Kadango red fin

Copadichromis borleyi is a popular open-water haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, with the Kadango variant prized for the intense metallic blue head and brilliant red-orange body and fins of the dominant male; females and subdominant males are silvery-brown. Reaching about 15 cm, it is naturally a plankton feeder that hovers in midwater over rocky reefs, picking zooplankton from the water column, so its diet should be based on quality spirulina-inclusive flakes and pellets and frozen plankton such as mysis and cyclops, avoiding excess protein that can cause bloat. It is relatively peaceful for a Malawi cichlid but still territorial and best kept in groups of one male to several females in a hard, alkaline, mineral-rich aquarium with rockwork and open swimming space. A maternal mouthbrooder, it breeds readily. Suits a Malawi community alongside other Copadichromis and moderate haplochromines.