Saulosi

By Daniel Lesich - These fish are little gems and extremely enjoyable to keep, they enjoy interacting with my hand while cleaning the tank (like playful little children) and are far from skittish, always being at the front of the tank awaiting feeding.

Although all young (fry) they are all the same colour (orange), at around 3-4 cm usually a male that will start changing to the adult colouration. This process can take quite a few months to achieve full colouration (up to 6 months). The final male colouration is a brilliant solid blue with black baring and slight black underbelly, females should stay a strong solid brilliant orange, these colour contrasts makes these dwarf mbuna so desirable.

One of the most unusual things I have observed is that in absence of a male, females can change colours into a configuration similar to the males colouration. I have also observed this odd behavior when a female is not willing to breed with a persistant male although female never fully assumes the males colouration. In this state the female is dark purple to violet body colour with dark baring. This behavior is dificult to explain but may be a method by which females can avoid excessive harrassment by males.

Like many african cichlids another major problem is that the quality of P. saulosi has declined considerably, presumably due to inbreeding. Therefore, prior to purchasing significant consideration should be taken into acquiring quality, always try to get different fish from different trusted breeders to ensure good bloodlines are used so that this little gem stays pure as best as can be kept for future generations to enjoy.

Synoma: Pseudotropheus sp. “Taiwan”

Origin: Lake Malawi, Africa.

Localities/Morphs: Taiwan Reef, 9 km NW of Chisumulu (Chizumulu) Island.

Maximum size: males 9-10cm females same or slightly smaller.

Natural habitat: It inhabits the rocky biotope of the reef at a depth of between 5 and 20 metres.

Natural foods/prey: It feeds from the biocover, from which it nips and combs algae.

Water chemistry in the wild: pH 7.5-9, 10-11 dH

Predators: as these fish are the most commonly found in the reef predators are unknown but would assume larger fish

Brood size: 10-60

Breeding method: maternal mouthbrooder

Husbandry requirements

Minimum tank size: standard 3ft for a small colony with two preferably three males.

Sex ratio: ideal would be 3m/4-7f

.Tolerance of conspecifics: can be aggressive towards others mostly at spawning times the male will chase off other males and females and can be very protective of females a good balance would be having one dominant male and two sub dominant to balance out aggression.

Tolerance of heterospecifics: low - can be very aggressive towards other fish nipping and chasing constantly and do not tolerate other fish invading their territories.

Water chemistry in aquaria: pH 7.4-8.6, general hardness 15-20 gH, carbonate hardness 4-9 dKH Temperature range: 24-28 ° Celsius, can tolerate slightly higher temperatures temporarily but optimum is 26 °C.

Foods accepted: omnivorous, they will take almost everything offered. Pellets, flakes, live black worm, and their favorite live or frozen brine shrimp but should only be fed seldom as a treat.

Special requirements: keeping a balanced ratio of males and females as mentioned above otherwise stress and/or fatalities can occur from server harassment and aggression, so having lots of caves and hiding places is a must. Also making sure a good balance in food is fed ie. lots of veggies and spirolina. Feeding foods such as frozen blood worm should be avoided particularly with fry as feeding this food can cause bloat due to the worm having a hard spiky exoskeleton that pierces the lining of the intestine hence the fish developing bloat.