African Cichlid – Kingsizei Cichlid (Metriaclima Pulpican) 5cm

The Kingsizei Cichlid comes from Likoma Island in Lake Malawi, Africa.

Males are light blue with five vertical, dark blue bars, but when he is angry the lower part of his body might turn black. The females are very simular in colour to the males just not quite as vibrant. The kingsizei is a dwarf african and can reach sizes up to 10cm however in the home aquarium its not very often these guys will mature past 8cm. The kingsizei will colour up from a very young ages and should never have baring on the top dorsal fin.

They look best when you have a large community of females (10 or more) with some males (2-3).

As for feeding, Kingsizei is a typical of Pseudotropheus species. They accept almost anything, but prefer veggie based foods and enjoy grazing algae from the rocks.

Though they are not a very big fish, they are quite brave and active all the time. They require caves, but it’s not for hiding. A male kingsizei will readily protect his cave any times and would never lend it to anyone. No matter how big, how fast or how agressive the intruder may be. He will chase him/her away, showing off in his best “suit”. There’s always a vicious, suspicious look in his eyes, but he would never start a fight, unless absolutely necessary.

The male is always eager to spawn, but will usually never approach females of other species. Most of the females are good mothers, and the broods consist of 10-20 fry. After spawning, the female is chased away and she’d better not meet the male in the next 3 weeks. Holding females usually find a peaceful place in the aquarium and they tend to stay there until releasing the fry. If they are harrassed often (unable to find a quiet place), they generally swallow the fry or spit them early. The fry grow quite fast. By the end of the second month they’re about 2.5cm.

Males dig depresions under rocks from which they court. What is interesting is they defend the rock above the depression and don’t forage from it, using it to attract females. If a female is foraging from the rock, but won’t spawn, the male chases her out of the territory.

• Species – Metriaclima Pulpican (formally Pseudotropheus Kingsizei)
• Common Name – Kingsizei
• Origin – Lake Malawi
• Diet – Herbivore
• PH Range – Alkaline 7.5 – 8.5
• Water Type – Hard
• Temperature – Tropical 24°c
• Breed Type – Mouth brooder
• Current Size – approximately 5cm (Grows to approximately 8cm)
• Sex – Un-sexed