Ice blue mouthbrooder

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Ice blue mouthbrooder
A male ice-blue mouthbrooder

A male ice-blue mouthbrooder

Systematics
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe : Haplochromini
Genre : Chindongo
Type : Ice blue mouthbrooder
Scientific name
Chindongo socolofi
( Johnson , 1974)
female
Young animals impress
Young animals

The ice blue mouthbrooder ( Chindongo socolofi , syn .: Pseudotropheus socolofi ) is a cichlid from the mbuna group that is endemic to the East African Lake Malawi . It was not described until the early 1970s.

features

The ice-blue mouthbrooder is a slender and elongated cichlid when young, but in adulthood it is quite high-backed. In the natural habitat it reaches a total length of seven centimeters, with males being slightly larger. The basic color is a relatively uniform light blue. The broad seams of the ventral , dorsal and anal fins are blue-black. The membrane between the caudal fin rays also has this dark hue. Female ice-blue mouthbrooders, juvenile fish and males without territory show, more or less intense, eight or nine dark blue horizontal stripes on the sides of the body. Dominant males do not wear a pattern.

In addition to the clearly longer extended ventral fins, sexually mature males have three to four large, black-rimmed and saffron-yellow egg spots in their anal fin.

Distribution and ecology

All mbuna are endemic to Lake Malawi. They are pronounced nutrition specialists who graze on vegetal and animal growth in the upper scree and rock zone of the lake. Their occurrence therefore depends on the structure of the seabed and the incidence of sunlight required for photosynthesis . Free sandy areas that offer the fish no food and no hiding places therefore not only remain uninhabited, they even represent real barriers to spread. Many species of mbuna therefore only have very small areas of distribution with a relatively small number of individuals. Species that are still more widespread in the lake have formed populations at the respective locations that hardly differ in terms of color. This form of distribution is an essential reason for the biodiversity of these cichlids. Since the location with its respective food supply is vital for each individual Mbuna, they have a relatively high intraspecific aggressiveness.
The ice-blue mouthbrooder occurs on the rocky east coast of Lake Malawi, which lies within the borders of Mozambique . The largest stocks opposite the island of Likoma at a depth of four to a maximum of ten meters.

Reproduction

Like all members of this genus, the ice blue mouthbrooder belongs to the maternal mouthbrooders that do not form pairs. The brood care is carried out exclusively by the female. During mating, the female lays 20 to 50 eggs, which it immediately takes up in its mouth and which are fertilized during the course of mating by several sperm donations from the male. After about 21 days, the fry are released from the mouth and then not picked up again by the female. At this point in time, they are fully developed, independent and already show territorial behavior that is typical of the Mbuna. You immediately look for an individual hiding place and defend it against fish of the same size.

Systematics

The ice-blue mouthbrooder was described in 1974 by Don Johnson, the publisher of the now-discontinued US magazine “Today's Aquarist”, based on specimens from the animal trade and assigned to the genus Pseudotropheus . The species name honors the importer Ross Socolof, then owner of Florida Fish Farms Inc. in Center Hill. In 2016, the ice-blue mouthbrooder was placed in the newly introduced genus Chindongo together with other cichlids from the former Pseudotropheus elongatus species group .

Importance to humans

Like many other mbuna, the ice-blue mouthbrooder is an aquarium fish that is regularly offered in pet shops. It is also offered under the fantasy name »Pseudotropheus pindani«. This is not an available scientific species name.

swell

  • Beansch Aquarium Atlas Volume 2, Second English Edition. Mergus Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-88244-052-X , p. 976.
  • A. Günther: Second report on the reptiles, batrachians, and fishes transmitted by Mr. HH Johnston, CB, from British Central Africa. In: Proceedings of the General Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of London. 4 1894, pp. 616-628.
  • CT Regan: The cichlid fishes of Lake Nyassa. In: Proceedings of the General Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of London. 1921, 4, 36, pp. 675-727.
  • DS Johnson: Three new cichlids from Lake Malawi. In: Today's Aquarist. 1 (3), 1974, pp. 38-42.
  • W. Staeck, H. Linke: Cichlids from East Africa. Tetra Verlag, Melle 1998, ISBN 3-89745-103-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ C. Maréchal (1991): Pseudotropheus. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse, GG Teugels, DFE Thys van den Audenaerde (ed.): Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 4, pp. 401-415.
  2. ↑ Aquarium guide
  3. ↑ Ice blue mouthbrooder on Fishbase.org (English)
  4. ^ W. Staeck, H. Linke: Cichlids from East Africa. Tera Verlag, Melle 1998, ISBN 3-89745-103-4 .
  5. ↑ Aquarium guide
  6. ^ W. Staeck, H. Linke: Cichlids from East Africa. Tera Verlag, Melle 1998, ISBN 3-89745-103-4 .
  7. ^ DS Johnson: Three new cichlids from Lake Malawi. In: Today's Aquarist. 1 (3) 1974, pp. 38-42.
  8. ↑ Jr .: A Revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) With Description of a New Genus and Seven New Species. In: Zootaxa . 4168 (2), 2016, pp. 353-381. DOI: 10.11646 / zootaxa.4168.2.9

Web links

Commons : Ice-blue mouthbrooder ( Pseudotropheus socolofi )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files