TankBud

Geert's utaka

Copadichromis geertsi

Also known as Geertsi hap

FreshwaterFish

Geert's utaka (Copadichromis geertsi)

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
7.5–8.5
Adult size
6.3 in
16 cm
Minimum tank
79 gal
300 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Mouthbrooder · Medium
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cichlidae
Origin
Lake Malawi

Overview

Geert's utaka is a peaceful Malawi hap for the open water of a community tank. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Did you know

The word utaka is not scientific but a local name from Lake Malawi for these open-water plankton feeders. They are prized food fish, and decades of heavy netting have thinned their once vast schools.

Caring for the Geert's utaka

A group of Geert's utaka needs at least 79 gal (300 L). Stack rock along the back and sides, with a sandy floor and a few flat-topped boulders where a male can display. They cruise the middle and upper water rather than the bottom, so leave plenty of swimming room over the rockwork.

Keep the water hard and alkaline like the lake, at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Feed small foods that suit a plankton eater, such as quality flake and pellet plus frozen daphnia, cyclops and brine shrimp.

Geert's utaka is calm by cichlid standards and best kept as a group. Ideally keep one male to several females, so his display is shared across the group rather than fixed on a single fish. It mixes well with other peaceful Malawi haps and peacocks of similar size, and can share a general rift lake community.

Males claim a small patch of sand only when spawning. It is a maternal mouthbrooder, and the female carries the fertilized eggs and fry in her mouth for around four to five weeks. Breeding it is of moderate difficulty.

Good to know

Geert's utaka belongs to the family Cichlidae and is one of the utaka, the group of plankton-feeding Malawi cichlids. Ad Konings described it in 1999, and its name honors the cichlid writer Martin Geerts.

In the wild

Geert's utaka lives along Lake Malawi's rocky coasts, cruising in loose schools through open water off steep shores. It feeds on drifting plankton.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Geert's utaka is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Geert's utaka need?

A Geert's utaka needs at least 79 gal (300 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Geert's utaka need?

A Geert's utaka is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 7.5–8.5.

What does a Geert's utaka eat?

A Geert's utaka eats small foods that suit a plankton eater, such as quality flake and pellet plus frozen daphnia, cyclops and brine shrimp.

How big does a Geert's utaka get?

An adult Geert's utaka reaches about 6.3 in (16 cm).

How does a Geert's utaka breed?

Geert's utaka is a maternal mouthbrooder. The female carries the fertilized eggs and fry in her mouth for around four to five weeks, and breeding is of moderate difficulty.

Related species