Pundamilia nyererei

Lake Victoria, long believed to be the source of the great Nile river, is one of the iconic lake in history. Dr. Livingstone was living at its banks when adventurer / gossip journalist Stanley famously found him. The Dutch biologist Tijs Goldschmidt wrote a book about the astonishing species-richness of the lake (and its rapid decline). At least 500 species of cichlids have developed in various niches. Over-fishing and invasive species (notably Nile perch and tilapia)  have caused mass extinction. Good reason to keep some Victorian fish in your aquarium.

(IUCN is not concerned about this particular species, though.) 

If you have information about or footage of this fish in the wild, please reach out to us. 

In these fish, the contrast between males and females is striking. Dominant males will grow up to be some of the most beautiful freshwater fish there are. The females remain grey and dull. I keep a male and three females in a 80cm tank. They are maternal mouth brooders. This causes the female to get skinny and weak, as she will eat nothing or very little for weeks on end. Fry can be forcibly taken from her mouth and raised separately. If released in the main tank, the female may try to collect them again. Monitor aggression. If they do eat, they are not picky. Most flakes and small pallets are fine. We keep the water hard and at 25 degrees and that seems fine. Like all big-lake fish, they need good oxygenation and regular water changes. 

15 April 2023

These fish just keep breeding. My main colony consists of one male and three female and at least two of the females are constantly carrying eggs or fry in their mouths. After two weeks or so, they can be forcibly removed and grown out in a separate tank to maximize the yield. The fry grow fast and reach 4-5 cm in a few months. They do seem to grow unevenly, and it is wise to at some point separate the large ones from the smaller one, to give the latter group a chance to grow, too, and ultimately survive. At this point the fry are still drab and basically look like small females.