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Encyclopedia / African Cichlids / Cobue
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Variations

3 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Cobue

Cynotilapia afra · Cynotilapia afra, Afra, White top hara

Fast and territorial; keep as a group in a rocky tank with other mbuna.

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10 cmBody length, without tail ✓
25–29 °CTemperature ✓
7.5–8.5pH ✓
90 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • Cobue is aggressive and will bully peaceful neon tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobue need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • Cobue is aggressive and will bully peaceful cardinal tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobue need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • Cobue is aggressive and will bully peaceful black neon tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobue need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobue need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.5.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobue need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 25–26 °C.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

62 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓10–25 dGH
Group size ?6 or more
Temperament ✓Aggressive
Swims at ?Middle
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–5 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Fast and territorial; keep as a group in a rocky tank with other mbuna.

  • cave

Food

Algae and plankton eater; offer spirulina pellets, flakes and small frozen foods.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Males are far more colourful than females. Colour (including the yellow dorsal fin) depends on the local form.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Maternal mouthbrooder (harem) · Moderate

Maternal mouthbrooder; one male with 3-6 females. The female carries the brood for up to 3 weeks; some breeders strip the fry at about 2 weeks.

Pairing

Keep one male with 3-5 females; a lone female is harassed to exhaustion and two males will fight.

Setup

150-250 L rockwork tank with many caves, hard alkaline water (pH 7.8-8.6) and strong filtration. Keep a bare 60 L tank handy to move a holding female.

What starts it

Stable warm water (26-28 C), regular water changes and a good male-to-female ratio; the male displays and leads a female to a flat rock or cave.

Eggs

15-30 eggs per spawn, carried for up to 3 weeks.

Raising the fry

The female releases free-swimming fry after 3-4 weeks. Feed finely crushed flake, spirulina powder and newly hatched brine shrimp from day one; do small daily water changes. Remove the female after release so she can recover.

Common mistakes
  • Too few females so the male harasses them
  • Mixing similar-looking mbuna that hybridise
  • Soft or acidic water
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionLake Malawi
Rivers and lakesLake Malawi (many rocky coasts, incl. Cobue in Mozambique)
HabitatRocky reefs, feeding in open water above the rocks
Native rangeAbout 300 km across
See it on the world map

The story of the cobue

A small, active mbuna with many local colour forms in the wild, which should not be mixed because they interbreed. Males are far more colourful than females. Described by Günther in 1894.

Günther described this mbuna in 1894, originally in another genus. Many geographic forms exist, and the Cobue form from Mozambique is among the most popular. It feeds more on plankton than most mbuna.

First described by Albert Günther in 1894.

  • Its pointed, single-tipped teeth differ from the comb-like teeth of algae-grazing mbuna.
  • It often feeds on plankton in the water column above rocks.
  • Different colour forms are usually named after the place they come from.

Sources

14 facts checked with sources