Mwanza dung hap

Enterochromis coprologus

Also known as Haplochromis coprologus

FreshwaterFish

Mwanza dung hap (Enterochromis coprologus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 7.0–8.5
Adult size: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 42 gal (160 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Victoria, Mwanza Gulf
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The Mwanza dung hap is a modest bottom-feeder from Lake Victoria and a social fish, so keep it as a group, usually one male with several females. It works the floor, sifting soft sediment for detritus and small food, and it is mostly peaceful, mixing well with other calm cichlids that share its warm, hardish water. Feed ordinary sinking foods: pellets, flake and small frozen items such as bloodworm and daphnia. Give it a tank of at least 160 liters with a fine substrate it can sort through and some cover along the back.

In the wild

Enterochromis coprologus lives in the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria, over soft, organic-rich floors in the sublittoral zone. The lake is warm and its water neutral to alkaline and moderately hard, so aim for a temperature range of 23–27 C and a pH of 7.0–8.5. A fine sand bed lets it feed the way it does in the wild, sifting detritus, diatoms and tiny invertebrates from the sediment, with some rock or wood for shelter.

Good to know

Enterochromis coprologus belongs to the cichlid family and reaches about 9 centimeters. It was described in 2010 as one of seven new detritus-feeding and plankton-feeding haplochromines named from Lake Victoria in a single study. Like other haplochromines it is a maternal mouthbrooder: the female incubates the eggs and then the fry in her mouth before releasing them to fend for themselves.

Did you know

Its scientific name, coprologus, comes from the Greek for gathering dung, chosen bluntly for a fish that makes its living sifting detritus off the floor of Lake Victoria.

Tank mates

Mwanza dung hap is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.