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Having previously only kept and bred the smaller Cichlids such as Apistogramma cacatuoides,I bought 5 young Aulonocara "Maisoni".I found out that this name is just a convenient "import" name and is often imported with its full title of Aulonocara stuartgranti maisoni chitimba. A species from Chitimba Bay where it shares its locality with Aulon."maulana" (a distinct species found in shallower water) named after one of Stuart Grant's divers Alfred Maulana.(Thanks to Anton Cass for this later acquired info) I put the fish in a 3 foot tank (the largest tank I can fit in my little fish room where space is at a premium!) The tank was decorated with slate areas at both ends with a large "dividing" area of ocean rock and Tufa. The tufa was drilled with many holes for the anticipated/ hoped for fry to hide in, while the Ocean rock had also been carefully chosen for its "holey" nature. I also put in some plantpots for females to find some refuge in. I grew the fish on and,as anticipated I had 2 males and 3 females, with both males conveniently taking up residence at opposite ends of the tank, around the slate caves.They had settled in well as a group with no serious aggro. I chose this species of Mbuna because of their peaceful nature as it is quite a small aquarium for Cichlids. I was fortunate enough to watch the first spawning (Pair below in photo) which took place on a piece of flat slate.However being a young female and this being her first brood,(as often seems to occur) she ate them.  A month later and I noticed a female was mouthing eggs from a spawning I didn't see. She kept brooding the fry in her buccal cavity until by the 16th or 17th day I decided to give nature a hand.She was very docile so I simply slipped a cut off toffee jar under her,so that she was never out of the water and floated her in a spare 18" tank.(Full of water from the adult's tank).My intention to release her temporarily into this tank never took place,as when I went back half an hour later,she had released 15 fry, each around 3/8",in the jar. She was put back in the large tank with the lights off and resumed her place in the group with no bother. The youngsters fed well from the word go, on microworm and crushed spirulina flake.By the age of 2 months they had reached 3/4" and as well as continued Spirulina feeds, particularly enjoyed frozen Black Mosquito larva. A month later and I had a second brood which, by coincidence, again totalled 15 fry.After 1 week I put them in with the first brood and all was fine. By the time these juveniles were around 8 months old the males were showing up nicely and egg spots could be seen.The adult male seen here below certainly has eyecatching colours and a beautiful sheen.  In conclusion, I can certainly recommend this type of Mbuna especially for anyone's first attempt.(As mine was!) |
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