. The decorations should be basically rocks; generally the flatter and stackable the better. I have had more success with a lot of slate that is stacked in such a way that there are all kinds of little gaps and channels for the babies once they have come out of the mother’s mouth. They need to quickly find places and swimming paths where the bigger fish mouths just can’t go. Rocks should be stacked at the back of the aquarium with free swimming areas open to the front. I also tend to offer some caves or other hideouts out front that often become the sole property of the tank alpha male.

Website design By BotEap.comSome people have had success with live plants with Africans, or so they say, but I’ve always found that if they don’t eat them they will dig them up, so I’ve always gone back to rocky decorations.

Website design By BotEap.comI keep the tank relatively high in pH, although it does not come close to Hans Baensch’s recommendation – p 756 – Baensch Aquarium Atlas which is 8.5. My fish do well in standard Montreal water, between 7.6 and 7.8. The water is supplemented with an African cichlid conditioner to increase hardness and stabilize alkalinity, but other than that, no other work is currently done on the characteristics of the water.

Website design By BotEap.comI do very little when it comes to exotic foods. Most African cichlids do very well with the various prepared foods available at your local pet store. Cichlid granules, either floating or sinking, are usually sufficient, although I do give them some basic flakes as well. At present, the food I have is a small micro cichlid pellet that sinks for the tank of essentially young Africans. The pellets seem to sink pretty quickly in one place, so the addition of flakes allows all of them to feed on other levels of the aquarium.