Acei Cichlid

General information

The average adult is 4.5 inches and has a life span of 8 years. This fish has a slender bright blue body with bright yellow fins. The ideal aquarium should be large, have water temperatures between 72ºF and 82ºF, plenty of caves and other hiding places as well as open space to swim, it should have moderate water flow and fine sand substrate, it is recommended to add small amounts of live plants which they will sometimes eat. This species is considered to be aggressive to other tankmates and even more to individuals of the same species if there isn’t enough space to claim territory.

This species is herbivorous. In the wild they feed on algae and submerged wood. In the aquarium they should be fed with dried seaweed and plant based flakes or plant based pellets.

Males have egg spots on the anal fin and are larger and more aggressive than females.

To facilitate spawning in an aquarium it is recommended for a single male to be kept with at least 3 females. Females spawn on a flat rock, then they take the unfertilized eggs into their mouths and follow the male until he releases the sperm to fertilize the eggs. There is a theory that females follow the male due to the egg spots on his anal fin thinking those are more eggs to gather up.

This species can be found in Lake Malawi, Africa.