Fish Data : Malawi Blue Dolphin Cichlid

    The Latin name for the Blue Dolphin Cichlid is Cyrtocara moorii. Its natural habitat is in the sandy areas of Lake Malawi in Africa. The coloring of the Blue Dolphin ranges from turquoise to a dark silvery-blue with six vertical stripes that are sometimes difficult to identify. The male is usually brighter blue than the female.

    The most distinctive feature of the Blue Dolphin Cichlid is the cranial bump on the forehead of the male species. It is a slow-growing fish but can exceed 12 inches at maturity. The minimum aquarium size should be 48 gallons but increased as the fish grows larger.

   These fish  is a more peaceful fish overall, but males can be aggressive towards other males of their own kind. They are polygamous and it is best to keep one male with at least three females. They are territorial when spawning, but unlike other cichlids they don't maintain a territory at other times. For other tankmates this gentle giant is durable enough to keep with the more mild tempered Malawi cichlids. The Peacock cichlids of the Aulonancara genus and larger mild mannered haps work in a cichlid community tank. It can also be kept with the Frontosa, which is from Lake Tanganyika, as well as the Synodontis catfish. Avoid smaller fish as they will be intimidated by its size. Also avoid the Mbuna species that are also from Lake Malaw because they are too territorial and scrappy.

  The Blue Dolphin is moderately easy to care for as long as the tank is large enough, water is kept clean, and the aquascaping is correct. A large aquarium is needed for this fish, with a minimum of 75 gallons and 5 feet long is suggested. It likes an aquarium with a sandy bottom, some rocks with caves for hiding places, and lots of open swimming space. Keep the decor along the back and sides of the tank to provide room to swim, and also because this fish has a flighty nature and can injure itself if the environment it too crowded.

Size - Weight:

These fish get up to 9.84 inches (25 cm).

 Acceptable Water Conditions:

Hardness: 10-18° dGH
Ph: 7.2 to 8.8
Temp: 73 - 82° F (23 -28° C).

    A minimum 75 gallons and 5 feet long is suggested. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Poor water quality will ruin their eyes. Keeping the ph above neutral is important.

    Rift lake cichlids need hard alkaline water but are not found in brackish waters. Salt is sometimes used as a buffering agent to increase the water's carbonate hardness. This cichlid has some salt tolerance so can be kept in slightly brackish water conditions. However it not suited to a full brackish water tank. It can tolerate a salinity that is about 10% of a normal saltwater tank, a specific gravity of less than 1.0002.

    The streams that flow into Lake Malawi have a high mineral content. This along with evaporation has resulted in alkaline water that is highly mineralized. Lake Malawi is known for its clarity and stability as far as pH and other water chemistries. It is easy to see why it is important to watch tank parameters with all Lake Malawi fish. A higher pH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fishes. A very slow acclimation to different pH levels can sometimes be achieved.

    You can use sand for your tank ‘s substrate will make them feel most at home like in the nature. Sand used for saltwater fish or freshwater fish can be used. If keeping them with a higher ph, a saltwater sand can help keep the ph up. Crushed coral or aragonite sand can also increase the water's carbonate hardness, and tend to dissolves easier than salts.

    Open space is a must for the Blue Dolphin Cichlid. Provide some rock work and wood that is placed to provide a lot of holes for hiding places. But most importantly there needs to be a lot of swimming areas. They like to dig so make sure the rocks sit on the bottom of the aquarium, not on the substrate, and any plants need to be anchored.

     Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. Water changes of 10% to 20% a week depending on bioload.

Tankmates: Malawi Blue Dolphin can kept with many kind of cichlid like Frontosa,Labidochromis caeruleus (Yellow Labs), Clown loaches, Aulonocara Peacocks and much more.

Feeding: These fish are omnivorous , Can feed with many small live food like blood worms , brine shrimp etc. and some of tablet foods that have high protein include the tablet is best for them.You can feed them 1 – 2 time for a day

Breeding: Malawi Blue Dolphin is a mouth brooders. On some of smooth rock in your tank , The female usually lays eggs and then take these eggs in to her mouth. The female can lays about 20 – 90 eggs.



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 Credit

http://www.petcaregt.com/fishcare/freshwaterfishbreeds/malawibluedolphincichlid.html

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/bluemoorii.php

http://suite101.com/article/blue-dolphin-cichlid-care-and-breeding-a175617

http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/AfricanCichlids/BlueDolphin.asp

http://fuckyeahaquaria.tumblr.com/post/20011534198/malawi-blue-dolphin-cyrtocara-moorii-cyrtocara

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/cichlid-discussion/38702-frontosa-malawi-2.html