Haplochromis "Paralabidochromis" sauvagei has a wide distributin across much of Lake Victoria. Nicknamed "Chessboard" due to the 5-7 vertical bars on the flanks. The Mwanza Gulf geographical variant is characterised by a deep yellow body color for the females and a deep red on the belly, a grey dorsal and a orange-yellow body color. The bright yellow coloration found in females is highly unusual for cichlids in the "rock picker" complex. Males in the northern part of Lake Victoria are rather dark (black or blue) while males from the south are characterized by a bright red chest, and an otherwise yellowish body superimposed by a faint chessboard pattern. Its diet includes a little of everything: aufwuchs, insect larvae, filamentous blue-green algae, sponges, and chironomids. This is an aggressive species that is best kept in groups of 6. Dominant males actively chase other males and unresponsive females.
You will note that we have indicated the genus Paralabidochromis as a subgenus in quotation marks until a re-evaluation of Humphrey Greenwoods classifications is completed.
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