Scientific Name | Copadichromis Borleyi |
Common Name(s) | Red Fin Kadango |
Geographical Origin | All around Lake Malawi, wherever large rocks are present |
Habitat | Loves rocky areas |
Diet | Omnivore | Plankton in the wild | Frozen Food in aquariums |
Aquarium Temperament | Peaceful can be kept with other Haplochromis or even Mbunas |
Gender Differences | Dimorphic | Males have a neon blue head and top fin with a red body Females have a greyish body and red fins. Very easy to distinguish |
Breeding | Maternal Mouthbrooder |
Maximum Size | ~ 8 inches | 20 cm |
pH | 7.8 – 8.6 |
Water Hardness | Hard |
Temperature | 78 – 82°F | 25 – 27°C |
Recommended Aquarium | ~ 75 Gallons | 300 Liters |
Aquarium Notes | They like to spawn on rocks, so be sure to provide them with adequate space and rocky habitat. These are non-territorial fish, meaning you can keep them with a lot of other fish species including Mbunas. The females can be kept in the aquarium after the pair spawns. |
- Copadichromis Borleyi is a beginner African cichlid; this is due to the gentle nature that allows them to be kept with different species and also ease of spotting a male from the females which makes making adequate families very easy. Most people would recommend having 1 male and 3 females in a smaller tank ~ 75 Gallons | 300 Liters but if you have the room to spare, they are a real eye show having them in a larger group of ~15 members.
- The main reason why they are nice to have in a group is that once the dominant male wants to breed, he can mate with several females in the same day. After spawning the brooding females will join the other females to brood eggs.
- Males will be aggressive only during the mating period, apart from that they are gentle and will not get into fights.
- You will need to provide them with a tall aquarium with plenty of swimming space with locations with large rocks and an area with a layer of sand in order to stimulate natural behavior.
- They eat mostly plankton in the wild but they will also gobble up small crustaceans, meaning that in an aquarium you will need to provide them with a varied diet of spirulina flakes alternated with frozen food or more animal-based pellets.
Special thanks go towards people that provided pictures and videos to make this article possible:
sirtubemaster
AJK Aquaria
Peter BarnesMy fellow aquarists from Romania for the wonderful pictures provided.
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