Atripinnis hap

Copadichromis atripinnis

Also known as Black-fin utaka

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 7.6–8.6
Adult size: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Minimum tank: 70 gal (265 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Malawi, endemic
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

This is a peaceful, open-water Malawi cichlid, one of the utaka group that feeds on plankton drifting in the middle of the tank. It is a social, shoaling fish, so keep it in a group; a good mix is one or more males with several females, and a group in motion looks like a marine shoal in a rift tank. It is gentle by rift-lake standards and does not tolerate rough company, so keep it only with other calm Malawi cichlids and avoid pushy mbuna. Feed small foods that stay suspended, such as fine pellets, frozen cyclops, mysis, and brine shrimp. Open swimming space matters more than rockwork, so give it at least 265 liters with long, clear water.

In the wild

It is endemic to Lake Malawi, living in schools over the transition between sand and rock and feeding on plankton in open water. Set up the usual rift-lake chemistry, hard and alkaline at about pH 7.6 to 8.6 and 24 to 28 C, but design the layout around swimming room. A sandy floor with a few rock piles at the ends leaves the central water open, which is where these fish spend their time.

Good to know

A member of the cichlid family, this utaka reaches around 15 cm. Males are the showy sex and build sand bowers, small crater-shaped nests, to court passing females, then darken their fins during display, which is where the name atripinnis, meaning black-finned, comes from. It is a maternal mouthbrooder of moderate breeding difficulty.

Did you know

The utaka are the open-water plankton-feeders of Lake Malawi, and they matter well beyond the aquarium: dense schools of these haps support some of the lake's most important local fisheries.