Yellow buccochromis

Care at a glance

Overview

At 34 centimeters this is a large-fish keeper's cichlid and needs a tank sized for it from the start. It hunts by pursuit over sand, so length matters more than decor, and tankmates need to be its own size. Feed prepared and frozen meaty foods on a schedule. Growth is steady rather than fast, which makes it easy to underestimate how much tank an adult actually needs until you already have one.

In the wild

Buccochromis rhoadesii hunts the sandy shallows of Lake Malawi, chasing down small fish in open water. Keep it at 24 to 27 degrees Celsius and pH 7.5 to 8.5 in hard alkaline water. Only very large tanks hold an adult honestly, and the fish will use every centimeter of length it is given.

Good to know

Buccochromis rhoadesii reaches about 34 centimeters, the largest of its genus. Mature males take on a deep yellow to gold body with blue through the head and unpaired fins. It is a maternal mouthbrooder, and breeding is rarely attempted, simply because of the volume of water an adult pair requires.

Did you know

Young ones ambush from within utaka schools they resemble; the yellow arrives later, like a reveal.

Common questions

Related species

• Green slender-tail hap

  Buccochromis lepturus

  Freshwater

  13.8 in (35 cm)211 gal (800 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Heterotaenia hap

  Buccochromis heterotaenia

  Freshwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)159 gal (600 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Spectabilis hap

  Buccochromis spectabilis

  Freshwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)159 gal (600 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Stripeback buccochromis

  Buccochromis nototaenia

  Freshwater

  9.1 in (23 cm)159 gal (600 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Midas Cichlid

  Amphilophus citrinellus

  Freshwater

  13.8 in (35 cm)79 gal (300 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)

• 

  Oscar

  Astronotus ocellatus

  Freshwater

  13.8 in (35 cm)95 gal (360 L)68–82°F (20–28°C)