Fuscotaeniatus

Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus is a large predatory haplochromine cichlid from Lake Malawi, reaching around 25 cm. Dominant males develop striking blue faces with red and yellow flanks over a broken dark stripe pattern, while females and juveniles show a mottled brown blotching. It is a piscivore of the intermediate rocky-sandy zones, ambushing smaller fish, so it must never be housed with anything small enough to swallow. Keep one male with several females in a spacious tank offering rock structures and open swimming space, as males are highly aggressive during spawning. Provide hard, alkaline Malawi water, warm and well filtered to cope with heavy feeding. Offer meaty carnivore foods such as mysis, krill and pellets, avoiding fatty mammalian meat and excessive protein that can cause bloat. A demanding, spectacular fish for large Malawi predator setups.