Painted ctenopharynx

Ctenopharynx pictus

Also known as Pictus hap

FreshwaterFish

Painted ctenopharynx (Ctenopharynx pictus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–81°F (24–27°C)
pH: 7.5–8.5
Adult size: 4.9 in (12.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 79 gal (300 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Malawi
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The painted ctenopharynx is a modest, attractive Malawi cichlid that sifts fine sediment for food, and it is a social, mostly peaceful fish, so keep a small group. It works the bottom, and it mixes well with other calm Malawi cichlids that share its hard, alkaline water. Feed small foods it can sort from the sand: quality granules, frozen cyclops, brine shrimp and finely chopped items. Give it a tank of at least 300 liters with a soft sand floor it can sift and some rock for structure. Let it do its slow work over the substrate rather than competing with fast, greedy feeders.

In the wild

Ctenopharynx pictus lives in sheltered parts of Lake Malawi, over rocky areas dusted with fine sediment and on soft bottoms. The lake is hard and alkaline, so aim for a temperature range of 24–27 C and a pH of 7.5–8.5. The key feature is a floor of soft, fine sand, which this fish takes into its mouth and sifts, so give it an open sandy area with some rock around the edges.

Good to know

Ctenopharynx pictus belongs to the cichlid family and reaches about 12.5 centimeters. It is a maternal mouthbrooder. It feeds by sucking up fine sediment and passing it over an unusually high number of gill rakers, 32 to 38 on the lower arch alone, which sieve out tiny invertebrates such as benthic copepods.

Did you know

Its throat carries one of the finest, most crowded sets of gill rakers of any Malawi cichlid, letting it strain food particles from the sand that are far too small for most of its neighbors to bother with.

Tank mates

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