Geo. Origin: Masinje Rocks, north of Makanjila, Malawi
Habitat: Sediment-Free Rocky Habitat
Diet: Herbivore
Gender Differences: Dimorphic
Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder
Temperament: Mildly Aggressive
Conspecific Temperament: Mildly Aggressive
Maximum Size: 3"
Temperature: 78 - 82°F
pH: 7.8 - 8.6
Water Hardness: Hard
Difficulty: 2
Comments:
M. dialeptos is similar in appearance to M. auratus. The males usually are dark with two light yellow horizontal bars and a yellow bar at the edge of the dorsal fin. The males appear light yellow with three small dark bars on the body and one broad bar on the dorsal fin.
Pronunciation: Refer to our Pronunciation Key for an explanation of the phonetic symbols.
Habitat: This is the primary location where the cichlid is found and is a generalization. This does not mean a fish cannot be found in other habitats.
Diet: Many cichlids specialize in eating one type of food; notwithstanding, some of these specialized feeders are flexible and can be opportunistic feeders.
Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tankmates that are of a different species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to various factors, including aquarium size, tankmates of similar appearance, stocking levels, and order of introduction. There may even be some variability among individual specimens.
Conspecific Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tank- mates of the same species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to such factors as aquarium size, stocking levels and order of introduction. There may even be some variability among individual specimens.
Maximum Size: This is in regards to total length (including the tail) of typical aquarium specimens. Wild specimens may not attain this size, or may in fact grow larger than aquarium raised individuals due to various factors. Also consider that this is the typical maximum size and there are exceptional individuals that will exceed it.
Difficulty:
This measure is a relative value, comparing a single species against all
other cichlids.
This only accounts for maintanence in the aquarium and not breeding
considerations.
1 = easy and forgiving, 5 = extremely challenging.
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