Geo. Origin: Lake Victoria, Victoria Nile, Lake Kanyaboli, Kenya
Habitat: Plant-infested, muddy bottoms near shore
Diet: Herbivore
Gender Differences: Dimorphic
Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder
Temperament: Mildly Aggressive
Conspecific Temperament: Aggressive
Maximum Size: 4.5"
Temperature: 78-82°F
pH: 7.2-8.6
Water Hardness: Hard
Difficulty: 2
Comments:
Haplochromis "Xystichromis" phyotphagus (the Xmas fulu) is a macrophytes eater and one of the few Victorian Basin cichlids that consumes plant matter as its sole source of food. It can be found in Lakes Kanyaboli and Victoria as well as the Victoria Nile near submerged vegetation.
You will note that we have indicated the genus Xystichromis as a subgenus in quotation marks until a re-evaluation of Humphrey Greenwoods classifications is completed.
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.
s-t
-kr
-m
-t
-g
