Pet Fish Care

Malawi Butterfly
aulonocara jacobfreibergi

It belongs to the family Chichlidae

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-45, tank-bred youngsters are the cheaper of the price range, wild adults are what cost more.

Short Bio: The Malawi Butterfly cichlid combines color with an elegance of form that is not commonly seen in Malawi Butterfly cichlid. Because if this, most Malawi Butterfly cichlids are not kept with appropriate tank mates, meaning that it’s not seen at it’s best.

Origin:
Lake Malawi, East Africa

Size:
Males and Females both get up to 3 1/3 inches ( 8.5 cm).

Sexual distinctions:
Plain and simple, the males are colorful and the females are not colorful.

Tank conditions:
The minimum tank measurements should be 36 x 12 x 18 inches (90 x 30 x 45 cm).
Temperature 77-79 degrees Fahrenheit (25-26 Celsius)
The water should be moderately hard and alkaline (Ph 7.6 +). The water should also be well aerated and minimal nitrogenous compounds.

Sponsor Section
If you want your site to be advertised in this space here on Markspetfish.com, simply click here to be brought to the sponsors page for more information
.

The tank should be decorated with open sand at the front of the tank, and rock caves at the back. This will replicate the wild habitat of the Malawi Butterfly cichlid, which is a cave home that opens to sandy to sandy bottoms. There is not limit to the number of Malawi Butterfly cichlids that you can keep in a tank, just make sure that each male is given 18 inches (45 cm) of tank length. The Malawi Butterfly cichlids are bottom-dwellers.

Food:
The natural diet consist of aquatic invertebrates, so the best things to be fed frozen foods. You can feed dried food, but be careful, too much dried food my lead to “Malawi Bloat.”

Behavior:
A peaceful cichlid.

Breeding:
The Malawi Butterfly cichlid is a mouth brood, and like most mouthbrooders, if kept in the correct conditions, is easy to breed. But, unfortunatly, many will keep the Malawi Butterfly cichlid with the aggressive, rock dwelling, Malawi Mbuna. Not only with the Malawi Butterfly not breed, it will not thrive. DO NOT mix with other Aulonocara species or hybridization will occur.

Here is a video of a Male Malawi Butterfly Cichlid. If you have a hard time following which one the camera is focusing in on wait until around 25 seconds, the Malawi is singled out pretty good and the camera zooms in on him.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Frontosa
cyphotilapia frontosa

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $15-90, wild specimens cost more to capture and ship. Tank breed Frontosas are cheaper.

Short Bio:
Frontosas are very popular do to their attractive appearance, the only real thing to worry about is that Frontosas grow to large sizes and will eat smaller tank mates.

Origin:
Lake Tanganyika, East Africa.

Size:
Male will get up to 8.3 in (21 cm), and females will reach the size of 6.7 in (17 cm).

Sexual distinctions:
There are no color differences, the males will have longer fins, bigger humps, and all around bigger in size.

Tank conditions:
Minimum tank size 48 x 14 x 18 in (120 x 35 x 45 cm).

Sponsor Section
If you want your site to be advertised in this space here on Markspetfish.com, simply click here to be brought to the sponsors page for more information
.

Temperature should be between 74-79 degrees Fahrenheit (23.5-26 Celsius). The water should be hard, alkaline (Ph 8+), very well-oxygenated, and contain minimal nitrogenous compounds. The tank should be decorated with scattered large rocks, caves (clay pipes are the ideal). Substrate should be sand or gravel. With in normal stocking rules there is no limit to the number of Frontosas that you can keep in a tank. But if you plan on keeping large number of Frontosas it’s best to keep them in a species tank, or keep with other large, peaceful Tanganyika or Malawi cichlids.
The Frontosa is a bottom dweller.

Food:
The Frontosas are a piscivorous species with a diet that should consist of raw fish, shrimp, prawn, carnivore pellets, and earthworms. You should feed the Frontosa at dawn and dusk, for this is when they feed in the wild.

Behavior:
Adults are peaceful to each other and others, and are actually quite inactive. The only thing to be concerned about is when the Frontosa is fully grown it will be able to eat it’s tank mates.

Breeding:
The Frontosa species is a mouthbrooding one. The female should be put into a separate tank to release the fry or they will be eaten by other Frontosas.

Here is a video of what a Frontosa looks like.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites