Shell mbuna

Care at a glance

Overview

The shell mbuna breaks the usual mbuna rule: instead of rock piles it lives over open sand and shelters in large empty snail shells. Keep it as a group with more females than males, over sand scattered with big shells rather than heavy stonework. It is aggressive like other mbuna, so choose tankmates carefully and give it space. Feed a vegetable-leaning diet with some frozen foods. A tank of around 110 liters with a broad sandy floor and a scatter of shells suits a small group.

In the wild

Maylandia lanisticola lives on the open sand plains of Lake Malawi, where empty Lanistes snail shells are almost the only cover. It shelters and spawns in those shells. Recreate it with a wide bed of sand, a scatter of large snail shells, and hard, alkaline, warm water at pH 7.5-8.5 and 24-28 C.

Good to know

Maylandia lanisticola, formerly Metriaclima or Pseudotropheus lanisticola, is a cichlid of about 7 to 8 centimeters. It has the typical mbuna shape but a smoother, gentler head slope, and it is the mbuna that abandoned the rocks to live in snail shells. It is a maternal mouthbrooder carrying around sixty eggs, and breeding is of medium difficulty.

Did you know

Lake Tanganyika has a whole radiation of shell-dwelling cichlids, but Lake Malawi has almost none. This zebra is one of the very few Malawi cichlids to take up the shell-dwelling life, inventing the habit on its own sand plains.

Common questions

Related species

• Konings' zebra

  Maylandia koningsi

  Freshwater

  3.1 in (8 cm)42 gal (160 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Kingsizei zebra

  Maylandia pulpican

  Freshwater

  3.5 in (9 cm)42 gal (160 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Goldbreast zebra

  Maylandia barlowi

  Freshwater

  3.9 in (10 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Mpanga red-top zebra

  Maylandia emmiltos

  Freshwater

  4.1 in (10.5 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Mbenji zebra

  Maylandia mbenjii

  Freshwater

  4.3 in (11 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Fireback zebra

  Maylandia pyrsonotos

  Freshwater

  4.3 in (11 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)