Photo: Gerard Delany, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Saulosi cichlid
Chindongo saulosi
7.5 cm
Adult size
110 L
Minimum volume
4
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Chindongo
- Diet
- herbivore, algae eater
- Social life
- harem
In the wild
Overview
Described by Ad Konings in 1990 and long placed in the genus Pseudotropheus, this small mbuna shows marked dimorphism: males are blue with black stripes, females bright yellow. It is listed as critically endangered.
- Scientific name
- Chindongo saulosi (Konings, 1990)
- Classification
- Cichliformes › Cichlidae
- IUCN Red List
- Critically endangered (CR)
Natural habitat
Lake Malawi: Taiwanee Reef, near Chizumulu Island
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in large groups on sediment-free rocky reefs, in the upper part of the reef where the current is strong.
Behaviour
Like other mbuna, it is territorial and kept in a group, one male to several females, with other mbuna. It grazes and picks at the coating of algae and small organisms that covers the rocks: its diet should be mainly plant-based.