AFRICAN CICHLIDS.
Order Perciformes
Family Cichlidae
Subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae
Genus Neochromis.
— Neochromis nigricans [Boulenger, 1906] — Black or bicolored neochromis. Synonym: Haplochromis nigricans. Lake Victoria. 8-12 cm. Dominant males are dark green, almost moire-black with a bluish tint (dusky/slate under stress), unpaired fins with a red border. Tail, anal, and dorsal fins with bright red borders. Growing males change their main coloration background to light green, olive with reddish fins and a reddish upper head.
During displays and pre-spawning interaction attempts, the coloration of such individuals darkens before your eyes and fills with shades that vanish within seconds if defeated. The female is smaller, sand-gray to silver with a dark stripe through the eye, anal fin greenish. Juveniles are colored similarly. Color morphs: — N. nigricans “Red short shout scraper” – the red body color is so intense that in some places it appears black.
Fish are very territorial and rapidly attack conspecifics if they invade their territory. Keep several females per male. Shelters in the form of stone caves, driftwood, plastic pipes are mandatory, at least one for each fish. It is advisable to lay coarse sand or sieved gravel with a 3-5 mm fraction in a 2-3 cm layer on the bottom. Adults often damage plants with weak and delicate leaves.
Aeration, filtration, and water changes are mandatory. Omnivorous species, supplemental vegetable feeding is required. Keep in mind that excessively high-calorie and monotonous food leads to obesity and early infertility in breeders. Spawning is in pairs. The female incubates eggs in her mouth. Mature in 7-10 months. dH 8-20°; pH 7.0-8.5; T 23-27°C.
— Neochromis omnicaeruleus [Seehausen & Bouton, 1998] — Blue neochromis. (English – Blue Scraper, Tricolor Fulu). Lake Victoria, in rocky areas. 7-12 cm. Males are brighter and larger. There are several color forms, but the most common are the deep indigo-black male and the orange, spotted female. 5-6 vertical stripes on the sides. A small amount of red on the caudal fin. There are yellow males with blue ventral fins and a yellowish anal fin.
— N. omnicaeruleus “Ruti Island” – The male has a blue body with blue vertical stripes. Dorsal and anal fins are whitish, ventral fins are red. Females are pale greenish-gray with dark blue transverse stripes; — N. omnicaeruleus “Makobe Island” – There are several color variations: • body and unpaired fins gray-blue to light blue, posterior part whitish. Dark gray-blue stripes run along the body; • “WB” – body bluish-white with irregular black spots on the body. • “OB” Irregular spots spread over the orange body, transitioning to yellow towards the belly.
Feed on filamentous and diatom algae and occasionally insect larvae. Aggressive fish, with females also being aggressive. Keep in a harem. Males defend the territory. Females will also defend a small territory near the entrance to the crevice where their brood is located. pH 7.2-8.4.
Identification: Genus Neochromis — Neochromis nigricans, omnicaeruleus.
— Neochromis rufocaudalis [Seehausen & Bouton, Lippitsch, Swennes, 1998] — Red-finned neochromis. Synonym: Neochromis, Haplochromis nigricans. (English – Victorian Tropheus). Lake Victoria, rocky areas. Males 10 cm, females 8 cm. Body stocky, almost oval due to the rounded head shape. Lips are blue. Males have dark blue-black flanks with 6-7 vertical stripes. Three horizontal stripes run from the corner of the mouth, through the eyes to the nape.
The front part of the dorsal fin is blue with dark rays, the back part is red. Ventral fins are black, anal is red, especially bright at the front, caudal is crimson-red. Females are brownish-orange, a brown broken line crosses the body. Anal and caudal fins have a dull yellow tint.
Moderately aggressive and should be kept in groups, which reduces fish aggressiveness. It is best to have 1 male to three females. Males like to choose females for spawning, so the more females you keep, the less stressed they will be and the greater the choice the male will have. During spawning, males are more aggressive than usual, so it is very important to create hiding places in the spawning aquarium where females can hide.
You can also keep these neochromis in an aquarium with other fish, as this reduces male aggressive behavior. In nature, it feeds mainly on algae, as well as insect larvae, plankton, and shrimp. Mouthbrooder, releasing fry when they are large enough.
— Neochromis greenwoodi [Seehausen & Bouton, 1998] — Velvet black neochromis, Greenwood’s cichlid. Synonym: Haplochromis greenwoodi. (English – Velvet Black). Lake Victoria. 9-13 cm. Has several color forms. Traditional coloration is a deep indigo-black body with orange transitioning to red toward the tail. Blue coloration of the dorsal and caudal fins. Females are silver-gray, forms with orange body coloration exist. Pied forms are not uncommon. Males are territorial.
Large flat stones are placed along the back and side walls in the form of pyramids, creating many caves connected by passages. These shelters are necessary for the fish, as they like to spend part of their time in the cave. Due to the large number of stones, the fish do not dig pits even during spawning, but spawn directly on the stones. In those same stones after spawning, the female with eggs in her mouth can easily hide from the male’s continued courting.
Oreochromis aureus, mossambicus, niloticum, tanganicae, shiranus.
Nanochromis consortus, nudiceps, parilus, splendens, transvestitus. 
