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AFRICAN CICHLIDS ARE THE MOST COLORFUL
FRESHWATER FISHES
I
am sure you have heard that a hundred times. You have probably heard
that the color intensity of these species is only rivaled by the
color of marine tropical species. For those who are not
keeping them (till now) here is a photo showing just that. I call it
a "black and yellow study on a blue background". I
provided the blue plexiglass background and nature took care of the
rest. What you see is a mixture of various mbunas all bearing the
same basic color combination.
The
major species in this picture are (from top to bottom and left to
right) : a male Melanochromis
chipokae (black with light blue
stripe), a female Melanochromis johanni
(yellow), a male Pseudotropheus
lombardoi (yellow), a male Melanochromis
auratus (black with white stripe)
which partially covers the bodies of two male Melanochromis
johanni (black with blue
stripes).
The
two yellow fishes facing opposite directions are Labidochromis
caeruleus (6 months old, born in
this tank). Just below you can see a female Cynotilapia
mbamba (actually dark gray/brown)
with two Melanochromis chipokae
(4 months old, born in this tank). No photo can actually show the
vivid colors these fish have. In the following pages I have included
many close-up pictures to show the details
of these remarkable fish. |
