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This is
a very beautiful picture of an Italian hobbyist Lorenzo
Scarchini (lord65@libero.it). I met
Lorenzo at AIC auction in September 2000 and all we did was trading
fishes. Then we remained in contact, via E-Mail since we live quite
far away, and when he sent me this pic I, immediately, decided
it’s worth publishing. This picture further fascinates me for, at
least, two reasons:
·
Upper fish (Pseudotropheus sp. "Zebra Gold")
is, likely, one of the most coloured M’buna I’ve ever seen.
·
Lower fish (Pseudotropheus sp. “Msobo”) is a son (F1) of the fishes I
brought home from Lake Malawi in 1997 (Tanzania)
Short
info on Pseudotropheus
sp. "Zebra Gold", as
supplied by Lorenzo himself:
This
fish lives in rocky areas of Lake Malawi ranging (in depth) from 10
to 25 meters. It occurs in the North-West area of the lake from
Nkhata Bay (Mundola point) to Charo which means an area as long as
(about) 100 km. Pictured fish is a male of a colour morph known as
"Kawanga". Breeding males chase only other males of their
own kind that’s why all sub-dominant males live alone or, also, in
small groups mixed with females. Among territorial males are also
found "marmalade cats" specimens. Further information on
this fish can be found in: Konigs Ad (1995) - Malawi Cichlids in their natural habitat. 2nd
edition - Cichlid Press USA.
Pseudotropheus
sp. “Msobo”
(specimen pictured) is son (F1) of the “original” trio (I still
have the male and one female) I got in Tanzania in 1997 (it’s only
four years ago, but, to me, looks like ages!). This is not a bully
fish but, all the same, has to be handled “with care” since they
had managed to live very well struggling with other M’bunas and
Victorians (and namely H. nyererei). I’ve noticed a sort of
“territorial behaviour” also among females (fighting each other
– even if not with the ferocity of the males) - for spots that are
preferred to others. It can be a stubborn spawner : as a matter of
fact; mine took 13 months (!), once back from Africa, to get the
first batch of fry and, then, they had a break of over one year
(with no detectable problems in the tan(s) they lived in).
Definitely I like this fish since is the first wild M’buna (ever)
I spawned and I’m, more than happy because other fellows can get
the same satisfaction. The fish pictured in Lorenzo’s tank has
just had its first offspring: 25 – fit ‘n strong - fry!
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