Copadichromis borleyi

Q&A About Lake Malawi Cichlids

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Pam Chin
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Copadichromis borleyi

Post by Pam Chin »

Dear Pam,

I have a question. I have heard that the cichlid Haplochromis borleyi (I hope my spelling is correct) is a smallish cichlid with a peacock blue head and bluish body. My question is this: I just purchased a cichlid that was sold under that exact name and it does have a peacock blue head, but it has an orange/grey-blue body. And "Smallish" it's not!! At about 6.5 inches, its the biggest fish in the tank. I have been looking for this fish in a bunch of different cichlid books - I can't locate it. Is it a newly discovered type or what?? Do I even have the correct fish? I have seen one picture of H. borleyi and it doesn't look anything like the fish I have. Can you help me??

Lesa
Pam Chin
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Posts: 1798
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2003 9:11 am
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Post by Pam Chin »

Dear Lesa,

Haplochromis borleyi is now called Copadichromis borleyi. Unfortunately this is not a cut and dried question!! There are several different color morphs of borleyi so you are still going to have to do a bit of research as to exactly which one you have. The two most popular borleyi seen today in the hobby are "Yellow Fin" or "Gold" and "Kadango Red Fin" Copadichromis borleyi " To complicate this even more Copadichromis quadrimaculatus one of my all time favorites, has also been called Copadichromis borleyi. Just recently, Konings is now back to calling it quadrimaculatus. Bottom line these fish are sought after for there brilliant blue and red or yellow coloring it also sports the most beautiful ventral fins of any fish from Lake Malawi. The "Red Fin" has the same body shape and more red intense color that the "Yellow Fin" has. From your description I would say that you have the "Yellow Fin" variety. This fish is not small and they usually range from 6 ­ 8 inches. The females do not have the color that the males have, they are usually battleship grey. Only the juveniles, subdominant males and females retain the yellow or red fins. The males turn all blue with red orange or yellow through the body and has no yellow or red in the fins at all. In addition to the two Copadichromis borleyi mentioned above there are probably 3 or 4 other different color morphs, that vary from their different localities in the Lake. This species has been around in the hobby for many years, it is just hard to keep track of it because they keep changing the name!! Next time you go to a meeting or a store look it up in any book by Ad Konings and you will see all the different types. This fish is quite peaceful for its size, and is a good candidate for a Malawian Community tank. They are mouthbrooders and breed best "Harem Style" with one male to many females.
Cichlid Power!
Pam

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