Demasoni Cichlid

The demasoni cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni) comes from a small stretch of rocky shore at Pombo Rocks in Lake Malawi. It is one of the most striking mbuna: a compact, deep blue fish crossed by evenly spaced black bars, with the pattern carrying strongly into the dorsal and anal fins. Both sexes are coloured, which is unusual for a Malawi cichlid. It is also, size for size, one of the most quarrelsome fish in the hobby.

Aquarium care

• Reaches around 8 cm.
• Extremely aggressive towards its own kind, especially in small numbers.
• Keep twelve or more so no individual becomes the target, or keep none at all.
• Needs hard, alkaline water and a wall of rock with many caves.
• Herbivorous. Feed a vegetable-based cichlid pellet or flake; rich foods cause digestive trouble.
• Not a fish for a small tank, despite its size.

Best in a dedicated mbuna tank with other Malawi rock dwellers of different colouring, since similarly barred blue fish provoke it. Not suitable for a community aquarium.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the current mbuna.