Pseudotropheus gracilior
Pseudotropheus gracilior
Written by Friday, 11 September 2009 00:00
General
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Scientific Name or classification |
Pseudotropheus gracilior (Trewavas, 1935)
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Synonyms |
Pseudotropheus tropheops gracilior, Tropheops gracilior. |
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Common Name |
Graziler pseudotropheus, Chalunda. |
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Family |
Cichlidae |
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Type Locality |
Lake Malawi |
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Etymology |
Pseudotropheus: see relevant entry; gracilior (from Latin, gracilis): more slender |
Species Information
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Size (TL or SL in cm) |
It is reported that males attain a T.L. of 11 cm. |
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Identification |
Yellow, grey body with black vertical barring and blue scale highlights on the body. Gold head and face. Bright blue highlights on dorsal fin. (1) Pseudotropheus gracilior belongs to the so called “Tropheops complex”, it’s easily recognized because of its slender shape. (3) For original description see Trewavas, Ethelwyn, "A Synopsis of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyasa", Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 10, 1935, pp. 65-118. |
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Sexing |
Breeding males defend caves against intruders. Females and/or sub-dominant males are solitary or stay in small groups. (3) |
Habitat
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Natural distribution |
This species shows a geographic endemism since it is found only in the southern part of the Lake (which I visited in 1999). I refer to the area including, among other places, Otter Point, Thumbi West island, and Domwe Island. |
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pH |
7.5 or more |
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Temperature |
24° - 26° C (upper suitable limit) |
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Other parameters |
It is reported that Ps. gracilior lives in deep water, ranging from 10 - 25 meters. I can neither confirm nor deny this statement because of the small number of dives I did in the area. Fishbase indicates the fish to require water hardness levels between dH 6 and dH 30. (2) Ad Konings reports that the fish prefers the sediment rich part of the rocky habitat. (3) |
Husbandry
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Feeding |
Flakes, pellets, good quality food provided it is vegetable matter (as is the case with M'buna). "Reports of stomach contents (Ribbink) stretch from algae (only) to small invertebrates" (3) and related mix. |
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Compatibility |
All M’bunas are suitable, I’d possibly suggest to avoid larger fellows and/or very wild ones |
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Suggested Tankmates |
I have kept it with other wild collected M’buna, Synodontis nyassae, Pundamilia nyererei (collected from Lake Victoria), and Potamonautus orbitospinus (Malawi Crab). |
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Furniture |
Sand and/or gravel at bottom, rocks/boulders forming caves and hiding spots for “carrying” females, subdominant males and juveniles. |
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Recommended Tank Size |
I kept mine i in a 360 lt tank, but a smaller set-up (no less than 250 lt) will do fine. |
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Behaviour in |
An ideal community fish if kept with the right tankmates. Fishbase reports that "his fish is a cave-dweller. The male actively digs under the rocks in the lake to build a secret nesting place. The female enters and leaves with a mouthful of eggs. They brood for 25 days; the eggs hatch in less than a week." (2). Accordingly, an appropriate environment in the tank (rocks forming caves) will facilitate spawning. |
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Other remarks |
My fish were born (stripped) from a wild female during the last day of our second trip to the lake. We took home a good batch of fry which however grew up to be difficult spawners. The males were not easy to spawn while the females were more often than not swallowing the brood. This is a case of a fish I would definitely recommend no stripping. |
Breeding
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Breeding |
Maternal mouthbrooder as with almost all Malawi cichlids. The males have egg spots on their anal fin which attract adult, ready to spawn, females. As the females attempt to retrieve the imitation eggs (egg spots) the males emit sperm into their mouth, thus fertilizing the eggs. The female incubates the eggs in her mouth, during which time she is not eating. During spawning the pair can be seen to move around each other in circles. |
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References
(2) Fishbase
(3) Ad Konings, Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other fishes of Lake Malawi, T.F.H, 1991
Photos by the author.
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