Soda cichlid

Oreochromis alcalicus

Also known as Alcolapia alcalica, Natron tilapia, Soda tilapia

FreshwaterFish

Soda cichlid (Oreochromis alcalicus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 79–95°F (26–35°C)
pH: 8.5–9.5
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Natron soda springs, Tanzania and Kenya
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The soda cichlid is an extremophile for keepers willing to build and hold rift-lake soda chemistry on purpose. It is a social fish, kept as a group, but ordinary community water slowly kills it, so it needs very hard, very alkaline, very warm water and calm, similar tankmates chosen with care. It grazes biofilm and algae, so feed a vegetable-leaning diet. It swims in the middle water over sandy shallows. A tank of around 200 liters, set up for these unusual conditions, suits a group.

In the wild

Oreochromis alcalicus lives in the hot, caustic springs and shallow margins of Lake Natron, on the Tanzania and Kenya border, one of the harshest waters any fish endures. Recreate that only deliberately: very hard, strongly alkaline, very warm water at pH 8.5-9.5 and 26-35 C, over sand, with the warmth and stability that ordinary community fish would not survive.

Good to know

Oreochromis alcalicus, long known as Alcolapia alcalica, is a cichlid of about 12 centimeters. It is a maternal mouthbrooder adapted to soda-lake extremes, grazing the cyanobacterial film of hot alkaline springs. Its tolerance of high temperature and near-caustic alkalinity is among the most extreme known in fish. Breeding is of medium difficulty.

Did you know

Lake Natron is so alkaline that it calcifies and preserves the bodies of many animals that die in its water. This little cichlid does the opposite of dying there: it raises its fry in the cooler, spring-fed shallows of the same lethal lake.