Haplochromis "Yssichromis" piceatus (Greenwood and Gee, 1969) is a pelagic species foraging on zooplankton, sometimes far from the shores. It is one of the remnant species of five known zooplanktivores that were widely distributed throughout the lake. Since it's feeding habits can take it far from the shoreline, it has been heavily preyed upon by the Nile Perch. All zooplanktivores have suffered dramatically from the introduction of the Nile Perch. It appears to have increased in number since 2000 being caught in larger number than in the 1990's by scientists from the Leiden University. It shares its habitat with Haplochromis "Yssichromis" pyrrocephalus, but has a different distribution in the water column and a different feeding methods and hours. It lives in large schools in the wild where males and females swim together in search of food. The males are absolutely stunning in colors, being black body colored with bright red orange fins. It also has a differs from H. pyrrocephalus in it's nuptial dress and spawning site. A colony of males will dig small spawning pits in the shallower water in the breeding season. It's important to keep a large colony of this species in the aquarium (similar to the Cyprichromis species from Lake Tanganyika) as this fish is quite peaceful. You will note that we have indicated the genus Yssichromis as a subgenus in quotation marks until a re-evaluation of Humphrey Greenwoods classifications is completed.