African Cichlid – Blue Lips Cichlid (Pseudotropheus sp. “williamsi north”) 8-10cm

The Blue Lips Cichlid comes from Makonde to Nkhata Bay in Lake Malawi, Africa.

In the wild it finds its food on open water. It consists to a large extent on plankton, but also invertebrates and insects that come floating through the water. It has been seen a few times eating of the sediment on the rocks.

Males are yellow/orange with black vertical lines and have blue lips. They slowly turn more orange as they reach full adult size. Only spawning males however, are likely to turn full orange. Having females present helps to produce the best colour in males. Females are duller in color; but also have blue lips.  It’s lifespan is about 8-10 years.

In the wild it finds its food on open water. It consists to a large extent on plankton, but also invertebrates and insects that come floating through the water. It has been seen a few times eating of the sediment on the rocks. As one of the mbuna, a diet high in vegetable matter is recommended to best mimic the algal and invertebrate foods that it would find in the wild. They are very prone to developing Malawi bloat which is difficult to treat and often fatal. Feed Blue Lips with commercial algae wafers, blanched vegetables, or spirulina flakes to avoid any complications. The occasional meaty treat such as mysis shrimp can be given, but use a lot of caution when giving mbuna any meaty food.

It is one of the largest Pseudotropheus types. Males can reach up to 17 cm. Many call them Blue Lips as both males and females have blue lips.

In the aquarium they need rocks carefully stacked to form lots of caves. If you want to imitate nature a little, they should have a strong circulation, but this is not an absolute necessity. The males are very territorial towards males of the same species, but they tend to leave other species alone. You should have 3 – 4 females to every male. If you have more than one male, one must be sure to have many caves to reduce aggression. They have a reputation for being very bold and they are hiding often.

The Blue Lips Cichlids are not particularly difficult to get to breed in the aquarium. Males have a very large territory, but it is only males of the same species which are chased away. They do not eat much when they are in play mood because they’re so busy taking care of their large territory. The male will try to entice a female as soon as she enters his territory. After 20-24 days the female releases her brood who loves shrimp.

• Species – Pseudotropheus sp. “williamsi north”
• Common Name – Blue Lips
• Origin – Lake Malawi
• Diet – Omnivore
• 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 17cm)
• Sex – Un-sexed