Kiwinge hap

Dimidiochromis kiwinge

Also known as Haplochromis kiwinge, Giant dimidiochromis

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–81°F (24–27°C)
pH: 7.5–8.5
Adult size: 11.8 in (30 cm)
Minimum tank: 159 gal (600 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Malawi
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

A large, fast predatory hap for a big-fish Malawi tank. It is best kept singly or as one male with a couple of females rather than in a crowd of rivals, since males are territorial and aggressive. It cruises the middle water and open edges hunting smaller fish, so every tankmate needs to be too big to swallow and confident enough to hold its own. Feed meaty foods such as good pellets and the occasional frozen offering, not live feeders. Plan on 600 liters or more of length so it has room to turn and accelerate.

In the wild

Dimidiochromis kiwinge patrols reed edges, rocky margins and open shorelines in Lake Malawi, often gathering into loose offshore shoals. A tank for it should trade fussy decor for open space, with a sand floor, a few rock piles or driftwood to break the view, and long clear runs. Keep the water hard and alkaline like the lake, warm at 24 to 27 C with a pH from 7.5 to 8.5, and back it with heavy filtration to carry the load of a big, hungry fish.

Good to know

This species belongs to the Cichlidae and to the small genus Dimidiochromis, which also holds the Malawi eyebiter. At about 30 centimeters it is the largest of that genus, silver-green with a dark stripe running the length of the body. It is a maternal mouthbrooder, and coaxing a settled pair to spawn and raise fry in captivity is demanding, so breeding rates as hard. In the wild it preys heavily on utaka and Malawi sardines.

Did you know

Its name is not Latin at all. Kiwinge is the local Malawian fishermen's word for the fish, carried straight into the scientific name, so this predator was described already wearing the name the people who knew it best had given it.