Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin
Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin is an as yet undescribed species. They are closely related to Petrotilapia tridentiger.
Description
The male’s body is blue. They have a yellow spot on the throat and around the lips. The males often show egg spots on the dorsal and anal fins. The females are dull brown/gray. They can reach a total length of about 12 to 17 centimeters. Because we sometimes feed them too often and too strong food in the aquarium, they sometimes grow up to 19 centimeters in the aquarium.
Males are very territorial. In the wild, they protect a den among the rocks and chase away all other males from the area. Passing females are often approached to mate.
Origin
Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin comes from Lake Malawi. They are found on the islands of Maleri, Namalenje and Mbenji, among others. They can also be found between Makanjila and Chuanga in Mozambique. They mainly live there in shallow transitional habitats. This species has few geographical differences.
The male occupies a territory among the rocks. The females live solitary lives and wander around the territories of the males.
Diet
The diet of Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin consists mainly of algae. They comb through the aufwuchs with their teeth. Give them a diet in the aquarium that mainly consists of vegetable food such as spirulina flakes and, for example, granules for herbivores.
The Aquarium
It is best to keep Petrotilapia sp Yellow Chin in a harem. That means one male with two or more females. In this way, the male has to divide his attention among the females. A female alone gets too much attention and is constantly chased by the male.
Set up the aquarium with sand on the bottom and lots of rocks, just like in the transitional biotope. Preferably leave the rocks covered with a large layer of algae so that the Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin can graze here. Because this species can grow quite large and chases females a lot, we recommend an aquarium of at least 200 centimeters in length.
Breeding Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin
Like almost all Malawi cichlids, Petrotilapia sp. Yellow Chin a mouthbrooder. The eggs are hatched by the female in the mouth. After about three weeks she releases the young fish. You can then raise them with finely ground flake food.
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Mark Thomas – Marks Fiskenarie
References and Sources
Malawicichliden in hun Natuurlijke omgeving 3e oplage – Ad Konings
Malawi.si