Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Cichlids - Malawi Types > Maingano

Maingano

Melanochromis "Maingano" Family: Cichlidae

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Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   The eye-catching Maingano is quickly noted for its striking coloration!

     With beautiful coloration and a small size, the Maingano is a 'must have' for cichlid enthusiasts who have smaller tanks to fill. The dark black horizontal stripes against an electric blue body makes these guys a gorgeous fish for any hobbyist. The Maingano is not as aggressive as other Melanochromis species.

   The Maingano is moderate to easy to care for depending on the aquarists willingness to do frequent water changes and provide appropriate tank mates. A minimum sized tank that is at least 36” long with one male and several females along with a lot of hiding places is needed for success. This fish has long been bred in captivity and there are many captive strains that are far cry from the wild caught coloring. Try and keep the different species blood lines pure.

   The Maingano is in a group of cichlids called Mbunas. There are 12 genera full of very active and aggressive personalities. Some call this fish the Electric Blue Johanni or Electric Blue and though the Maingano is very similar in appearance, the Electric Blue Johanni is a separate species.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   The Maingano was described by Bowers and Stauffer in 1997 and is found in Lake Malawi, Africa between Mbako Point and Membe Point. They are commonly found over small and medium sized rocks feeding on zooplankton, epibenthic invertebrates, and Aufwuchs. Aufwuchs refers to tough stringy algae that is attached to rocks. “Loose” Aufwuchs can contain insect larvae, nymphs, crustaceans, snails, mites and zooplankton.

Status:
   This species is listed on the IUCN Red List with the status of 'VU', meaning 'Vulnerable'.

Description:
   The Maingano can live to around 9 years. They have elongated bodies and a continuous dorsal fin. They can easily be mistaken for their close relative, the Electric Blue Johanni Melanochromis johanni, and there are many captive strains that are far cry from the wild caught coloring. The description that follows is of a wild colored Maingano, which would be considered the most accurate.
   The Maingano has a body that is torpedo shaped with golden colored eyes. There are only two light blue thin horizontal lines on the body but with it also having two more thin lines on the dorsal fin, from a distance it can appear to have several of these thinner lines. There are what also appears to be thicker dark blue horizontal stripes in between, three on the females and four on the males.
   When describing this fish based on the light blue stripe appearance; the first stripe is on the edge of the dorsal fin, the second is at base of the dorsal fin, the third at the level of the eye, and the fourth runs along the bottom just above the belly. When describing based on the darker color, the first dark blue stripe is in the center of the dorsal fin, the second is along the top of the back, third is right down the middle, and on the male the fourth would be his darker belly. The females belly is lighter, making it look like she has only 3 dark blue horizontal bands. Her pelvic fins are typically shorter.
   All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.
   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense “smells” in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being “sampled” for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to “smell” the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

Size - Weight:
   The Maingano grows to a length of just under 4” (10 cm) and in the wild only grow to just under 3” (7.5).

Care and feeding:
   The Maingano is an omnivore that will accept frozen or live brine shrimp, mysis, high quality flake, pellets, spirulina, and other preparations for omnivore cichlids. It is always better to feed them small amounts several times a day instead of one large feeding. This keeps the water quality higher for a longer period of time. Of course, all fish benefit from added vitamins and supplements to their foods.
   A tank with a minimum of 36” (91 cm) in length is suggested, though a larger tank would be required if mixing these cichlids. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide lots of passageways and caves formed with piles of rocks. They like to dig so make sure the rocks sit on the bottom of the aquarium not on the substrate.
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. As these are messy fish, do water changes of 20 to 50% a week depending on bio load. Malawi bloat is a typical disease especially if their mostly herbivorous dietary needs are not met with quality foods. They can contract other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   The streams that flow into Lake Malawi have a high mineral content. This along with evaporation has resulted in alkaline water that is highly mineralized. Lake Malawi is known for its clarity and stability as far as PH and other water chemistries. It is easy to see why it is important to watch tank parameters with all Lake Malawi fish. A higher PH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fishes. A very slow acclimation to different PH levels can sometimes be achieved.
   Hardness: 6 - 10° dH
   Ph: 7.7 - 8.6
   Temp: 73 - 82° F (23 -28° C).

Social Behaviors:
   The Maingano is not considered to be a community fish. They do best in a species specific tank. They are best kept in groups of one male and several females. If overstocking is used as a form of aggression reduction, care should be taken to do several partial water changes a week. They are also aggressive toward similar looking males of a different species.
   They can be kept with other less aggressive cichlids from Malawi that are not similar in coloring/shape. Tank mates can include cichlids such as the Cobalt Zebra, Red Empress, African Butterfly Peacock Aulonocara jacobfreibergi, Electric Yellow Labidochromis caeruleus, and Lemon Cichlid Neolamprologus leleupi, and Cuckoo catfish Synodotis multipunctatus. Do not put with other Melanochromis as they will attack and/or interbreed, which is not suggested.   

Sexual Differences:
  The male will seem to have more “dark” stripes due to his darker belly. The female has a lighter belly and shorter pelvic fins.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Maingano has been bred in captivity. This cichlid, like other Mbunas, spawn in the male’s territory. When spawning the male changes his color, it becomes an intense exaggeration of his original coloring that almost looks like a double exposed picture.
   The females lay 10 to 60 eggs and then immediately take them into their mouths before they are fertilized. She then stimulates the male to discharge sperm (milt cloud) by mouthing his vent or eggspots on his anal fin. She inhales of cloud of “milt” which then fertilize the eggs in her mouth. In 21 days at about 82° F, the eggs are developed.
   The released fry can eat finely powdered dry foods and brine shrimp nauplii. The female will guard her young for a few days, even taking them into her mouth if there is a perceived threat. As long as you have plenty of hiding places, the young will have an easier time surviving until they are too big to eat. Maingano young start to show their colors within a few weeks and are ready to breed at 1.5”. See the description of how cichlids breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   Mainganos are sometimes found online for around $4.00 to $10.00 USD. Prices vary depending on whether they are male, female, or juvenile. They are sometimes found in fish stores, and they may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.
   When acquiring a Maingano, with all the different hybrids that have formed in captivity, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer.

Author: Carrie McBirney

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