Loria's melanochromis

Care at a glance

Overview

A striped mbuna better known in the hobby by an old name, kept the way its relatives are, as a harem of one male with several females so aggression stays spread out. It works the rock line along the bottom and is a pushy, territorial fish, so house it only with equally firm mbuna and choose tankmates carefully. Its diet leans vegetable, aufwuchs and algae-based foods with only modest protein to keep its gut healthy. Give a group a well-built rock tank of about 250 liters or more with many caves and sightline breaks.

In the wild

Melanochromis loriae patrols rocky shores around Likoma and Chizumulu islands and along the northwestern coast of Lake Malawi, in the shallow, sunlit rock zone. Recreate that with a base of sand and stacked stone forming caves and territories, leaving swimming lanes between the piles. Match the lake with hard, alkaline water held warm at 24 to 28 C and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5, kept clean and stable by strong filtration.

Good to know

This species belongs to the Cichlidae and reaches about 14 centimeters. The fish the hobby long called Melanochromis parallelus is the same species, folded into M. loriae in a 2012 review of the genus. It carries the genus trademark of two dark horizontal stripes, and males and females wear that pattern in reversed contrast. As in other mbuna the female mouthbroods the young, and it spawns at medium difficulty.

Did you know

The sexes read like a photo and its negative. Females show dark stripes on a pale body, while dominant males flip the scheme to pale blue stripes on a darker ground, the same lines rendered in opposite tones.

Common questions

Related species

• Northern blue melanochromis

  Melanochromis kaskazini

  Freshwater

  5.1 in (13 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Deepwater melanochromis

  Melanochromis heterochromis

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Blotch melanochromis

  Melanochromis baliodigma

  Freshwater

  4.3 in (11 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Wochepa melanochromis

  Melanochromis wochepa

  Freshwater

  3.1 in (8 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Chipokee cichlid

  Melanochromis chipokae

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Johanni cichlid

  Melanochromis johannii

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)42 gal (160 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)