Variations
2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Electric yellow cichlid
Keep with other Malawi cichlids in hard, alkaline water with lots of rocks.
- Electric yellow cichlid eats animals up to about 3 cm. Neon tetra only grows to 2.5 cm.
- Rift lake cichlids like electric yellow cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
- Electric yellow cichlid eats animals up to about 3 cm. Cardinal tetra only grows to 3 cm.
- Rift lake cichlids like electric yellow cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
- Electric yellow cichlid eats animals up to about 3 cm. Ember tetra only grows to 2 cm.
- Rift lake cichlids like electric yellow cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
- Rift lake cichlids like electric yellow cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
- Their pH needs don't quite meet (7.7–8.6 vs 5.5–7.5). Aim between the two and keep it steady.
- Rift lake cichlids like electric yellow cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
- Their pH needs don't quite meet (7.7–8.6 vs 6–7). Aim between the two and keep it steady.
55 species in our list are a good match.
Care and water
Behavior
Keep with other Malawi cichlids in hard, alkaline water with lots of rocks.
Food
Spirulina-based cichlid pellets; low protein.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Hard to sex. Adult males are usually a little larger and brighter when spawning, and often have more black in the fins, but this is not reliable.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Mouthbrooder · Easy
Maternal mouthbrooder: the male digs a pit in the sand, and the female carries the eggs and young in her mouth for about three weeks.
Keep 1 male with 3-4 females in a 55 gallon tank. Males are bold.
A 40-55 gallon (150-200 L) tank with rocks and caves, 25-28 C, hard alkaline water.
Warm, hard water and good food. Males dig pits.
5-30 eggs; the female holds them for up to 3-4 weeks.
Release fry after 3 weeks. Feed crushed flake and baby brine shrimp. Fry grow fast.
- Keeping too many males
- Soft water
- Overcrowding
Where it lives in the wild
Plants that suit it
The story of the electric yellow cichlid
A Lake Malawi mbuna (rock-dwelling cichlid) described by Geoffrey Fryer in 1956, and one of the calmest of its group. The bright yellow form is rare in the wild, found only between Charo and Lion's Cove.
British biologist Geoffrey Fryer described this cichlid in 1956 from Lake Malawi. Wild populations include whitish-blue fish, while the famous bright yellow form comes from a short stretch of the lake's northwest shore. It is one of the more peaceful rock-dwelling 'mbuna'.
First described by Geoffrey Fryer in 1956.
- Females carry eggs in their mouths.
- It eats small invertebrates.
- It is among the gentler mbuna.
Sources
16 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Described by Fryer, 1956. The electric yellow is one colour form of the species; Seriously Fish says the blue-and-white form is more widespread in the wild, and that the species was first imported under the wrong name L. tanganyicae. FishBase's common name is 'blue streak hap'.
FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary · Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Familycorrected
Legacy has no family field; sourced value recorded.
FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary - Size
Seriously Fish 10 cm SL; FishBase 8.1 cm SL (wild measurement). Both standard length. Wikipedia says large males may reach 15 cm (unsourced).
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus · FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary - Temperature
Matches Seriously Fish (preferred for husbandry).
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus · FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary - pH
Seriously Fish 7.7-8.6; legacy 7.5-8.5 is close enough (within ~0.2). Seriously Fish stresses the species needs a steady pH.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Hardnesscorrected
Legacy has no hardness; sourced value recorded.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Smallest tankcorrected
Seriously Fish gives a 90 x 45 cm base and lists ~154 L (about 41 US gal), i.e. 90 x 45 x 38 cm. FishBase cites a minimum aquarium of 80 cm long. The legacy 200 L is more generous than the sourced minimum and is fine as a recommendation for a mixed mbuna tank.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Group sizecorrected
Seriously Fish recommends a harem of one male with at least three females (1 + 3 = 4), and FishBase says aquarists keep many females per male. A lone fish is possible, but the sourced advice is a harem.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus · FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary - Temperamentcorrected
Sources call it relatively peaceful for an mbuna; it becomes territorial when spawning and still belongs with other Lake Malawi cichlids, not a soft-water community. If the site's scale is for general community tanks, 'semi-aggressive' would be a fair compromise, but no source calls it aggressive.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus · Wikipedia: Labidochromis caeruleus - Swimming level
Benthopelagic; in practice it stays around the rockwork.
FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary - Care levelcorrected
Seriously Fish rates it easy, as long as pH and temperature stay steady. Legacy rated it 2 (moderate).
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Where it livescorrected
Legacy has no range field. Seriously Fish gives the species' range as Cape Kaiser to Lundo and Chirmbo Point to Charo, with the yellow morph only between Charo and Lion's Cove.
FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary · Wikipedia: Labidochromis caeruleus - Male or femalecorrected
Seriously Fish: males are generally somewhat larger, brighter when spawning, and may have more black fin pigmentation, but it calls fin colour an inconclusive way to sex them. Anal-fin egg spots were not mentioned in sources checked.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Breeding
Seriously Fish recommends one male with at least three females.
FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary · Wikipedia: Labidochromis caeruleus - Eggs and young
Legacy lower bound (10) is a little high; Seriously Fish says 5-30.
Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus - Story
Legacy claims are supported. IUCN status Least Concern (per FishBase, assessed 2018).
Wikipedia: Labidochromis caeruleus · Seriously Fish: Labidochromis caeruleus · FishBase: Labidochromis caeruleus summary