Blue Malawi cichlid

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Blue Malawi cichlid
Blue Malawi cichlid (Maylandia zebra), male

Blue Malawi cichlid ( Maylandia zebra ), male

Systematics
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe : Haplochromini
Genre : Maylandia
Type : Blue Malawi cichlid
Scientific name
Maylandia zebra
( Boulenger , 1899)
Blue Malawi cichlid (drawing). The male has so-called egg spots on the fins.

The blue Malawi cichlid ( Maylandia zebra , synonyms : Pseudotropheus zebra , Metriaclima zebra ) is a species of African cichlid that is endemic in Lake Malawi . It lives on the rocky shores of the lake and, like all species of cichlids that prefer the same biotope , is counted among the mbuna .

description

The fish are 10 to 13.5 cm long. The females are brownish in color and have dark horizontal stripes. But there are also orange-spotted to completely orange color morphs . The males are blue to light blue, also with a horizontal stripe pattern. The males have significantly more egg spots on the anal fin than the females (egg spots act as egg dummies and attract the female to the genital opening of the male during the spawning process).

distribution

The blue Malawi cichlid is mainly found on the northwest coast of Lake Malawi, which is also known as Lake Nyasa. Here it occurs between Cape Manulo and Kande Island. However, there are also populations on the east coast of the lake that differ a little in color from those of the west coast. The populations in the very north of the lake are already regarded by many researchers as a separate species, Maylandia emmiltos .

Way of life

nutrition

Like other mbuna, the blue Malawi cichlid feeds mainly on algae growing on the rocks. It swims at right angles to the rock surface and grazes the plant material with its terminal mouth . The fish also swim through the open water in search of plankton . The females often appear in groups there. Sexually mature males defend a territory near caves. This is also where mating takes place.

Reproduction

When mating, the females choose the male that suits them best based on visual aspects. If several closely related populations are mixed in a laboratory experiment, mating mainly occurs within the same population.

The blue cichlids are mouthbrooders . The females hatch the young in their mouths and the mother watches over the young for a few weeks after they hatch.

attitude

When keeping the aquarium, rocks, stones and plants should be brought in, as in their home. If the tank is no larger than four feet, only one male should be kept with multiple females.

Nomenclature and Taxonomy

The genus Maylandia used to be a sub-genus of the genus Pseudotropheus , which also included the blue Malawi cichlid, then called Pseudotropheus (Maylandia) zebra . In 1997, 10 species from the Pseudotropheus zebra species complex were newly described and summarized under the new generic name Metriaclima . In the opinion of the authors of the new genus, the name Maylandia would not have been available for elevation to the genus, but would have represented a nomen nudum . Since then, both generic names have been used in the literature, and some scientific authors continue to use the old generic name Pseudotropheus to avoid the name conflict (cf. Knight 2004).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b J. Kasembe (2006): Maylandia zebra. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ Erwin Schraml: Eifleck. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 348.
  3. ↑ a b Mairi E. Knight and George F. Turner: Laboratory mating trials indicate incipient speciation by sexual selection among populations of the cichlid fish Pseudotropheus zebra from Lake Malawi. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, Biological Sciences, 271, 1540, pp. 675-680, April 7, 2004
  4. ↑ John A. Dawes: Aquarium fish. The most popular tropical freshwater fish. Parragon, 2006, ISBN 140541345X
  5. ↑ JR Stauffer, NJ Bowers, KA Kellogg, KR McKaye: A revision of the blue-black Pseudotropheus zebra (Telesotei: Cichlidae) complex from Lake Malawi, Africa, with a description of a new genus and species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 148, pp. 189-230, 1997
  6. ^ M. Bailey: Maylandia or Metriaclima - the case for Metriaclima . eggspots, 4, pp. 39-45, 2010 online

literature

  • John A. Dawes: Aquarium Fish. The most popular tropical freshwater fish. Parragon, 2006, ISBN 140541345X
  • JR Stauffer, NJ Bowers, KA Kellogg, KR McKaye: A revision of the blue – black Pseudotropheus zebra (Telesotei: Cichlidae) complex from Lake Malawi, Africa, with a description of a new genus and species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 148, pp. 189-230, 1997

Web links

Commons : Maylandia zebra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files