Konye cichlid

Konia eisentrauti

Also known as Eisentraut's konia

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 7.0–8.0
Adult size: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Barombi Mbo, Cameroon
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

A crater-lake cichlid with real conservation value, since aquarium lines help preserve a fish that is endangered in the wild. It is social and generally peaceful, doing best in a small group rather than alone, and it keeps to the lower half of the tank. It gets along with calm companions, but choose tankmates carefully, because it is sensitive and easily out-competed by boisterous fish. It takes a varied diet of small frozen and prepared foods. Give a group around 200 liters or more, and be ready for careful, stable water management, as this is a demanding fish.

In the wild

Konia eisentrauti lives only in Lake Barombi Mbo, a small, deep volcanic crater lake in southwestern Cameroon. Its water is warm, clear and moderately hard, so aim for 23 to 27 C and a near-neutral pH between 7 and 8. Furnish the tank with a sand or fine gravel bed, some rounded rock and open water, and keep everything calm and very clean, since crater-lake fish are used to steady conditions and react badly to swings in quality.

Good to know

This species is a member of the Cichlidae and reaches about 11 centimeters. It is one of eleven cichlid species found nowhere but Lake Barombi Mbo, a group that appears to have evolved from a single ancestor inside that one crater. Konia is a mouthbrooder, and captive breeding rates as medium in difficulty. Its narrow range and mounting habitat pressures leave it listed as threatened, which is why hobby populations matter.

Did you know

Lake Barombi Mbo is barely two kilometers across, yet it produced eleven cichlid species that live in that single crater and nowhere else on Earth, a textbook case of many fish evolving side by side in one tiny, isolated basin.