Fish Data : Malawi Eyebiter Cichlid

    The Malawi Eye-Biter is one of those fish species that has a well deserved common name that clearly illustrates its behavior. Malawi Eye-Biters are well known for their propensity to bite or eat the eyes out of smaller fish species before consuming them tail first. Both habitats are a bit unusual as most fish simply swallow their prey head first and do not specifically attack the preys eyes. With a well deserved reputation such as this it is understandable that this species is not suited for most community African Cichlid aquariums. Malawi Eye-Biter need to be house with larger species that will not be considered as a food source. A general rule of thumb is that Malawi Eye-Biter tank mates be at least six inches in length or just over half as long as an adult Malawi Eye-Biter. This species is endemic to all of Lake Malawi and are commonly collected for the aquarium trade, where they are typically sold as Malawi Eye-Biters or Compressiceps Cichlids.

   These fish can grows up to about 10 to 11 inches in length and requires an aquarium of at least 70 gallons in size, but does better in a longer aquarium like a 125 gallon. A larger properly aqua-scaped aquarium will provide more suitable territory, which will allow the Malawi Eye-Biter to co-exist more easily with other large African Cichlid tank mates. Their large mouths and aggressive temperament make the Malawi Eye-Biter unsuitable for most African community aquariums where there is a wide variety in the sizes of the fish. However, they do fine with tank mates that are not seen as a prey item, ie. too large to fit in their mouth.

Water conditions for the aquarium should be:

·                     Temperature from 70 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit

·                     PH value of 7 to 8.8

·                     Hardness of 20 DH

The Malawi Eye Biter requires clean water so a 25% water change must be done weekly.

The Eye Biter likes to hide in vegetation and wait for its prey. To replicate its natural habitat, the aquarium should be heavily planted in the sides and corners. It’s preferable to plant Vallisneria, though other live plants and plastic plants may be used. The substrate should be coral sand in order to maintain the proper water conditions.

Caves made out of rock should be built in order to provide additional hiding places and to reduce aggression. In addition, the Malawi Eye Biter needs some open swimming spaces.

Although the Eye Biter is a predator, it is also a peaceful fish but does not always do well in a community tank. If selecting tank mates, it can be combined with other African cichlids, such as Peacocks, Haplachromis and Placidochromis.

All fish housed in the aquarium must be of equal length or longer than the Malawi Eye Biter. It will eat any fish that is smaller. In a community tank, it is highly recommended to have one male and several females. If more than one male is put into the tank, the males will fight until one remains alive.

Although in the wild a large portion of Malawi Eyebiters diet consists of small fish, feeders are not necessary in an aquarium situation. They do require a high protein diet, consisting of good quality pellets combined with live food such as insects, bloodworms and shrimp. They do require some vegetable matter in their diet, and for this reason, a homemade food is often the next way to go. Beefheart combined with shellfish, shrimp, green vegetables and vitamins would be the best combination to keep your Eyebiters in the best conditions. Brine shrimp and mosquito larvae are good for building juvenile condition, but given the size of the mouths on these fish, they will soon graduate to larger foods.

Sexual Differences: Males are colorful and typically larger. Females are smaller and mostly silver in color.

Breeding: These fish is a Mouth brooder that does the typical Malwai Cichlid breeding dance. The mother will lay then pick up eggs in mouth during dance and male will fertilize. The female will then hold and incubate for about 4 weeks. Females will then spit out the fry when large enough to fend for themselves, no more care from the female after release. Males becomes more aggressive during this time and becomes meaner to smaller fish.

Credits :

http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewFreshwaterAfricanCichlid.php?id=194

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

http://suite101.com/article/malawi-eye-biter-for-freshwater-aquariums-a142649

http://www.worldcichlids.com/fishprofiles/eyebiter.html

http://www.freshwatermadness.com/t1134-species-profile-dimidiochromis-compressicep-malawi-eye-biter

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/species-gallery/cichlids/compressiceps.html




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