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Etymology: Cyrtocara, with rounded head, moori

Synonyms: Haplochromis moorii, Cyrtocara moori

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) Order: Perciformes Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae

First European import: Unknown

Description: See picture. Only adult fish show the hump.

Care: Relatively peaceful malawi cichlid, that should be kept in larger tanks. They are best kept as a group with a single male and several females. A sandy soil and lots of stones, best well lit to produce algae are recommended. Water should be slightly alkaline and medium hard to hard. Regular waterchanges are necessary, as well as good filtration. Cyrtocara moorii is best not combined with very aggressiv fish!

Temperature: 24-28°C

Feeding: Spirulina, algae, frozen and live food.

Size: Up to 20 cm.

pH: 7.5-8.5, dH 10-18

Breeding: Maternal mouthbreeder, fishes over 12 cm can start to breed, but to get the fish to fully grow out, it's better to wait until they are more mature(2 years). The female will breed for around three weeks, after which the fry are released. Fry can be fed on spirulina, artemia, and cyclops in te beginning.

Sexual dimorphism: Males larger and with bigger hump on the head.

Prices: Unknown.

Additional: These fish grow slow, and can take over a year to reach 10 cm.

Picture references: E. Naus

References:

Http://www.fishbase.org
http://www.sydneycichlid.com/moori.html
http://personal.boo.net/~lianos/moori.html