Electric blue hap
| Electric blue hap | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Genus: | Sciaenochromis |
| Species: | S. ahli
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sciaenochromis ahli (Trewavas, 1935)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The electric blue hap (Sciaenochromis ahli) is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Lake Malawi. It prefers to live in caves and crevices in rocky substrates. This species can reach a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) TL. It can occasionally be found in the aquarium trade.[2]
In the aquarium
Although it occasionally appears in the trade, the true electric blue hap (Sciaenochromis ahli) is rarely imported for aquaria; most fish sold under that common name belong to the related species Sciaenochromis fryeri.[3][4][5] It should be kept in tanks of no less than 150 litres. A semi-aggressive fish, only one male is recommended per tank; however if large numbers are kept in a spacious enough environment, it is possible to keep more than one. Tank mates must be selected carefully. Large numbers prevent a single fish from being the target of aggression. The females are a drab grey in comparison and slightly smaller.[6] They prefer rocky exhibits with coral sand.
Breeding
As with many other cichlids, the electric blue hap is a mouth-brooder. The recommended ratio of males to females is 1:4. The female broods for 2–3 weeks. When the fry are released, they are around 1 cm.[7]
Etymology
The specific name of this fish honours the German zoologist Ernst Ahl (1898-1945) who originally described this species in 1926 as Haplochromis serranoides but this name had already been used by Charles Tate Regan in 1922, although Regan's name is a synonym of Haplochromis spekii.[8]
References
- ^ Konings, A.; Kazembe, J.; Makocho, P.; Mailosi, A. (2018). "Sciaenochromis ahli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T60965A47225751. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T60965A47225751.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Sciaenochromis ahli". FishBase. April 2013 version.
- ^ Konings, Ad (1993). A revision of the genus Sciaenochromis. Vol. 3. Cichlid Yearbook. pp. 28–36.
- ^ Clarke, Matt (November 2004). "Sciaenochromis fryeri 'Iceberg'". Practical Fishkeeping.
Erroneously sold as ahli in shops.
- ^ "Electric Blue Hap (Sciaenochromis ahli) Care Sheet". TropicalAquariumSA. 25 September 2020.
You're much more likely to come across Sciaenochromis fryeri than S. ahli as S. ahli is rarely sold in the hobby.
- ^ "Sciaenochromis fryeri". www.borstein.info. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
- ^ "Electric Blue Hap | Sciaenochromis ahli".
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (25 September 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (p-y)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 15 January 2019.