Aulonocara sp. chitande Type North Masinje
The Chitandes are among the smallest Aulonocaras.
Less brightly colored species, but a beauty to see swimming in your aquarium.
Biotope
This species occurs from Fort Maguire to Masinje. They live above the sandy bottoms near the transition to rocks. They prefer to remain above the sand.
Diet
In the wild they live on the small animals that they sift from the sand. Live or frozen food should therefore not be missing in the aquarium. Make sure you have variety in their diet.
The Aquarium
In any case, the aquarium must have sufficient sand on the bottom. These fish sift the sand through their gills in search of animals living in the sand. In addition, it can be decorated with rocks as decoration.
Breeding
The male doesn’t really build a den that he defends. Only during mating will he have a territory that he only defends against others of his own kind. After engaging the female, the couple circles around each other. The female lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them. The female further incubates the eggs in her mouth. After about 20 days, the fry are released by the female. They show no further brood care. The fry can be fed with brine shrimp and dust food.
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Malawi’s Unlimited
