By Daniel Lesich
Synoma: Cyrtocara rostrata, Haplochromis macrorhynchus, Tilapia rostrata, Haplochromis rostratus (Boulenger 1899), Cyrtocara rostratus (Greenwood 1980)
Common name: rostratus
Origin:Lake Malawi, Africa
Localities/Morphs:Along the coast of Lake Malawi from Nkhata bay to Chilumba
Maximum size:males can reach 25cm and females reach slightly less.
Natural habitat:In lake Malawi they live on open sand patches together with Cyrtocara Moorii and Protomelas annectens and do not require the cover of rocks.
Natural foods/prey:small fish and invertebrates
Water chemistry in the wild: **Not Provided**
Predators:larger fish when young.
Brood size: 60-150
Breeding method:maternal mouth brooder
Husbandry requirements
Minimum tank size:i would recommend that a 4×18x18 be the absolute smallest tank to house young juveniles as these fish grow quite large.
Sex ratio: 1m to 5-6f or can be kept with more males and females but again a larger tank would be required.
Tolerance of conspecifics:ok - can be aggressive
Tolerance of heterospecifics:ok - can be kept with other fish in a community tank and rarely bothers with other fish other than its own kind. recommended tank mates would be other larger fish. smaller fish should be avoided as the rostratus have very large mouths and would soon eat anything small enough that would fit.
Water chemistry in aquaria:pH: 7.5-8.5, general hardness 10-20 gH, carbonate hardness 5-8 dKH
Temperature range: 24 to 28°C.
Foods accepted: piscivore, they will take almost everything offered though. Pellets, flakes, live black worm, and frozen brine shrimp.
Special requirements:no special care is required with these guys as they are quite hardy. only that a large tank is necessary when these fish get larger.
Notes
»one of the most interesting behaviors of the rostratus is its defense mechanisms and avoidance tactics. when the rostratus feels threatened it will quickly bury its self in the substrate to avoid a predator and this behavior has also been documented my local fisherman who say the rostratus employ this tactic to avoid their nets. in saying this it is important to ensure that the substrate used in an aquarium is a fine sand or gravel so that the rostratus does not cause injury to its self as a larger grained substrate would damage their soft lips and head when attempting to dive and hide.
» Another interesting behavior is the way the rostratus feeds and that is it feeds in a similar way to the south American species Geophargus eartheater. the rostratus has a very uniquely developed moth structure with soft extended lips it uses to suck up huge amounts which it sifts through to find small invertebrates inside. the Cyrtocara Moorii and Protomelas annectens are almost always in the near vicinity of feeding rostratus catching and stray food that has escaped the rostratus
»The only drawback i could see with keeping rostratus is the age it requires to reach to be sexually mature enough to breed and in some cases can take up to 2 years to attain this and the rostratus can be a very hard fish to sex due to this late blooming. some males can even be at a full grown size and due to there being an already present dominant male the sub dominant male will look identical to a female and never show male colouration until the dominant male is removed.
»the biggest factor in persuading me to purchase some rostratus is the unique and gorgeous colouration of a male rostratus which in my opinion not many fish can rival a splendid contrast of metallic greens, blues and black. The rostratus is a fairly commonly available fish in Australia and if you had a big enough tank would whole heartily recommend this fish to any keen fish keeper.
