Chindongo socolofi
Chindongo socolofi was described by D.S. Johnson in 1974 and the name refers to Ross Socolof.
Due to its friendly nature, they have been very popular with hobbyists. But because everyone already had them, their popularity subsequently declined sharply. Commercially they are also called Pseudotropheus pindani.
Synonym: Pseudotropheus socolofi
Description
The shape of the Chindongo socolofi is typical of the Chindongo species: elongated and only moderately compressed laterally. Remarkably, the males and females are colored the same. They have a bright light blue color with 9 to 10 vertical black bands. In some specimens, some horizontal stripes are also faintly visible. The dorsal, pectoral and anal fins also have a black band, as does the eye (on the dorsal fin, depending on the location of the catch). The tail fin extends like a fan, alternately blue and black striped. In dominant animals, the bands and stripes on the flanks disappear completely (see below for a photo).
The dominant males are territorial. Fortunately, the territory is no larger than about 20 centimeters. It also happens in the wild that up to fifteen socolofis have conquered a spot on a square meter.
Biotope
This species has several populations along the central part of the east coast of Lake Malawi, between Tumbi Point and Cobue. This spread has also created some color variations. The populations caught at Tumbi and Mara Point do have the clear black band in the dorsal fin, while the populations at Cobue and Mbweca do not.
Like most Mbuna, they live in the transition zones from rock to sand; although they are most common in the relatively shallow areas of 2 to 10 meters.
Diet
Like all other Mbunas, the Chindongo socolofi lives by combing the Aufwuchs. With their small teeth, they comb through the algae strands in search of small food particles and animals. Naturally, they also ingest a large amount of algae. Spirulina flakes as food should not be missing in the aquarium.
For variety, you can feed them with live or frozen brine shrimp, Daphnia, mysis and krill; supplemented with flakes and cichlid sticks. Blanched vegetables such as peas, lettuce and spinach are also popular.
The Aquarium
The maximum length of twelve centimeters for the male brings the minimum size for the aquarium to about 120 centimeters. They are real Mbuna so the decoration should consist of many rocks with more than enough hiding places. Sand can be used on the bottom. Hard plants such as Vallisneria are usually left alone.
Breeding aquarium and conditioning
Like most Mbuna, the Chindongo socolofi is a fertile species that does not need to be kept in a special breeding aquarium. The ideal breeding group consists of one man with four women. Once a female has a mouth full of eggs, he can turn his attention to the other three females.
The Spawn
The male attracts the female by showing his colors at their brightest and spreading his fins wide. He shows his flank to the female and with trembling movements he leads her to the spawning site. This is usually just on the sand in the aquarium. The eggs are fertilized using the egg spot method, after which the female takes the eggs into her mouth to incubate (maternal mouth brooder). The nests of the Pseudotropheus socolofi are of normal size with about 20 to 60 eggs.
Raising the fry
The hatched young are released after about three weeks and are no longer allowed into the mouth. Not even if there is danger. From then on they will have to take care of themselves. If you want to keep entire nests, it is better to catch the female after 2 weeks of incubation and set it aside. Don’t catch her earlier, you run the risk that she will release the eggs too early and not take them back anymore.
After three weeks of incubation, she releases the fry, in the first few hours after release she does not eat yet, but after that, she sees her young as food. So don’t forget to put her back. The fry can be fed immediately with finely rubbed flake food and brine shrimp.
Conclusion
The Chindongo socolofi is similar in behavior to the Labidochromis caeruleus and is therefore suitable for beginners. Make sure you have a sufficiently large aquarium with the right equipment.
They can be combined well with the weaker Utaka species and Aulonocaras.
Video
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Kevin Tien
Ems-Vechte-Aquaristik