Pinstripe damba cichlid

Care at a glance

Overview

The pinstripe damba is a large, deep bodied Madagascan cichlid that lives in groups, so keep a shoal of five or six rather than a lone fish or a single pair. It is mostly peaceful outside of breeding, though a spawning pair will clear a territory, so give the group room and structure to spread out. Provide a tank of at least 360 liters with a soft sand bed, since these fish like to sift sand, plus smooth rock and driftwood. They produce a lot of waste and are sensitive to poor water, so strong filtration and regular changes are essential. Feed a varied diet with a good cichlid pellet, plus frozen foods, some vegetable matter, and occasional snails for these natural mollusc eaters.

In the wild

Paretroplus menarambo is found only in the floodplain lakes and slow rivers of the Sofia River system in northwestern Madagascar. Recreate warm, calm fresh water with a temperature of 26 to 29 degrees Celsius and a pH from 7 up to about 8.5, kept neutral to slightly alkaline and moderately hard. A deep sand bed lets the fish sift and forage the way they do in the wild, while smooth rocks and driftwood provide cover and spawning surfaces. Leave plenty of open water for such a large, tall fish, and rely on powerful filtration to cope with the waste these heavy feeders produce.

Good to know

The pinstripe damba belongs to the cichlid family, Cichlidae, and is one of the Paretroplus cichlids native to Madagascar. It is a large, silvery, deep bodied fish that reaches around 25 centimeters and carries fine dark pinstripes along its flanks. It is a biparental substrate spawner. A pair cleans a firm surface, lays its eggs there, and both fish guard the eggs and the resulting fry. It is listed as critically endangered in the wild, and pairing up and breeding these big, waste heavy fish in captivity is a demanding, space hungry undertaking.

Did you know

This fish was once classified as extinct in the wild before a surviving population was found in Lake Tseny. Much of what still swims is maintained by aquarists, public aquariums, and zoos, making the hobby part of an effort to keep the species alive.

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