Copadichromis geertsi
Copadichromis geertsi naturally inhabits the southeast coast of Malawi, in the area of Goma, Chiofu Bay and Ntekete in Malawi and Masindje Meponda and Tundu in Mozambique. The fish stay on the border of sandy and rocky ridges, at a depth of more than 25 m. The fish gets its name from the Dutch aquarist Martin Geerts, who first described it.
Adult male Copadichromis geertsi, during the spawning period, acquire a dark blue, almost black, coloration. The body has 8-10 thin transverse stripes. Along the edge of the dorsal and anal fins is a broad golden stripe. The forehead is white from the base of the dorsal fin almost to the mouth. A characteristic feature is the very long pectoral fins. Outside of spawning, the male is pale, though still retains an attractive appearance. Before that, the males are gray. This may be one of the reasons why this fish is not very popular among aquarists. At the age of one year, the males begin to slowly change coloration. This process can be greatly influenced by other fish species in the aquarium. Males in nature reach about 17-18 cm. In the aquarium, their size can be up to 20 cm in length. Females are slightly smaller. Their body is silvery with two black spots. The first, larger spot is in the middle part of the body and the second at the base of the tail plumage.
Copadichromis geertsi lives in the wild in small groups, keeping to depths where it feeds on plankton. This is one of the most peaceful cichlid species of Malawi. Males remain gray, uninterested and withdrawn. Instead of a wide golden girdle on the fins, only the tips of the fin rays are yellow. For this reason, the best solution is to keep this species in a species aquarium, with several males, for example, 3-4 males and 6-7 females. If the aquarium will be a few males, between them there will be a spirit of competition for the attention of females and their body coloration during these periods will be more attractive than usual.
The minimum size of the aquarium to keep these fish should be 500 liters in length not less than 170 cm and a height of 60 cm. The substrate used is sand or fine gravel. At the bottom of a large stone stacked so that between them formed cracks in which fish could swim freely.
In nature, Copadichromis geertsi feed on plankton. In an aquarium setting, they can be fed small, slowly crumbling pellets that mostly contain animal ingredients. You can also feed frozen food, such as artemia, rotifers, daphnia, moths. Feed 1-2 times a day.
Water parameters: temperature 24-28° C, hardness dH 10-16°, pH 7,5-8,0. Necessary filtration, aeration and weekly replacement of 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh.
Reproduction
Copadichromis geertsi reaches sexual maturity by about two years of age.
During the breeding season, which falls in November and December, males separate from the group and dig semicircular spawning nests in the sand, adjacent to rocks, to which they attract females, who spawn in them. The females incubate the eggs (about 40 eggs) in their mouths for about 21 days, then swim to smaller areas where they release their fry. After the females spawn, the males leave the nests and return to the group. Under aquarium conditions, spawning takes place throughout the year.
The fry are very large, 1.9 cm in length. In the first days of life, the fry are fed micro worms, and a little later start feeding artemia and daphnia. The food is given four times a day.
The life expectancy of Copadichromis geertsi is about 10-15 years.
