African Cichlid - Redfin Borleyi

Scientific Name: Copadichromis Borley

Common Name: Red Fin Borleyi Cichlid, Yellow Fin Borleyi Cichlid, Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin, Kadango

Adult Size: 6 - 7 inches

Life Expectancy: 7 years

Habitat: Lake Malawi, Africa

Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons

Ideal Tank Conditions: 

• Temperature Range: 78°F
• pH Range: 7.0 - 8.0
• Water Hardness: 6 - 10

Temperament: Semi-aggressive

Diet & Nutrition: They will eat spirulina flake, brine shrimp flake, and pellet food is good for the larger fish.

Breeding & Spawning: This species has been bred in captivity. The male is ready to breed at about 1 year. He will defend a spawning area, which seems to change from spawn to spawn. He will pick an area next to a rock and spawning will begin. Once he has attracted one of the females, they will spawn on the vertical part of a large boulder or use fine sand on top of a boulder.

The female is a mouth brooder and can carry up to 60 eggs. The eggs take a little longer than the typical 21 days. They can take just over 3 weeks to hatch. The fry are dark gray with yellow or orange fins, depending on location your Utaka was captured from. The young are slow to grow. 

Gender: Males are larger and more colorful. Males have extremely elongated pelvic fins with eggs spot and white to blue on the edges of the dorsal and pelvic fins. Females are silver with three black spots on the side and typically have orange on at least some of their fins.