f course, back then people had no
idea of the immense number of
species of Lake Malawi cichlids in general,
and the Mbuna in particular, that existed.
Nowadays we know that the Mbuna have
evolved differently colored local forms in the
numerous isolated rocky areas of the gigantic
Lake Malawi. The distinction between just
color variants, subspecies, and separate
species is often rather random and highly
dependent on the species concept of each
individual worker. But this question is of
secondary importance in the hobby.We also
know today that the beauty of the local forms
can be retained only by breeding them true.
The majority of unattractively colored
"aquarium zebras" that exist today are a
shocking example of what happens if this
basic rule is ignored .
Larger in the aquarium
Every aquarist soon comes up against the
fact that almost all Mbuna remain
considerably smaller in the lake than in the
aquarium. The reason for this isn't really
understood. The same also applies to other
groups of fishes from completely different
regions of the Earth, for example numerous
characins from South America, while on the
other hand many non-Mbuna from Lake
Malawi remain smaller in the aquarium than
in the wild. Diet undoubtedly plays an
important role, as it is the Mbuna that
frequently feed on very calorie-poor foods in
the natural habitat, while our modern
ornamental-fish foods are often real "calorie
bombs". But it certainly isn't a case of food
alone, as the Mbuna include not only
Aufwuchs-feeders but also predators and
planktonivores. All grow larger in the
NEWS 115
8
Blue-black-yellow:these are the predominant colors of the small,rock-dwelling
cichlids of Lake Malawi, the so-called Mbuna.When the first species were sent
to Europe and the USA in the 1960s they triggered a real stormof enthusiasm.
They included a cichlid that was identified as
Pseudotropheus zebra
.
A dwarf zebra
Cynotilapia pulpican
from Lake Malawi
by Andreas Jung
Lake Malawi Cichlids
O
Dominant male of the dwarf zebra,
Cynotilapia pulpican.
Brooding female.
Group of female
Cynotilapia pulpican
.
aquarium than in the lake.
A confusion of genera
Lake Malawi is rather like a huge genetic
laboratory. It is an ancient lake, and the many
hundreds of cichlid species that live there
have evolved from just a small number of
ancestral species, and hence are fairly closely
related to one another. But even today new
species are constantly evolving, while others
become extinct.
