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Pseudotropheus crabro, Ribbink & Lewis, 1982

Origin: Lake Malawi, here the fish occur at a depth of 10-20 meter, in stony environments.

Etymology: unknown.

Synonyms: None

First European import: Unknown, 198?

Description: See picture

Care: Pseudotropheus crabro can only be kept in large aquaria, minimal 120 cm long, but better in 2 meter or larger tanks. Lot's of hideouts created from stones and driftwood, a sandy soil, some robust and fast growing plants like Vallisneria. Pseudotropheus cabro is not too territorial, in such a tank a male with a few females can be kept, in larger tanks more than one male can be kept, to observe the schooling habits of the fish. The fish eat a lot, and should be kept in a well filtered tank, combined with frequent waterchanges.

Temperature: 24-26 degrees.

Feeding: Difficult, easily overfed, requires a specialised Malawi diet, with hard to digest matter. If solely fed on average flake food and mosquito larvae, the fish will contact diseases, which usually start in the digestive system, but may manifest itself as another disease, like dropsy.

Size:Up to 15 cm.

pH: 7.5-8.5

Breeding: Easy. Mouthbreeder. After the fish mate the female is the only parent that cares for the eggs. Depending on the temperature the fry will leave the mother's mouth for the first time after 20-24 days, and occasionally return there for the next 5-7 days. After that it's best to remove the mother. The fry will form a school, and can immediately be fed Artemia and ground flake food. Between 20 and 60 fry are usually relased, and at the time of release the fry are approximately a cm long.

Sexual dimorphism:Fully grown males have 2-4 eggspots on the anal fin, while females have less, usually only 1 or 2. Dominant males are completely black, but females can also display these colors.

Prices: Around 15€.

Additional:

Picture references:Picture 1: E. Naus

References:Baensch, H. A., Riehl, R.(1989): Aquarien Atlas III. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany.