[Blair]

I wrote an piece containing general information on African Cichlids. I wanted to get everyone's aproval befor posting it to the main african forum.


African Rift Lake Cichlids

One of the most amazing and diverse species flocks of freshwater fish in the world comes from the rift lakes of eastern Africa. These fish display colors rarely seen in freshwater fish. Many have developed specialized physical adaptations to fill niches in their environment. It has been estimated that there are over 900 individual endemic species in Lake Malawi alone. This is more species of cichlids in Malawi that there are species of fish in North America

The Valley
The Rift Valley is an over 5000 mile long fissure or crack that lies between the Arabian and African tectonic plates. It was formed by rifting and separation of these plates about 35 million years ago. It ranges from about 20 to over 60 miles wide and in places is 1000s of feet deep. It stretches from Mozambique in the south northward all the way Lebanon.
The Rift was formed by violent subterranean activity which caused large pieces of the earth’s crust to sink while other pieces were forced up through volcanic activity. The Rift Lakes lie in the southern end of the Valley.

The Lakes
Often called the African Great lakes, two of the rift lakes, Tanganyika and Malawi lie within the Rift Valley. Lake Victoria and its satellite lakes lie on a high plain between two arms of the valley.

Lake Victoria
The second largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Victoria covers an area of over 40,000 square miles. It is bordered by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda and is the headwaters of the Nile River.

Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi is the southernmost of the three Rift lakes and lies in the eastern arm of the great rift valley. It is bordered by the countries of Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is about 360 miles long and close to 50 miles wide at its widest point. It reaches a max depth of about 2400 feet.

Lake Tanganyika
Over 420 miles long, Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world. It lies in the western arm of the Great Rift Valley and is believed to be one of the oldest lakes in the world. At its widest point it is over 30 miles wide. It reaches depths of over 4800 feet.

The Cichlids

The rift lakes of Eastern Africa are home a very diverse group of cichlids. Many of which are endemic (not found anywhere else) to their specific lake. These cichlids come in every size, shape and color. Many have developed physical and behavioral characteristics that allow them to fill very small niches in their environment. Some are herbivores some are micro-predators and the list of feeding specializations goes on and on. Reproductively, they range from cave spawners to substrata spawners to mouth brooders (with the exception of one species, Tilapia rendalli, a substratum spawner, all species from Lake Malawi are maternal mouth-brooders).
Until recently (within the last 100 years), little was known of these fish and many were lumped into the Genus Haplochromis. In the case of Lake Victoria, due in part to the introduction of Nile Perch (Lates nicloticus) in the 1950’s, many cichlid species have become extinct in the lake prior to being scientifically described.
New species are being discovered with great regularity even today. Add to that the fact that many species are being moved from one genus to another and many variants are being designated as species of their own, It is difficult at best to keep up with all the new data. An example of this is that it is not uncommon to see on some cichlids from Lake Malawi on retail lists still listed under the Genus Haplochromis when no fish from this lake are still classified in this “catch all” genus.
A word of caution: Care should be taken when choosing African cichlids for your aquarium as many are not compatible even if they come from the same lake. Many Africans are extremely territorial and will kill any other fish which enters their territory. It is also rarely a good idea to mix lakes (I know some people do but this can lead to trouble).

The cichlids of Lake Victoria
At one time it was estimated that Lake Victoria was home to in excess of 400 different cichlid species. That number is now down to 200 or less species due in part to the introduction of Nile Perch and other problems being encountered at the lake. Of the remaining species many are critically endangered while others are headed in that direction. Much needs to be done to safe guard the remaining species.
The fish we know as Victorian cichlids come not just from Lake Victoria but from numerous satellite lakes around Victoria. Most, if not all, are polygamist mouth-brooders. Like species from the other rift lakes, the species flock her is extremely diversified in behavior, coloration and feeding specialization.
Like the other rift lakes, Victoria has very hard, alkaline water with at temperature range of 76 – 80 degrees and a PH of 7.2 – 8.5. It is important when keeping these fish to match these water parameters. Some of the popular Victorians are Haplochromis sp. 44, Pundamilia nyererei (Available in numerous location variants, some of which are quite rare), Paralabidochromis sp. "Rock Kribensis" and Astatotilapia latifasciata (Zebra obliquidens).

the cichlids of Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is home to some of the most popular cichlids in the hobby. These include the Cyphotilapia frontosa, the Tropheus species flock, the Julidochromis species flock etc.
Many of the cichlids from Tanganyika display elaborate finnage. They also display beautiful colors rarely seen I fresh water fish. Tanganyikan cichlids display many different breeding behaviors and some display elaborate courtship rituals. This accounts for the fact that many hobbyists are hooked (if you’ll pardon the pun) on these fish.
The largest African cichlid (possibly the largest in the world) comes from Tanganyika. It is the emperor cichlid (Boulengerochromis microlepis) which reaches 36 inches.
These fish like all Rift Lake Cichlids require hard alkaline water with a temperature range of 74 – 78 degrees.

the cichlids of Lake Malawi
When most new hobbyists enter the hobby their first cichlids are usually from Lake Malawi. Almost every pet shop you walk into has a tank labeled assorted African cichlids. Most of the fish in these tanks are Malawi Mbuna (sadly, many of these fish are hybrids and not actually found in the lake). The most common fish in the hobby come from this group. They include Yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus), the rusty cichlid (Iodotropheus sprengerae), and the red zebra (Metriaclima estherae). (While some of the mbuna species are very common in the hobby this is a very large group and many are rarely if ever seen)
Two other very popular groups from Lake Malawi are the Haps and Peacock cichlids.
Like all rift lake cichlids, Malawi cichlids require hard alkaline water with a temperature range of from 74 – 82 degrees.