Congicus pterochromis

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a little-known Congo cichlid mostly of interest to keepers who want the unusual and hard to find. Keep it as a single fish or a pair; so little is documented that stocking it is close to fieldwork, and its behavior with others is not well recorded, so introduce tankmates cautiously and watch how it settles. It swims in the middle water and is thought to take small invertebrates and prey, so offer a varied diet of frozen and sinking foods. Give it a tank of around 300 liters with wood, cover, and gentle, soft water while you learn its habits.

In the wild

Pterochromis congicus lives in the central Congo basin, from the great pools of the middle river through associated lakes like Tumba and Mai-Ndombe. This is warm, soft, slightly acidic water, so aim for a pH between 6.2 and 7.2 and a temperature of about 23 to 28 C. Recreate a quiet, shaded stretch of river margin with driftwood, leaf litter, and some planting over a soft floor, using tannin-stained water to keep the fish comfortable.

Good to know

Pterochromis congicus is the only species in its genus, a monotypic Congo cichlid in the family Cichlidae reaching around 15 centimeters. Boulenger described it back in 1897, yet it has been studied very little since. It is thought to be at least partly predatory, and its breeding in the wild or the aquarium is essentially undocumented, so no reliable spawning method has been recorded.

Did you know

More than a hundred and twenty five years after it was first named, this fish remains one of the least understood cichlids in the Congo. It is rarely exported and little studied, so almost everything a keeper might want to know about its habits is still an open question.

Common questions

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