LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS.
Order Perciformes
Family Cichlidae
Subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae
Genus Cyrtocara
Inhabit Lake Malawi. Utaka group cichlids. Some species are quite peaceful, others are aggressive, especially during the spawning period when the male claims a significant territory. When keeping them, there should be several females per male, and the number of shelters should exceed the number of fish. Substrate is sand. Plants should be chosen with a strong root system and tough leaves.
— Cyrtocara moorii [Boulenger, 1902] — Blue Dolphin Cichlid. Synonym: Haplochromis, Cyrtocara moorei, moori. (English: Dolphin Cichlid, Malawi Blue Dolphin Cichlid, Blue Lumphead, Hump Head, Humphead Mouthbrooder). Lake Malawi. In the lake, it inhabits coastal biotopes with sandy bottoms, making feeding migrations along the shoreline. 20 cm, females are smaller. In small aquariums, the length rarely exceeds 15 cm. It has a high, slightly elongated body, laterally compressed, and a rather elongated snout resembling a dolphin. There are several geographic races that differ both in color intensity and head shape.
Bright blue, velvety-blue specimens with a large convex forehead are considered a priority. Pale blue or faint blue tones combined with a small fatty ridge are not valued by aquurists. The head is large, eyes are large and mobile, lips are thick. In adult males and females, a large occipital hump develops on the forehead. The dorsal and anal fins are long, the caudal fin is bilobed. Ventral and pectoral fins are thin, short. All fins are colored blue.
Males are dingy blue with 9-12 vertical stripes, the dorsal fin is blue-black. The dominant male in an excited state becomes dark blue. During spawning, his forehead turns yellow, and 5-7 dark blue transverse stripes appear on his side. In adult fish, two dark spots on the body and caudal peduncle usually disappear over time.
Females are smaller, gray-brown with occasionally appearing bluish-tinged stripes, often with two black spots on the sides. In females, the caudal fin is speckled with reddish dots when backlit. In males, the tail is blue. On the head, especially in mature 20-centimeter males, there is a fatty growth (dolphin forehead). With age, the forehead of males becomes huge, and the matte yellow-gray coloration of the upper part of the head contrasts sharply with the general background.
The coloration of adults and juveniles differs. The body of young fish is gray-blue with a silvery sheen, with dark transverse stripes on the sides. There is a large dark spot in the center of the body and on the caudal peduncle. In some fry, the anal fin becomes bright orange, and these are likely to be males. The two dark spots present in juveniles generally gradually disappear in adult dolphins. Juveniles can be sexed starting from 3 months of age.
Due to the rather large size of these fish species, adults and even juveniles, attention should be paid to the size of the aquarium when keeping them. For dolphins to reach their typical 20 cm size, it is advisable to keep them in an aquarium with a volume of 250 liters or more. In tighter bodies of water, the length of the fish rarely exceeds 12-15 cm, and the main adornment of the males — the “dolphin” forehead — does not develop as prominently.
These species need a large open area to swim. Dolphin movements are dignified, unhurried; they look best in a school of 10-15 individuals in a species aquarium. A group of fish with a predominance of females can be kept in a community aquarium. Stocking: 1 male and 2 females or 2 males and 3-4 females. Territorial, but not aggressive, rather peaceful.
House only with mildly aggressive species, avoid small fish and Mbuna. They become territorial only during spawning. Fish often swim in a group across the entire aquarium. They stay in the middle and lower water layers. Spacious aquariums with stone structures. They form stable multi-age and intergroup communities. In nature, one male usually occupies a dominant position, while all others are subordinate. Males periodically dispute leadership among themselves, but do not inflict severe injuries on each other.
Defeated contenders who fail to win their own patch of bottom to set up a spawning site and, consequently, are deprived of the opportunity to participate in reproduction as males, return to the general school. If the pressure from leaders is strong, they can reverse their sex and after some time participate in spawning in the role of females. If the aquarium is spacious and there is enough room for everyone, or the leaders weakly attack the defeated contenders, the males retain their status, waiting for the slightest mistake of the leader to take his place.
The number of shelters should exceed the number of individuals in the aquarium. Shelters with narrow passages, just enough for a fish to pass through, are desirable. Stones as decoration should be placed in the back of the tank or in the corners. This is important because C. moorii can inflict serious injuries on itself if there are many stones in the aquarium and they are placed closely together.
Fish like good lighting. Sand or aragonite-type gravel is the best choice for substrate. A layer of at least 5-7 cm is used by the fish for digging spawning pits. Plants should be chosen with a strong root system and tough leaves; it is better to plant them in pots and cover them with stones. A constantly working filter and powerful water aeration are mandatory. Weekly water changes. Feed with live food, plant matter, substitutes, live bloodworms, zooplankton (Daphnia, Cyclops) combined with granulated or flake dry foods.
They mature at 10-15 months, at a length of 13 cm. Breeding is straightforward; they spawn in the community aquarium. The female or females carrying eggs descend in turn from the upper horizons of the aquarium to the male’s territory. The nest can be a cleaned flat stone slab, a depression in the substrate, or simply a clear patch of the bottom. The female incubates the eggs and then the fry in her mouth for 20-22 days. When she releases them, they immediately begin to swim actively and feed. Dolphin fry grow very slowly. They live up to 10 years. pH 7.2-8.8; dH 10-18°; T 24-26°C.
Identification: Blue Dolphin Cichlid — Cyrtocara moorii.
Cynotilapia afra, Cynotilapia axelrodi, Cynotilapia pulpican.
Champsochromis caeruleus, Champsochromis spilorhynchus. 
