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Fish Of The Month - Metriaclima Sp. "msobo"


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#1 Stormfyre

Stormfyre

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Posted 10 September 2018 - 10:42 AM

As the Fish of the Month for October, there will a bag of 5 x Metriaclima sp. "msobo" around 4-5cm available at the PCS Meeting for auction. These are special lots to raise money for Stuart Grant Fund for Cichlid Preservation and have kindly been donated by one of our PCS Members - Poncho (Brett).

 

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Metriaclima sp. "msobo"

This species is from Africa: Lake Malawi. Particularly noted from Magunga, Lundu, Ndumbi, Pombo Rocks, Tanzania..

 

Common names: Msobo Magunga, "Deep" Magunga.
 
M. "Msobo" is another zebra cichlid. Males have a blue/black base color with light blue bars and spots against the dorsal fin. Females are orange/yellow. This species is found in the higher areas of the lake.

 

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Size

Maximum length is around 5.5″ (14cm).

 

Classification

OrderPerciformes FamilyCichlidae

 

Distribution

Metriaclima sp. "msobo' is a Mbuna from Lake Malawi. It is a rock dweller. It can be found in rocky habitats across the lake and on lake reefs.

 

Diet

Omnivore, takes both pellets and flakes and occasionally frozen foods. Feed mostly vegetable matter to avoid bloat. It feeds on algae and plankton in the wild. When hungry it will also eat the plants in your tank.

 

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Maintenance

Active rock-dwelling Cichlid, provide plenty of hiding places. Lots of filtration would be best to keep the water clean. Tank should be setup with lots of rocks so the males can have territories to avoid too much aggression.

 

Water Changes: Weekly - Water changes of 30% weekly are recommended.

 

Temperature: 78-82°F (25-27°C)   pH: 7.8 - 8.6  Hardness: 8-25°H

 

Character

Metriaclima sp. "msobo" can be quite territorial, keep with other agressive Rift Lake Cichlids of equal size. Males dig holes against the rocks and will protect them at all cost. This behaviour can be very aggressive whilst spawning.
 
Mostly stays on the bottom of the aquarium digging in caves. Average lifespan is usually 4-10 yrs but can live longer.
 
Spawning and Fry pictures - 
a68g9S.jpg LuwtKK.jpg
 

Spawning

Mouthbrooder: after spawning, the females incubate the eggs in their mouth until the fry are free-swimming. Males will mate with multiple females. The fry are easily raised with first foods such as baby brine shrimp.
 
The males will begin to court the females when he wants to breed and will take over a spot in the tank and begin to dig. Shortly after the pair will breed and since these fish are maternal mouthbrooders, the females will hold the eggs in her mouth(bucal cavity). The females will continue to hold the eggs in their mouth until the eggs become wigglers which can take about 18-21 days.

 

Notes

This is a very beautiful species of Mbuna. The Metriaclima sp. "msobo" Magunga  is a colorful African cichlid that comes from Lake Malawi. They need to be kept with other aggressive Mbuna types. When mature, the males are bright blue and females are more of an orange color as seen in the photo. At a young age, they are all orange.

 

Magunga Deep variant - 

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